Tillage farmers have been struggling to get spring crops planted and were halted in their work last Thursday and Friday as rain came once again. The windows to work are brief. Some farmers in the southeast got sowing again on Sunday. In other areas it was Tuesday, but from the midlands up progress is slower.
More rain is in the forecast for Thursday and Friday of this week with showers forecast at the weekend.
In the southeast, a good 75-80% of spring cereals could be planted, but in other areas this could be 25-30%, while some farmers have no cereals planted.
Some farmers were able to tip away at fertiliser and spraying of winter crops, but land needs to dry out to sow.
The vast majority of spring barley is yet to be planted. An estimate could be that about 30% is planted, but many farmers have no crops in.
Beans have been a priority for people, but many crops are still to be planted as well.
They were top of the list this week.
As the middle of April approaches, it is getting late to plant, but beans offer a good return to farmers so it is a hard decision to make.
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