Crop area falls for third year

The area sown to our main land-use crops in 2017 would appear to be slightly reduced compared with 2016. This is according to the initial data provided from the 2017 BPS applications from the Department of Agriculture.

The area sown to all mainstream cereals, excluding rye, is put at 263,757ha, which is 16,012ha lower than the equivalent area submitted in 2016. However, the 2016 areas may have been refined following autenthication and checking.

All cereals show a drop in area. Winter wheat, spring wheat, oats and spring barley are all down roughly 1,000ha to 2,000ha each.

According to these figures, the big area drop occurred in winter barley, which was back 10,452ha, but this followed a significant area increase in 2016.

The area sown to fodder beet is about the same as last year, while maize area is up almost 500ha. The area sown to oilseed rape seems steady at 9,790ha, which is 76ha more than the 2016 figure.

That said, the total area of mainstream crops to include cereals, protein crops, oilseed rape, fodder beet, maize and potatoes is put at 315,767ha – down 14,759ha on 2016.

It is less than clear where all these hectares have gone to. Total fallow is slightly lower, there are no major crop area increases and the area of land sown to first grass would appear to be lower. However, this specific figure for first grass may change in time as some reseeds should remain in permanent pasture. Wild bird cover is mainly on grassland.

Of significance is the increase in the area sown to protein crops. Last year’s area went marginally above the 12,000ha maximum aid threshold area and this year, the combined areas of beans and peas hit 13,016ha.

This represents an area which is 8.5% above the threshold and may result in an equivalent 8.5% reduction in the protein payment from the stated €250/ha to just over €228.83/ha.

As anticipated, wild bird cover occupies 20,068ha of land to make it the fifth-biggest land use after grass and the three main cereals. This is now a very significant land use area and it has had consequences for seed availability of certain crops used in these mixes.

Some declared 2017 crop areas, compared with 2016, are shown in Table 1.

Many crops identified

The crop area figures add scope for interest also. Very many horticultural crops take up very small to modest areas and then there are a number of unusual crops. There are 150ha of rye, which is grown in more than six counties, but almost half of it is grown in Wexford to be used for distilling for whiskey.

Each year, I see grass seed on the list, but to my knowledge we no longer grow any grass for seed. I guess this is really a reseed because some farmers would use this term when planting a new ley.

If this is the case, the only issue is whether this 159ha is grass to grass, as in permanent pasture, or whether it is tillage land going back to grass.

I am taking it as tillage land going back to grass and including it in the 17,727ha of first year grass from a total of 94,333ha of grass up to five years old, which is now technically regarded as arable area.

Permanent pasture going directly back to grass should not be included in either of these numbers.

Last year, there were 22,100ha of first grass established. In 2017, this was down to 17,700ha but this may be increased.

Whether this reflects a slowdown in the transition of crop land to grassland is difficult to say for certain. There is certainly some transition, but in many previous years this figure would have been above 22,000ha.

There are almost 27ha of camelina, which presumably is going for oil crushing. It is also interesting to see 171.6ha of daffodils grown in Cork, Kilkenny, Meath and Waterford and a hectare of tulips on the list, mainly in Wexford. And there were 4.5ha of sunflowers in Kilkenny.

Other oddities would be 22.98ha of quinoa, which is being produced for Glanbia, and 0.62ha of tobacco in Tipperary.

Main crops by county

While county areas sown to the main tillage crops were lower in 2017 than in 2016 in 19 of the 26 counties, many of these had very little change really. As previously, this comparison looks solely at the areas sown to cereals, oilseeds, protein crops, maize, potatoes and fodder beet. They also look at what appears to have happened with regard to new grass plantings. The county crop areas are shown in Figure 1.

Carlow

The area sown to the main crops is back just over 500ha. Winter barley and wheat areas are lower in 2017, as are oats and new grass. Oilseed rape, maize, fodder beet and protein crops areas are all up on 2016.

Cavan

The total area in Cavan is up by nearly 40% as a result of a significant increase in the area planted to winter wheat. Most other crop areas were lower in 2017.

Clare

Total crop area is up about 12%, but it is still only 100ha total. There was an increase in the area going down to grass, but this is small either way.

Cork

Cork was one of the bigger movers, with the 2017 crop area dropping by 2,315ha to 44,248ha. Most crops areas were down slightly, but the oat area was higher than last year. There were 2,797ha planted to first grass, but this is back over 650ha on last year.

Donegal

The total crop area in Donegal is back almost 400ha to 5,426ha. There is a bit more rape planted, but less protein crops, barley and oats. The area planted to new grass is also down by 375ha.

Dublin

Dublin is one of the few counties that had a crop area increase in 2017. The stated crop area of 16,158ha is 1,420ha higher than in 2016. The main movers were barley, wheat, oats, maize and protein crops. The main decreases occurred in oilseed rape area and potatoes.

