Storm Amy’s wind has helped to dry out tillage fields significantly and many farmers were ploughing, tilling or sowing on Monday of this week, despite most not yet knowing the final price for the grain they delivered in 2025.

Winter barley is the main priority at present and the trade reports that people are opting for Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus-tolerant varieties as much as possible. Wheat and rye is also being planted and the area of rye is reported to be increasing as farmers move to a lower input cost crop. However, some merchants will only take the grain in small amounts, while others do not want the product.

Potatoes are also being dug at pace in some parts of the country, while the majority of maize has now been harvested with some fields still not ready to be harvested. The early harvest of break crops is allowing winter crops to go into these fields in good conditions.

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This time last year the majority of beans were still to be harvested across the country, whereas the fine weather in late September this year moved a lot of the crops that had not been cut in August.