The spring sowing campaign is now a smash-and-grab effort. The weekend brought dry weather in places and farmers chose drier fields to work in, but the majority of spring cereals are still to be planted.

Wet weather has put a stop to most work on tillage farms since the beginning of March and many farmers used the weekend to catch up on winter crop husbandry. Some winter crops has yet to receive fertiliser and herbicides as land was not trafficable.

The wet weather, combined with a backlog of work, has made spring sowing chances slim.

Some did get a run on drilling across the weekend. However, large parts of the country, such as the northeast and north Cork are only at 10% sown for spring cereals.

Talking to numerous agronomists this week, the Irish Farmers Journal can report that, on average, 50% is the maximum area of spring crops drilled in drier areas of the country like south and east Cork, and around the Enniscorthy area of Wexford.

Many used the weekend to prioritise spring bean and spring oat planting.

Drills were stopped on Easter Sunday night as rain crossed the country and heavy rain on Tuesday put a stop to work this week.

Current forecasts suggest there will be drying and opportunities to work over the next week on tillage farms, after what have been extremely difficult spring and winter sowing seasons. Maize, beet and potatoes are also due to be planted this month.

The tillage area is expected to be down this season as tillage farmers cannot pay high prices in a highly competitive land market due to new nitrates rules imposed on dairy farms.

Last week, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney said tillage expansion “makes a lot of sense” and insisted Government is “looking at ways” to achieve this. Areas of grass do appear to be sprayed off across the country, whether this is for reseeding or to make use of the Tillage Incentive Scheme is yet to be determined.