2019 has come to an end and many farmers would be forgiven for remembering it as a challenging year for weather.
This is certainly the case for the second half of the year. However, despite a slow start in some places, the first half of 2019 proved to be an excellent year for growth and ground conditions.
Let’s take a look back at the weather over the past 12 months.
January
The year got off to a somewhat backward start. January and February were unseasonably dry for many and temperatures reached highs of 16°C in places.
Much of January saw good dry days and night time temperatures of 5°C to 8°C.
Husky oats in our cover crop mix with fully formed seed heads. Crops haven’t stopped growing since being sown following winter barley! pic.twitter.com/dzrz2vZcYZ
— Stephen Robb (@StephenRobbFJ) January 2, 2019
The unusually mild weather generated more debate on spreading fertiliser, with fields getting visibly greener earlier and grass growth taking place.
As a result, once the appropriate dates had passed, slurry and chemical fertiliser were applied earlier than normal in some locations. There was also a lot of early field work done, such as ploughing and spraying.
Darren Carty discusses the unusually mild #weather, which is generating more debate on spreading #fertiliser. https://t.co/LYNm2qxiBe
— Farmers Journal (@farmersjournal) January 13, 2019
However, the end of January marked the return of cooler weather, with some rain, hail, frost, sleet and even snow making an appearance, as temperatures ranged between -2°C and 2°C.
Rainfall on most farms was below average for the time of year. The exception being the east of the country, which received up to 120% of the norm in places.
February
February saw Storm Erik sweep across counties Donegal, Mayo and Galway, bringing gusts of up to 130km/h. Weather warnings stayed in place for a couple of days. This was followed by low temperatures, which brought widespread frost and temperatures down to -3°C.
#StormErik has been named by @MetEireann for the area of low pressure arriving on Friday. Impacts will be greatest across Ireland though warnings are in force across parts of the UK – Stay #weatheraware pic.twitter.com/ca1VqXoQ6G
— Met Office (@metoffice) February 7, 2019
Despite the cooler conditions, by the second week of February there was an abundance of grass on farms, so cows were let out day and night if conditions were dry enough.
With heavy frost in parts of the country, vigilance was advised around feeding forage crops. It was not recommended to feed these frozen crops, as sudden deaths could occur from feeding. Rainfall amounts remained below average for most parts of the country.
Due to the mild winter, where fertiliser hadn’t been applied, winter crops were looking hungry. By the end of the month, the first of the spring cereals were being sown in parts of the country.
March
Winter appeared to arrive as spring was set to begin, when snow and sleet in early March brought the prospect of any field work to a stop.
Ground conditions soon turned wet. The first week of the month saw very cold daytime temperatures, but there were long sunny spells mixed with wintry showers.
The western seaboard bore the brunt of the wet weather, with accumulated rainfall levels for the first two weeks in March exceeding 90mm in some parts. That’s more than what fell in the whole month of February. Many animals were brought indoors for the month.
Towards the end of the month, ground began to dry and growers were chomping at the bit to get some work done. Recent sunshine and heat drove growth and earlier crops moved well into stem extension. Hungry crops look hungrier.
Eamon Murphy from Co Wexford demonstrating horse ploughing at The 36th European Ploughing Championships in Ballinaboola @NPAIE #Ploughing19 pic.twitter.com/707QHKdJUM
— Farmers Journal (@farmersjournal) March 30, 2019
In general, active disease levels were low, but there was a lot of old mildew about and there was also an amount of yellow, brown and crown rust infections which needed to be watched.
Early-sown spring crops emerged well. The main jobs needed to be done were weed control and growth regulation and T1s on winter barley.
This week @StephenRobbFJ talks to growers in Wexford, Galway and Laois. All growers are now back in the fields as ground conditions improve. Click here for the full article and more videos ?? https://t.co/os5fvI4m51 pic.twitter.com/CdAT6dZLGg
— Farmers Journal (@farmersjournal) March 30, 2019
Grass was in abundant supply on farms by the end of the month. The Irish Farmers Journal also launched its own weather station network that month.
