Around the country: unsettled weather sparks second cut delays

The year to date has been difficult for both farmers and contractors with challenging weather conditions limiting the time in which silage and hay can be made.

With second-cut grass now ready, silage contractors and farmers are anxiously waiting but are ready to go as soon as the weather improves.

Co Sligo

JP Cowley, a farmer from Co Sligo, has observed that second cut is looking good at the moment, with the rain and heat helping to speed up growth.

However JP stated that “a few weeks ago grass levels for grazing were becoming tight with some farmers struggling".

According to JP, the recent unsettled weather has slowed silage progress this week with wilting and drying power at a minimum. But he is hopeful the weather will improve and said: “With the weather set to take up from Wednesday onwards and with ground conditions in fair condition silage season will hopefully restart.”

Co Cavan

Mark Gilpin, a contractor from Co Cavan, is facing a tough situation with challenging weather conditions making silage making difficult. According to Mark: “Some people mightn’t bother with second cut as meadows are now two weeks overgrown and ground is too wet to get grass cut.”

Some farmers are now considering grazing instead of cutting to get some value off the grass. The recent heavy rain that fell on Sunday evening halted silage cutting for the first half of the week.

First-cut silage has also been adversely affected. After the good spell broke Mark noticed that “quality started to decline, grass was being cut in the morning and baled straight away allowing for no drying/wilting resulting in a high bale count per acre".

Co Kildare

Contractor Michael Quigley from Kildare has noticed that “second cut is bulking-up well at the moment with them due to begin silage this week".

However, a lot of rain fell this week, leaving farmers waiting on the weather now. Michael also stated: “Crops are now becoming heavy and with recent heavy rain, ground conditions have become greasy.”

“Although if you can get grass mowed a day before it’s lifted, it helps considerably in terms of drying.”

Michael further added: “First-cut silage that was cut within the first three weeks of May was of high quality, a lot of these would be dairy farmers hoping for three cuts.”

He said that currently very little hay has been made around the local area however, but that a lot of haylage was baled on the weekend previous.

Co Down

According to JD Townley of Townley Contracts: “Second cut has already began in some parts of Co Down, with some second cut already cut in the Ards Peninsula with the rest of the second cut ready this week.”

Weather is becoming a prohibiting factor with Townley stating: “Eight millimetres of rain fell on Monday night, ground conditions are becoming soft but with the weather set to improve hopefully ground conditions will also improve quickly.”

In regards to first-cut silage he said “any farmer who got their silage made within the first 10 days of May made quality stuff, after that the weather deteriorated, grass began to bulk up and quality declined".

“Hay making to date has been non-existent with the first grass cut on Monday for hay with farmers banking on this week’s weather to stay good.”

Co Galway

Gary Walsh an agricultural contractor from Co Galway forecasts that second cut will begin next weekend with ground conditions at present in good shape.

“Second-cut grass has been growing very well recently, rain and heat has boosted grass growth,” Gary said.

However, recent bad weather has placed doubts on silage-making potential this week.

“It rained consistently here from Saturday evening up until Monday morning with ground only beginning to dry up now.”

Gary also added that: “Any first-cut grass that was cut within the first two to three weeks of the season was of super quality. However, after 10 June the weather became unsettled and quality quickly declined.”

Co Leitrim

Speaking with Tom Coll of Teagasc, he has noticed that a few farmers in his local area have already made their second-cut silage.

He also stated that “farmers with traditional hay meadows are also now soon due to cut about 1 July”.

According to Tom: “Weather conditions are reasonably good currently, with 24-25°C promised up until Friday of this week.”

“There has however been localised heavy downpours which are having a short-term immediate effect on grazing conditions. However, ground is drying up fairly quickly which is a great help.”

Tom also observed that “any second-cut grass that has already been put in was of high quality and the remainder of the second cut should be ready around the start of July and will hopefully be of good quality".

Co Meath

Agri-contractor Kevin Meade has noticed that “second-cut grass hasn’t really started, with first-cut grass still going in and there’s plenty of silage left in reserve.”

“Second cut is due to start at the beginning this week and as time goes on more farmers will be cutting. Weather hasn’t had a huge effect on silage here with less rain than expected,” he said.

“Farmers who got their first cut in early May made good-quality silage. However, over the last couple of weeks, quality has taken a back seat with farmers rushing to make silage before the rain.”

In relation to hay, Kevin thinks that some farmers will be trying to make hay this weekend with the weather forecast predicting it will be dry until Saturday.

Co Westmeath

Talking to Scally Silage Contracts they said: “First-cut silage is finished with second cut nearly ready, some farmers may even cut at the end of the week. However, with heavy first cuts, pit space may not be available.”

In relation to first-cut silage they said: “Recent poor weather has had a detrimental effect on silage quality, with grass being cut between the unsettled spells.”

“If we didn’t run our second forage harvester then we would be behind by up to 500/600ac at this stage,” according to Scally contracts.

This clearly shows the pressure contractors are under and the small time frame available to them to lift grass.

“Any first-cut silage made in early May was of high quality. However, after the first week of June the weather began to worsen and quality reduced dramatically.”

Co Cavan

Speaking with Elizabeth, IFA chair and farmer in Cavan, she has noticed that “second cut in the local area is nearly ready for cutting, with some early farmers already geared up and waiting".

“However, with heavy rain on Sunday, ground conditions are now becoming greasy. But that isn’t a barrier to silage cutting with some dairy farmers due to cut this week,” Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth has also observed that “any early first-cut silage made was of high quality. However, silage made after the first week of June was of a reduced quality, with some grass not worth picking up.”

Furthermore Elizabeth added that “little to no hay has been made to date, but with the weather forecast looking good it is possible over the next couple of days.”

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