A badly delayed spring has hampered many farmers but progress has been made in some pockets.

Most winter crops look decent, but now urgently need feeding and growth. Soil and air temperatures remain low, but crops that received some spring fertiliser have responded to a lesser or greater extent. Barely any spring herbicide has been applied to winter crops and the danger is that weeds will grow rapidly when heat comes, just as farmers are busy with spring planting.

This is particularly true of the many crops that were planted late in the autumn and received no pre-Christmas herbicide.

Southern counties

Good drying on Monday and Tuesday saw fields along the east improve following the weekend snowfall. However, if wet weather returns for the rest of the week, only the driest of ground will be possible to plant before the return of rain.

For the southern half of the country, 17 March is a landmark date. It is the date by which most farmers want to have begun spring planting, the date which questions the merits of spring wheat and is a new threshold date for spring beans.

A lot of catch-up work would be possible with even a week’s unbroken dry weather, but if 1 April comes without sufficient progress, spring wheat and beans will not hold much attraction for farmers.

The three-crop rule means that alternatives to spring barley will be required on most farms, with spring oats and oilseed rape two important options.

Beet grew well last year and it and maize may be in demand from livestock farmers. However, growers would be advised to secure customers before growing fodder crops.

Northern counties

Spring progress in the northern half of the country varies significantly. Growers in the northeast are experiencing a similar spring as those in the south, with the prolonged winter weather preventing spring work. Ploughing progress is very limited, with less than a handful of growers getting crops sown.

Fertiliser spreading and spraying are the priority until ground conditions improve.

In stark contrast, growers in the northwest have largely avoided the heavy snow and rain over the past three weeks.

As a result, reasonable ground conditions have allowed many growers to make good progress with field work. Spring ploughing is under way and fertiliser applications are largely up to date. Some growers are holding off spring weed control until temperatures pick up. A few growers have begun planting spring crops as the weekend easterly winds brought good drying conditions. However, it is still early for farmers in this area and with rain forecast, spring planting isn’t a top priority.

West

Meanwhile, progress in the west remains slow, with little or no field work under way. Reports from Galway suggest that land has dried well over the past week. Ploughing and fertiliser are the priorities but it is still early for planting spring crops in that part of the country.