As part of the 2019 From the tramlines season, the @farmersjournal will place weather stations on each of the tramline farms. @sencrop @CortevaUK https://t.co/HmQHnrrwwZ
— Farmers Journal (@farmersjournal) March 9, 2019
April
Dry conditions returned in April and brought with it a burst of field work. Total rainfall for the first seven days was less than 5% of the average amount of rainfall which would be expected for the time of year.
April
Dry conditions returned in April and brought with it a burst of field work. Total rainfall for the first seven days was less than 5% of the average amount of rainfall which would be expected for the time of year.
All go in Donegal today sowing Gangway spring barley at 190kg/ha. Ground conditions good but still very cold! Plan on sowing @Goldcrop spring barley variety plots tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/2k6chQHJnu
— Stephen Robb (@StephenRobbFJ) April 13, 2019
Good daytime temperatures helped land to dry and soak and there was a good bit of drilling going on at the start of the month.
Forward rape crops needed their remaining nitrogen applied, as flowers were very evident at this time.
April also saw a plume of Saharan dust make its way 3,000km northwest to Ireland.
Nice dusting of #SaharanDust across Donegal this morning! pic.twitter.com/DVTNhG1aTl
— Stephen Robb (@StephenRobbFJ) April 24, 2019
April’s weather then settled down considerably, due to an extensive high pressure area developing across Scandinavia and much of mainland EU, bringing very mild, warm and sunny conditions into the Easter weekend.
Many parts of the country had finished sowing spring cereals by 17 April, so the attention turned to planting maize, potatoes and spring rape. Temperatures rose considerably that week and many areas saw highs of up to 20°C during Easter weekend.
Super temperatures recorded by our @sencrop stations today! Long may it last????@farmersjournal pic.twitter.com/RunszHmApk
— Stephen Robb (@StephenRobbFJ) April 19, 2019
However, field work came to a halt at the end of the month with the onset of wet and windy weather.
Wet and windy conditions last night across our 24 weather stations, gust reaching 86km/hr in Limerick, 74km/hr Wexford. @farmersjournal @sencrop #FJweather #StormHannah pic.twitter.com/kih6eNGWra
— Stephen Robb (@StephenRobbFJ) April 27, 2019
May
May got off to a dry bright start, but rain showers became widespread and heavy by the end of the first week.
Temperatures of -1°C to 2°C were recorded in places at the start of the month, which slowed crop development. It was also the likely cause of some blank grain issues in winter barley crops this year.
Crop disease levels were low in winter cereals, but aphids were easily found in crops of spring barley which were planted since late March and needed to be treated.
Contractor Philip Hughes planting maize with his new Samco 7100 six-row drill in Tullow Co Carlow. @samcosystem pic.twitter.com/VN9VPXzaqd
— FJ Machinery (@FJMachinery) May 14, 2019
We also saw great weather for the Balmoral Show in Co Down in mid-May.
Large crowds arriving for day 2 of @balmoralshow ?? Weather is looking good with temperatures set to reach 16 degrees and higher?? #BalmoralShow19 pic.twitter.com/hOxscIOoJv
— Farmers Journal (@farmersjournal) May 16, 2019
The weather broke in the middle of the month in places, although this didn’t amount to much.
Ironically, we saw some farmers around the country looking for a decent spill of rain or a soft day. Not a common sentiment for the third week of May, where rain normally spells trouble.
Average grass growth rates were beginning to decrease by 20 May. Grass was growing at a rate of 80kg to 90kg/day the week before, but had decreased to 60kg to 70kg/day in the space of a week due to moisture stress.
Soil moisture deficits were above 40mm to 55mm over parts of Munster and Connacht during this time. Elsewhere, soil moisture deficits were around 30mm to 35mm.
However, May did present lots of good silage-making weather.
