Farmers in GLAS will have to hold off on cutting traditional hay meadows (THM) until 1 July.

The dry weather and sunny spells are leaving farmers raring to cut hay meadows, but if you do so before the 1 July deadline, you may be liable to penalties.

Once again, there are calls for the date to be moved to allow farmers to take advantage of the good weather to cut the meadows, but the Department says that fields which have been chosen by farmers as THM cannot be cut until after 1 July, as farmers are receiving €315/ha for this measure.