Teagasc estimates the Irish cereal harvest to drop by 11.3% this year to 1.74m tonnes. This is one of the lowest totals since 1994 and the third lowest since 1985, according to the agency. This means 630,000t less grains will come out of tillage farms this year than in 2017, with more than half of the losses occurring in barley production.

"A sharp reduction in straw yields is also predicted with an overall reduction of between 25% and 30% expected,” said Teagasc head of crops knowledge transfer Michael Hennessy.

Barley

Although it was the only crop with a marginally higher sown area this year, spring barley is expected to see a 25% drop in production due to poor yields. "Spring barley yields will be halved in many cases, with the average yields predicted to be 26% lower," said Hennessy.

Conversely, winter barley yields are resisting well despite the weather, but a drop in the sown area means a forecast 20% drop in output. Overall, the barley harvest is expected to drop by over 350,000t this year.

Wheat

Wheat is proportionately more severely hit than barley. Winter wheat production is due to fall by 27% under the combined effects of reduced area and falling yields. Winter wheat is practically wiped out with output due to plummet by more than half to just 24,000t.

Overall wheat production is falling by up to 200,000t.

Oats

Both spring and winter oats see their area and yields drop too, most dramatically for the winter crop where production is down 43%. Spring oats production is expected to fall by 36%.

The oats harvest will drop by over 80,000t this year.

According to Teagasc, other crops such as beans and peas will be badly affected in 2018 with yield drops of 50% to 70% expected compared with 2017.

These dramatic yield drops will be somewhat compensated for with an increase in grain prices of €30/t (+20%) compared with last year, and increased demand for straw has seen prices increase by over 100%, the estimates show.