Local man John O Connell gives a live demo with a Conor wuffler. Aids the wilting process and cuts down on the number of bales being made. ?@FJBeef? ?@farmersjournal? ?@AurivoFarmProf? ?@teagasc? pic.twitter.com/JhkgHpmr0b
— Adam Woods (@ajwwoods) May 21, 2019
John Stone Plant and Agri at #silage2019 today, near Luggacurren in Co Laois ?? The Deutz 6210 is driving a JF-1060 harvester. They are drawing with a 6160 Deutz with a 20 ft Fieldmaster Smyth trailer ??@farmersjournal pic.twitter.com/angHkfD007
— FJ Machinery (@FJMachinery) May 13, 2019
May was the driest month of the year and Met Éireann records indicate that rainfall for most tillage regions ranged from one-third to half the normal monthly rainfall level.
However, across the north, rainfall totals came in higher, with 30% to 70% of the usual rainfall recorded here.
Oak Park in Co Carlow experienced its driest May since 1991, receiving just 14.1mm of rain all month.
The end of the month saw more unsettled weather, with cooler and fresher conditions returning.
All of our @sencrop stations received a drop of rain over the past week which was welcomed by most! Better temps in the northern half of the country today as the summer kicks off. Check out the live feed here >> https://t.co/CO7E8j8vYd @farmersjournal pic.twitter.com/dkttOwkgdF
— Stephen Robb (@StephenRobbFJ) June 1, 2019
The wet weather continued into June, causing a challenge for farmers and contractors who were lifting silage.
The mixed weather in June was due to a weaker jet stream over Ireland, explained climatologist John Sweeney from Maynooth University who spoke to the Irish Farmers Journal.
Parts of the country were in for a very wet month
Contractor Robert Power fights to beat the weather as another deluge of rain moves across Co Wexford ??
— Farmers Journal (@farmersjournal) June 12, 2019
.
Robert is drawing silage for Gabriel McDonnell just outside of Ferns ??
.#silage19 #wexford #contractor #weather @FJMachinery #FJSilage2019 pic.twitter.com/6chjtHYwaJ
By 20 June, winter wheat crops were at various stages of flowering and spring barley was heading to flowering.
A few fine, warm and bright days were just what the doctor ordered. We also saw the first crops of winter barley begin to turn in parts of the country.
Luckily, the weather improved towards the end of the month for the Crops and Spreaders event in Teagasc Oak Park.
A quick look at the machines lined up for tomorrow’s demo at Crops & Spreaders ?? @teagasc pic.twitter.com/Ph0JwbSs0J
— Farmers Journal (@farmersjournal) June 25, 2019
A good growing year also lead to large crops of hay and silage.
July
The 2019 cereal harvest kicked off around 10 July and for many growers, their winter barley harvest went fairly smoothly. While yields disappointed, progress was steady until the last week of the month, where broken weather settled in once again.
The harvest has kicked off on the farm of James English in Cahir Co Tipperary ?? Check out this video ?? #FJHarvest19 pic.twitter.com/k7vgJSvUD2
— Farmers Journal (@farmersjournal) July 12, 2019
All go in Carlow this weekend as James O’Reilly makes short work of his winter barley. @FJTillage pic.twitter.com/IVr2GyjPzg
— Stephen Robb (@StephenRobbFJ) July 14, 2019
The sun also shone at this year's Irish Farmers Journal Tullamore Farm open day on 22 July.
It’s all happening on @farmersjournal Tullamore farm today with a trailing shoe slurry demo being set up as part of the @teagasc grassland stand. Farm a hive of activity today with stands going up and last minute preparations being completed. @FJBeef @FJSheep #tullamorefarm pic.twitter.com/u4Bhjx6HG8
— Adam Woods (@ajwwoods) July 22, 2019
When broken weather returned, little did growers know that that would mark the end of the settled weather for the rest of the year.
Playing the waiting game once again! ????@farmersjournal pic.twitter.com/nxPpVNb4YM
— Stephen Robb (@StephenRobbFJ) July 29, 2019
August
Self-styled weather guru Ken Ring predicted that August would be wet - and he wasn’t far off.
The month of August will be predominantly wet, according to self-styled weather guru Ken Ring.https://t.co/KPDOmSOUpd
— Farmers Journal (@farmersjournal) August 8, 2019
As a consequence of a few dry months, soil moisture deficits were between 30mm and 50mm over much of Leinster and Munster, but were lower elsewhere at the start of August.
