This year is shaping up to be a funny season in terms of grass growth. A really dry spring was the boom that the grass seed sector needed, with a near record-breaking number of farmers deciding to reseed fields this spring.

That was followed by a relatively dry period towards the end of June and into July, which saw many farms in the east and south of the country get very dry.

Farmers in that region that were planning to do reseeding in the autumn have decided not to, as they need all the land that they have available.

In contrast, the dry weather has been magic for farmers on heavier land in the north and west that love a dry summer.

Reseeding rates in this region continue to be well up on previous years.

In general, the research says that spring reseeding delivers better outcomes than autumn reseeding, but on heavy soils, farmers know they need to move on reseeding when the conditions allow.

With good grass growth rates and plenty of silage made on heavier farms, this autumn is an ideal opportunity to get more reseeding done, once the weather doesn’t turn too wet.

On pages 50-51, Daire Cregg goes through the steps involved in reseeding paddocks while on pages 42-43 I take a look at some of the issues when reseeding heavier land types, particularly fields that are subject to flooding and what can be done to ensure good grass varieties persist in these swards. On page 48, Martin Merrick reports from the latest research taking place in Moorepark on clover evaluations.

Martin presents information on a new clover index, much like the pasture profit index, this new index is set to revolutionise the way clovers are evaluated.

The move away from purely yield-based evaluations towards important traits like persistency will be a key action as Irish farmers transition away from chemical nitrogen.