The harvest has turned into a messy affair. Heavy rain and showers are making it extremely hard for farmers to get work done.
It is a case of taking every opportunity that arises to cut. Some farmers made a break for the fields on Monday evening and Wednesday afternoon but rain halted progress again.
There was some harvesting carried out last week, on Wednesday and Thursday, but opportunities to harvest crops are very small. Last week saw 200% to 400% of the average rainfall in different areas across the country.
More crops were cut last week from the midlands and further north, compared to the bulk of the action in the south of the country before this.
Yields were reported lower with 3t/ac crops of winter barley reported. While there were still crops hitting over 3.5t/ac and up to 4t/ac, the range was wider last week with 3.2t/ac and 3.3t/ac being reported on crops. Bushel or KPH levels remained similar at 62-66 or 67. The oats harvest has also started, but it is early for yields. Oilseed rape will be ready for many farmers in the coming days as well.
Straw
There is a lot of straw still to be baled due to the wet weather and it is very early to talk about yields.
This week’s rain has really added to difficulty in getting straw turned, baled and loaded.
Some early yield indications are for 6-11 round 4X4 bales per acre. This is back significantly.
Winter barley crops would often be at 14 to 15 bales to the acre or higher in some years.
Wheat prices were up slightly on Tuesday, while oilseed rape prices were up almost €12/t since Friday.