However, Mother Nature soon sought to correct this and Met Éireann issued a status yellow rainfall waning for these regions on 8 August.
Weather Alert for Rainfall. Level Yellow. For Munster and Leinster. Valid 7pm Thursday 8th to 7am Friday 9th.https://t.co/ozrQHtoOkt pic.twitter.com/SGS7Qzq7oc
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) August 7, 2019
During the first two weeks of August, weather conditions deteriorated significantly, with prolonged periods of heavy, thundery rain in a lot of areas. This weather took its toll on ground conditions.
Luckily, the weather held for the Tullamore Show.
Charolais judging in full swing in the @irishcharolais ring at the @tullamoreshow. This is the February/March class of heifers. Great turnout in front of the international congress visitors. Sun is even making an appearance now. @farmersjournal @FJBeef pic.twitter.com/2XxyKOOsyj
— Adam Woods (@ajwwoods) August 11, 2019
The weather was very awkward for harvesting, but winter barley was virtually completed and winter oats were well under way by 8 August. The emerging problems with winter barley straw remaining unbaled on the ground were beginning to materialise at this stage.
At least we're all in this together this year #Harvest19 @farmersjournal pic.twitter.com/Iu7i5ykzxR
— Stephen Robb (@StephenRobbFJ) August 19, 2019
We also saw substantial lodging, with areas in Meath and Tipperary particularly badly affected. Lodged areas of spring barley and winter wheat began to sprout. There was also a small amount of sprouting reported in standing wheat crops.
The last weekend of August was a blessing in the sky weather-wise for many growers and a huge amount of harvest work was done.
By the end of the month, progress ranged from about 50% cut towards the northwest, where weather had been much less agreeable, to over 80% cut across much of the rest of the country.
Some areas in the south were well inside the last 5% of their cereal harvest. Oilseed rape planting was completed in largely good conditions.
Burt Castle #LoveDonegal @Donegal_Connect pic.twitter.com/h6hAuYLGTz
— Stephen Robb (@StephenRobbFJ) August 15, 2019
September
September 2019 will be remembered for the incredible few days of weather which coincided with the National Ploughing Championships, where blue skies and sunshine dominated.
Johnny Lyne, Ballyheigue, Co. Kerry cools down with an ice cream cone at the National Ploughing Championships at Ballintrane, Fenagh, Co. Carlow. #Ploughing19 pic.twitter.com/wbfn8bWIcB
— Farmers Journal (@farmersjournal) September 17, 2019
However, the first week of the month saw some contrasting weather. In the west and northwest, rainfall amounts were well above normal.
Between 40mm and 80mm fell over a 24-hour period in some places. However, much of Leinster and east Munster had below-normal rainfall amounts over the week.
The week of the Ploughing, with highs of 22°C, allowed many of the remaining acres of cereals to be harvested. There was many thousands of tonnes of straw remaining on the ground at that stage.
The weather broke again after the ploughing and hasn’t settled since. Heavy rain at the end of the month caused some spot flooding in places and took its toll on ground conditions. Soil temperatures were generally between 1°C and 3°C above average for that time of year.
Main Donegal to Dublin route blocked tonight after severe flooding in Sion Mills. Around 50mm on our Donegal weather station so far today, much of which fell in the past few hours. @farmersjournal pic.twitter.com/q8V2svVFrP
— Stephen Robb (@StephenRobbFJ) September 22, 2019
Bit of a shower last night has finished grazing 2019 in Cavan for the big ladies....#badweekgreatyear pic.twitter.com/9kgBpJLWKz
— Adam Woods (@ajwwoods) September 29, 2019
By the end of the month, many growers were finished harvesting their cereals, but there was still a little cutting to be done in areas that had poor weather.
October
Weather conditions at the start of October made grazing and field work very difficult in a lot of areas. There was much talk on the implications of incoming storm Lorenzo, with several wind warnings issued across the country.
