Rain comes as a relief, but northeast misses out

Rain last weekend was welcomed by farmers all over the country, but the northeast remains drought-affected.

Between 10mm and 15mm of rain fell across Friday and Saturday in the southeast, but counties Kildare, Meath, Louth and Dublin only got around 5mm, not enough to significantly address soil moisture deficits. Stressed crops in these counties, in particular, seem certain to experience a yield penalty. Where higher levels of rainfall fell, crops that were stressed have showed significant improvement.

Potato and vegetable crops are being irrigated as a matter of routine for weeks now.

Maize and beet crops that were stunted by cold weather and night frosts have been responding to the higher temperatures of recent days, but beet in particular is still behind schedule.

The forecast is for another dry week across the east coast, in particular, with some very warm days and highs of 24°C on Friday. Spring crops, having received a shot of nitrogen from the rain of last week, will surge through growth stages.

Meanwhile, silage-cutting is progressing, with first cuts nearing completion in parts of the country. Grass growth figures from PastureBase show that growth rates are lowest in Leinster, averaging 54kg/day compared to 66kg/day in Ulster, 65kg/day in Munster and 60kg/day in Connacht. With soil moisture deficits affecting all counties with the exception of parts of Cork and Kerry, it is expected that growth rates will decline further this week.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, although many areas received rainfall during the latter half of last week, farmers still face severe soil moisture deficits.

Grass growth data collected across the province averaged just over 60kg DM/ha/day last week, approximately 40kg below the normal average daily growth for late May.

Along with limited grass growth, farmers who carried out reseeding this spring say that these new swards are struggling to establish fully. In some cases, steps have been taken to irrigate reseeded grass.

Crops are also struggling due to the lack of rainfall, with winter crops in particular under pressure.