While the slurry spreading season now open for all farmers in Munster, Leinster and most of Connacht, farmers in Ulster and Leitrim will have to wait until after the end of the month before they can spread.
Waiting is something farmers and contractors are having to do, even where they are permitted to spread slurry.
Reports from around the country suggest that ground conditions are poor in many places, with even traditionally dry land wetter than normal.
Dry land is being described by some contractors as “greasy” and this is somewhat unusual given that not much rain has fallen over the last four weeks.
However, while there hasn’t been much rain, there also hasn’t been much drying. Overcast days with little sunshine and no wind means that land isn’t getting a chance to dry out.
Where ground conditions are poor, it means that farmers are in a bit of a bind. On the one hand they want to avoid damaging fields with heavy tankers and on the other hand they have tanks that are filling up in yards.
Best policy is to only spread what is needed to get by in order to avoid doing excessive damage. Generally speaking, there is usually capacity in some tanks on a farm so if slurry needs to be moved from tank to tank that may be better than spreading it on land in less-than-ideal ground conditions.
Where land can be travelled, avoid the temptation to spread too much slurry over a small area, particularly with an umbilical system.
Looking at the weather forecast, there is more rain to come later this week so it looks like the situation isn’t going to improve any time soon.
However, if there was better drying conditions, even with rain in between, ground conditions will improve.
The key point is, try to avoid doing damage to land if it can be avoided in any way.
While the slurry spreading season now open for all farmers in Munster, Leinster and most of Connacht, farmers in Ulster and Leitrim will have to wait until after the end of the month before they can spread.
Waiting is something farmers and contractors are having to do, even where they are permitted to spread slurry.
Reports from around the country suggest that ground conditions are poor in many places, with even traditionally dry land wetter than normal.
Dry land is being described by some contractors as “greasy” and this is somewhat unusual given that not much rain has fallen over the last four weeks.
However, while there hasn’t been much rain, there also hasn’t been much drying. Overcast days with little sunshine and no wind means that land isn’t getting a chance to dry out.
Where ground conditions are poor, it means that farmers are in a bit of a bind. On the one hand they want to avoid damaging fields with heavy tankers and on the other hand they have tanks that are filling up in yards.
Best policy is to only spread what is needed to get by in order to avoid doing excessive damage. Generally speaking, there is usually capacity in some tanks on a farm so if slurry needs to be moved from tank to tank that may be better than spreading it on land in less-than-ideal ground conditions.
Where land can be travelled, avoid the temptation to spread too much slurry over a small area, particularly with an umbilical system.
Looking at the weather forecast, there is more rain to come later this week so it looks like the situation isn’t going to improve any time soon.
However, if there was better drying conditions, even with rain in between, ground conditions will improve.
The key point is, try to avoid doing damage to land if it can be avoided in any way.
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