However, despite days of warnings, little damage was done.Met Éireann has issued a status orange wind warning for counties along the western seaboard, with up to 50mm of rain forecast across the country as #Lorenzo passes over the country. https://t.co/GJfJ5OX3iT
— Farmers Journal (@farmersjournal) October 2, 2019
Here we go again. Lorenzo, please don’t make a total mess of this ???? pic.twitter.com/MPSe48SabR
— Stephen Robb (@StephenRobbFJ) October 1, 2019
Wet weather really played havoc on winter sowing and potato harvesting during October. Only 30% of the national potato crop had been harvested by the end of the month.
Find out how weather is affecting tillage farmers across the country ??https://t.co/c3oFK0Jiqo
— Farmers Journal (@farmersjournal) October 21, 2019
Consistent rain during the month meant that around 50% of 2018’s winter cereal area was planted. During the month, there were still amounts of cereals and bean crops to be harvested.
Some growers availed of a short window in the last week of the month to make some progress. However, frosty nights caused some concern for potato growers who still had some acres left to harvest.
Spotted outside Emyvale in Co Monaghan. Harvest 2019 rumbles on for some.. pic.twitter.com/o1tsSV7Fe5
— Stephen Robb (@StephenRobbFJ) October 22, 2019
November
November offered no let-up with the weather. While rainfall amounts were variable around the country, very few areas had been able to get a clear run at work for any more than two to three days.
The general condition of planted crops depended very much on when they were planted. Crops planted in good conditions got a reasonable chance, whereas those planted later and in poor conditions really struggled to get up.
Wet spots and springs really began to appear in all fields this autumn, which caused crop loss in those areas.
Despite the mucky start, we’re up and away. #crop2020 pic.twitter.com/qpLn7DG3KI
— Stephen Robb (@StephenRobbFJ) November 3, 2019
Ground conditions improved somewhat towards the end of the month. Ploughs came back out in places and there was some planting done. Conditions were marginal at best.
November saw the first frost warning of the season - for Connacht, Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Offaly, Westmeath, Meath, Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary.
The weather forecaster warned of “very cold” air temperatures ranging from -4°C to 2°C . This warning was shortly followed by a weather warning for rainfall.
Met Éireann has issued two weather warnings for parts of the country, with up to 50mm of rain forecast in parts?????????https://t.co/oPym0qSCMl
— Farmers Journal (@farmersjournal) November 21, 2019
The remainder of the potato harvest was a real struggle for growers, but some progress was made during the month.
The ‘dry’ parts are just about workable. The wet parts...let’s not talk about them. pic.twitter.com/OIhfR2JPLV
— Stephen Robb (@StephenRobbFJ) November 16, 2019
However, some areas fared out better than others.
*Ear to the Ground Tonight RTÉ One 8.30pm*
— Ronan Flanagan (@ronanfla83) November 28, 2019
Weather is playing havoc with the tail end of the harvest.@MsHelenCarroll sees first hand on Ivan Curran's farm.@StephenRobbFJ gives insight into the overall state of play as farmers are getting bogged down.#ettg #spuds pic.twitter.com/vzGox8wyK2
December
December saw some very cold and frosty nights, with some snow on high ground. Ground conditions failed to improve significantly after months of wet weather, but some field work was still going on.
The best yields ever recorded at our Beet trial in Cobh today. Highlights were ‘Geronimo’ medium dry matter fodder beet yielding 48.3t/acre while ‘Alisha’ sugar beet yielded 41.5t/acre. Both varieties are from @KWSUKLtd. Exceptional performance and excellent harvest weather pic.twitter.com/pBDgIZS081
— Goldcrop (@Goldcrop) December 4, 2019
While crops have been very slow to emerge, many did come through and the establishment may have been better than had been anticipated. The low soil temperature may have helped with this.
The month saw several rainfall and wind warnings in place and the onset of storm Elsa.
Met Éireann has said the weekend ahead will be raw with bright sunshine at times and snow, frost and ice in places too ????https://t.co/1yxMwRBy0q
— Farmers Journal (@farmersjournal) December 13, 2019
The Irish Farmers Journal Sencrop weather station network saw 24 weather stations placed on 12 farms across the country during 2019. Check out the rainfall data across the 12 stations from April to 18 December below.
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