Climate change will increase grass growth in Ireland overall, however, it will bring challenges for certain parts of the country during certain months of the year, Dr Elodie Ruelle from Teagasc has said.

A 1.5°C and 3°C rise in temperatures would result in an increase in annual grass yield for every part of Ireland, according to data from Teagasc’s TRANSLATE project.

Growth

However, most of the increase in grass growth due to warming will come from the winter and spring months.

Grass growth is predicted to decrease in July, August and September for the midlands and east coast. The more easterly located the farm is, the higher the decrease.

While the increase in growth in the winter looks positive, Ruelle said that trafficability may be a challenge.

“Depending on where you are in the country, especially for the east – we will start to see way more growth in the winter but a big decrease in the summer,” she said.

Ruelle’s research area is the future weather and adaptation of farming practices.

“Adaptation is accepting that the climate is changing and we might have to tweak our systems to be still able to perform with the future weather,” she said. “Better farm infrastructure, appropriate stocking rate and sufficient good quality forage stocks will be necessary to properly adapt to future climate.”