Weather: Weather looks like it will pick up over the weekend which will be welcomed by people with crops to cut. There are many crops of beans and an odd cereal crop still to be harvested. The current wet weather is ideal for slugs so farmers with rye and oilseed rape should be extra vigilant. As the weather gets drier it will allow pellets to last a bit longer. Those with crops in the ground should monitor slug numbers. Put a slate on the ground with some porridge under it to attract slugs and monitor numbers to decide if an application is needed.

Rye: Many people will be planting rye if the weather dries up. It can be planted earlier without the same risks of disease or barley yellow dwarf virus. However, if grass weeds are a problem it should not be planted early as the weeds will be more of an issue. You should not plant rye without a market. If the merchant or co-op that sold you the seed is not going to buy the grain then you should not plant.

Oats: There are sheds of oats unsold across the country. Prices are not good for the crop and while markets could turn, growers should consult with their grain buyer before planting. Oats have been a reliable crop in recent years with lower inputs than other cereal crops but at lower prices and a risky market the pros and cons of the crop need to be considered.

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Despite the lack of markets for Irish oats and rye, farmers must still comply with the two- and three-crop rules.

Three-crop rule: As you make your cropping plans for the year ahead, you should remember that you must comply with crop diversification requirements. If you have 10ha of tillage crops you do not need to do anything. If you have 10-20ha of tillage crops you need to grow at least two crops, the largest of those crops should not take up more than 75% of the ground. If you have 30ha or more, then you need to grow at least three crops.

The main crop cannot be more than 75% of the tillage area and the two main crops cannot take up more than 95% of the tillage area. Farmers can grow one crop where they plant 50% of their land area in catch crops, provided they have chosen this option on their application. Rotation requirements no longer apply unless you have signed up to them in a paper application.

Soil samples: Soil samples taken from 15 September on need to be attached to a location. This means you need to attach a sample to a LPIS number (the number of a land parcel in your Basic Income Support for Sustainability scheme application).

If you have more than one sample in the LPIS number they can be labelled A, B or C. You can also identify the samples using geo referencing and GPS locations.

Some professional soil samplers will have a GPS location for each sample. This will also meet requirements for this new measure.