Weather

The outlook for the weekend is for drier weather. There are showers in the forecast, but hopefully there will be a chance for land to dry some bit to allow winter crops to get off the ground. However, heavy rain is due from Sunday and into next week again so the opportunity to plant is small.

Ground conditions remain poor for many with spraying, potato harvesting and planting out of the question for most. However, some in drier parts of the country have managed to get out with drills in the past few days.

If the opportunity is there to plant on drier ground then it is good to take it to spread risk and workload. It is also important as we look into a spring seed shortage. There is drier weather in the forecast so there may be an opportunity to get out to fields, but some of you will be reading this saying there is a lot more drying to be done before machinery moves.

If you are moving it is unlikely to be on sown ground anytime soon, but keep an eye on slugs and maybe a quad is available to spread pellets where needed on some ground.

Keep grass weed control in the plan as well. It may be a while before a sprayer moves, but grass weeds still need to be controlled and the sooner it is done the better. Crops are stressed and these products can add extra stress so conditions need to be appropriate for application. For example, emerging crops should be avoided.

There is nothing that can be done with crops sown in early October which have not emerged due to wet ground conditions at present. Assessments will need to be carried out on crops after another few weeks. Keep slugs away from what has established and avoid stressing that crop.

Seed rates

Some farmers have been planting in recent days and, if rain holds off, more may be out around the country. It is important to adjust seeding rates as the winter draws in.

Teagasc recommends planting Graham winter wheat with a thousand grain weight (TGW) of 52 at a seed rate of 223kg/ha in the second week of November and 230kg/ha in the third week of November. This is while setting out to achieve 300-310 plants/m² and places the establishment rate at 70%.

The recommended seed rate for winter oats is 196kg/ha for WPB Isabel with a TGW of 42, target plant population of 350 and an establishment rate of 75% in the second week of November. Husky with a TGW of 39 has a seed rate of 182kg/ha.

Seed supply

The poor quality of spring cereals is expected to result in a spring cereal seed shortage. This means farmers will most likely have to grow varieties which are not their preference and, unfortunately, may have to grow imported seed. Irish seed has extremely high standards and imported seed, which will also be in short supply due to bad weather in Europe, can bring its own risks.

Grass weeds are the highest risk with imports. Farmers should start to plan their spring planting now and see if there are break crops which could be used to reduce spring cereal area. This will spread risk and workload. Ordering seed with your supplier early will also be a help to securing Irish seed.