Galway

Not surprisingly, the crops area in Galway is back by 681ha from its 2016 total to 3,013ha in 2017. These area slides occurred across all main crops, with the exception of protein and oilseed rape where the areas were up slightly. There was less first grass planted here too.

Kerry

In Kerry, there are about 100 fewer hectares under the main crops in 2017. Crop movements are small, with a little less barley, wheat and potatoes with a little more oats, maize and fodder beet. The area planted to the main crops is put at 1,970ha for 2017. There was also a little less first grass planted for this year.

Kildare

The area sown to main crops in Kildare is back by 1,931ha to 29,808ha in 2017. This appears to be a slight reduction in the area sown to most crops, with only protein crops showing an area increase in 2017. There is no change in the area declared as sown to new grass in 2017 compared with last year.

Kilkenny

A drop in the main crop area of 1,417ha in Kilkenny leaves the total area at 15,613ha for 2017. It might be expected that at least some of this drop may be gone to new grass in this county, but this is not reflected in the area of new grass planted, which is almost 340ha lower than last year.

Laois

The declared main crops area in 2017 is put at 17,237ha, back 591ha on 2016. This comes from slight reductions in all the main cereal areas, except for oats which is slightly up. Potato and fodder beet areas are also down slightly. The area sown to protein crops, maize and oilseed rape are up for 2017. New ley planting is down slightly also.

Leitrim

There were no main crops areas declared for 2017.

Limerick

The general crop area is back by 108ha to 1,302ha declared for 2017. The main drops were in wheat and barley and there is oilseed rape this year but not last. The area planted to new grass is also back.

Longford

The declared main crop area of 307.3ha is back 51ha on 2016. The main drop occurred in the barley area. Maize is also back (but low) and there is no fodder beet this year. The area planted to new grass is up in Longford.

Louth

One of the few counties with a higher cropped area for 2017. The main crops area of 21,056ha is 688ha higher than 2016. Wheat, oats, maize, protein and oilseed rape were the main winners and barley acreage dropped. There was no major change in new grass plantings.

Mayo

With only 221ha of main crops, an increase of 7.3ha is hardly of significance. The area sown to new grass was up.

Meath

Acres have gone missing from the main tillage crops in Meath, with the declared area of 33,611ha down 3,379ha on last year. The big drops occurred in wheat and barley, with slightly more potatoes, maize and oilseed rape. The area sown to new grass was down somewhat also.

Monaghan

Farmers in Monaghan planted an additional 62ha of crops for 2017, with a total of 315ha declared. Barley, wheat and maize areas are up, but oats and protein crop areas are down. New grass planting is down fractionally.

Offaly

The crops area in Offaly is 783ha lower than in 2016 at 9,935ha. There were decreases in the areas sown to wheat, barley, protein crops and potatoes in 2017, while the areas sown to oats, fodder beet and oilseed rape increased slightly. There was also a bit less planting of new leys declared.

Roscommon

Roscommon is down by just 12ha, with a declared area for 2017 of 746ha. Barley area is up and oats is down. There is a bit more fodder beet declared, but new grass planting is virtually halved.

Sligo

With only 96.4ha of crops declared in Sligo in 2017, the increase of 9.8ha can hardly be described as significant. There was less barley and more wheat and oats for 2017, as well as a bit of new protein crops area. There was also a bit less new grass planting here.

Tipperary

Crops areas are largely stable in Tipperary also, with the declared 22,721ha only back 837ha on last year. Again, there is a bit less wheat and barley, with a small bit less fodder beet and oilseed rape. There was also a reduction in the area planted to new grass.

Waterford

The declared area of main crops in 2017 was 7,604ha, down 952ha or 11.1% on 2016. The main area drop was recorded in barley, but there were also small area drops in wheat, oats, potatoes, maize, fodder beet and oilseed rape. While this is a strong dairy county, the drop in crops area is not explained, as land being sown down to grass was also lower in 2017.

Westmeath

There was a very slight area decrease of 74ha in Westmeath in 2017, with a total declared of 5,673ha. There was a bit of jockeying between crops, with barley, oats, protein and oilseed rape areas down slightly. There was a bit more wheat, maize and fodder beet, but there was significantly less new grass declared.

Wexford

Wexford continues to have the biggest declared area in crops at 50,030ha. But this is also down on 2016 by 2,101ha or 4%. Barley and oilseed rape are the two main crops that are down, while wheat, protein and maize were up somewhat. There was a very significant reduction in the declared area planted to new grass in Wexford for 2017 – down 691ha on last year.

Wicklow

Wicklow had a 573ha reduction in declared crop area for 2017 (5.2%) to 10,407ha. The main area drops were in barley and oilseed rape, with fodder beet and potatoes also down. Wheat and oat areas were up slightly. There was a slight reduction in the area declared as new leys.