Chair of the Irish Grain Growers Group, Bobby Miller, has called for the cultivation requirements under nitrates to be alleviated for this year to take some pressure off farmers in what is a very difficult season. At present, tillage farmers are required to cultivate stubbles within 14 days of harvest.

Miller was speaking at the national fodder and food security committee meeting on Wednesday 19 July where Michael Hennessy, head of crops knowledge transfer at Teagasc, stated that winter barley “is a salvage job on many farms”.

“Some of these really ripe crops are breaking down day on day,” he added.

Hennessy commented that crops will need a long time to dry out, will have to be cut at high moisture levels and that there is a lot of work to be done in a small window of time.

Ground conditions are also deteriorating. Hennessy explained that every day of rain is making it harder to collect straw from fields.

Miller commented that last season brought good weather, price and yield and that 2023 is now the opposite, meaning that tillage farmers are facing a very difficult time with prices down by approximately 30%.