With new season Irish grain harvested and available, the hope is that it will be used ahead of imported product.

Grain surplus

There was a carryover of 2018 Irish grain into this season, despite the small harvest tonnage. Millers reduced the inclusion rate of Irish grain in rations relative to imported maize. The overhang cost merchants, particularly in the south east, dearly over the last 12 months.

IFA grain chair Mark Browne is calling on feed mills and merchants to prioritise the use of native grain and proteins, and for farmers to insist on their use in the rations they purchase.

Ramularia control may prove challenging in the absence of a durable contact alternative to chlorothalonil.

“The quality of new season grain is excellent, and with maize more expensive than in 2018, it represents excellent value,” he said.

“Irish protein crops are guaranteed non-GM, and should attract a premium”.

Chlorothalonil

Meanwhile, some merchants are urging farmers to place their orders for next season chlorothalonil now. The fungicde, important for ramularia in barley and septoria in wheat, is banned from May 2020, and orders should only be for product to be used before that date.