Tom Barry: Building resilience as weather patterns and costs change

After the earliest harvest of his farming career, Cork tillage farmer Tom Barry reflects on changing weather patterns, rising input costs and the measures he is taking to build resilience into the farm

Tom Barry, tillage farmer, and John Mahon, Teagasc Tillage Signpost Programme adviser.

The dust has now settled on harvest 2026. It will stand out in my memory as being the earliest harvest I have begun (July 3) and the earliest harvest to complete (July 31).

The hot, dry weather was outstanding for getting through work. Earlier-sown winter and spring crops yielded very well. However, the severe drought did impact on the later spring bean crop, which struggled to yield 1.5 t/ac.

Years ago, August was the primary harvest month, and it would have been unimaginable to believe both winter and spring crops could be harvested by the end of July.

There has been a shift in weather patterns over my 30 years involved in tillage farming, and I now need to actively plan crop rotations, setting (sowing) dates and variety choices to combat the changing and more extreme climate events.

Earlier sowing 

Early setting of winter crops by two to three weeks is one measure I use to help ensure the winter crops are sufficiently advanced to combat the damaging drought spells that can reduce yield. I have moved back to late September from early/mid-October.

The excellent ground conditions this September have helped achieve optimum crop establishment. But it is a balance, as BYDV (barley yellow dwarf virus) needs to be considered. Thankfully, the newer crop varieties, especially those containing the Ryd2 and Ryd3 genes, are proving very effective in protecting the crop and lowering the incidence of BYDV.

This year, I started setting KWS Tayo hybrid winter rye on September 21, and then moved on to the winter barley on September 23. Next up is winter wheat when the weather settles again, hopefully in the first week of October.

Cover crops 

This year, I set over 150 acres of cover crops containing kale and leafy turnip. These cover crops are part of two schemes, the agri-environmental scheme ACRES and the Farming for Water EIP.

I disked the fields immediately following straw removal and set the cover crop a week later using a precision applicator attached to the front of the tractor, with a flat roller behind. I am very pleased with my establishment, as other methods I used over the years had mixed results.

By mid-September, I had a dense, vigorously growing cover crop. Excess soil nutrients are being actively taken up by the cover crop, which is now 2ft-high in places with a fabulous root structure. Once again this year, Teagasc will monitor this cover crop, measuring nutrient uptake.

The intention is to incorporate this crop back into the ground ahead of setting spring barley, and not to apply any artificial P or K to the crop. This cover crop will also be available as a fodder source if a difficult spring occurs, given many livestock farmers were forced to use winter reserves during the prolonged summer drought.

Rising costs

I am very mindful of input costs this year, especially diesel, which has skyrocketed. I measured the litres used to plough and set the winter grain to date. Ploughing used 9.41 l/ac, and setting used 5.9 l/ac.

This combined usage of 15.3 l/ac has increased my setting costs by almost €11/ac since December 2021. For the 2026/27 sowing season, this is an increase of €5,800 just to plant the crops, before any field work or harvesting is taken into account next year.

The price of grain needs to increase to reflect the higher costs involved and certainly any Government assistance, such as the Fuel Income Support Scheme 2026, was very welcome and a recognition of the problem.

I must balance some of the extra costs with the savings made on the farm with the installation of a photovoltaic system last year. This was grant-aided through TAMS3 and has delivered approximately a €3,500 saving over 12 months.

However, I, like all other farmers and workers, am highly exposed to future high fuel costs, and this is a worrying scenario.

Building resilience 

Making the farm more sustainable (with measures such as the use of organic manures, crop rotations, correcting soil pH, reducing soil compaction, improving soil fertility, using less artificial fertiliser, setting cover crops and straw chopping and incorporation), along with increasing energy-efficient measures (solar PV, batteries, LED lighting and electric car), I feel, are helping to build resilience and protect the viability of my farm in ways I can influence, against external geopolitical factors which we have little or no control over.

• Tom Barry is tillage farmer based in Killavullen, North Cork. His Teagasc adviser is John Mahon. He writes monthly for the Irish Examiner as part of its Signpost Series.