Spring cereal sowing is now completed in most areas after a spell of settled weather.

Cereals were drilled in excellent conditions, with little pressure on growers to get work done due to the dry weather.

With the exception of intense crow pressure in some areas, emergence is good across the board.

Growers are hopeful that sowing will be finished by the weekend

The exception is in the north and northwest, where broken, wet weather has staggered field work and made sowing a challenge.

Around 50%-60% of the planned spring cereal area is sown here. Growers are hopeful that sowing will be finished by the weekend, however.

Elsewhere, maize and beet planting is ongoing, with potato planting ahead of schedule in some areas.

Ground conditions remain good, but temperatures are low.

Dryness

Some areas, particularly in the southeast?,? are in real need of moisture as little rain has fallen for the better part of a month.

While most areas are not under pressure yet, all would welcome a day’s rain if it fell.

The exception is the north, which saw over 20mm of rain fall in areas over the past week.

Growers have had to be selective with spray tank mixes and be particular on timings

Livestock farmers in the southeast are also hoping for rain as grass growth rates plummet on drier soils and silage is being fed to supplement grazing.

Cool temperatures have delayed spraying in many areas over the past week. Growers have had to be selective with spray tank mixes and be particular on timings.

Scorch

There does appear to be an amount of scorch in sprayed crops, however.

Many winter barley and oat crops have now received a T1 fungicide spray but in general disease pressure remains low. Nitrogen programmes are now complete in many of these crops.

Growers are still actively watching out for yellow rust in winter wheat, with reports of low levels of septoria in some crops.

Earlier-sown spring barley crops are now due a herbicide and aphicide.