Tom Barry: Fuel protests brought home the value of self-sufficiency

Management of winter crops, especially the application of early nitrogen, was difficult, writes Tom Barry

Tom Barry: As we are now halfway through May 2026, it is certainly living up to the old saying: 'A wet and windy May fills the barn with corn and hay.' Picture: Dan Linehan

Wet weather has been the predominant feature of this year so far. It was like 2024, where sowing of spring crops was delayed.

I set the spring beans on March 11 and, like last year, I used my no-till drill to slot beans into the volunteer oats stubble, which had been disc-harrowed last September.