Winter cereal crops look exceptional at the moment. Grain growers are on track for excellent yields if ripening and harvesting weather comes any way right.

Spring crops are much more variable, and while the spring sown crops saved margins on many farms last year, it looks like it’s the turn of winter crops to carry the heavy lifting on input costs in 2025.

The performance of the rye crops stood out at the Goldcrop variety trial open days this week. An alternative to wholecrop wheat that is easier to manage and produces a fantastic yield of straw and grain means rye is a real draw for tillage farmers.

Forage crops grown on contract for livestock farmers has long been talked about but hasn’t really taken off. Given the price and scarcity of beef now, some industry experts were speculating that maybe some livestock farmers are looking at growing rye as a real option.

It can go for high yields of quality grain or the silage pit as quality forage instead of tying up funds that are already stretched due to investing in scarce livestock.

At a target yield of 10t/ha and an estimated gross margin of over €1,000/ha, it might well be a crop that could increase in popularity in coming years.

High yield

That predicted gross margin is almost €200/ha ahead of a relatively high yielding first crop of wheat. Is it the new sugar beet for tillage farmers?

A shift into producing feed for livestock farmers by some grain growers might be one of the reasons behind the tillage hectares holding up in 2024/25.

Many were expecting tillage hectares to decline further, but the preliminary results released by the Department of Agriculture this week suggest the sector has just about held its own at 344,000 hectares.

This is of course a far cry from the 400,000 hectares Government target for the sector.

Clearly a better financial support package is necessary to entice more tillage hectares under the plough given the pressures on rented land price, grain price and alternative land uses.

I see some of the recommended low protein dairy feed mixes suggesting 20% to 30% inclusion of imported soya hulls.

You would have to wonder if there was some incentive to grow oats on contract, whether this would be not only a far better value feed for livestock, but also an alternative option for grain growers.

Oats as a crop is well suited to Ireland, has had consistent yields in recent years, and is relatively straightforward to grow compared to other crops.

Currently at about 10% of the total tillage area and all the environmental sustainability talk, you would wonder if a specific campaign had merit.

Price

A predicted price at harvest lower than €200 per tonne is pouring misery on what otherwise has been a very decent year for tillage farmers to-date.

Even with decent yield tonnage in winter crops, it is hard to stand up and be confident of delivering gross margins of over €700/ha for wheat crops and something similar or less for barley crops. The five-year, €65 million package long talked about for tillage farmers must be established sooner rather than later or further contraction of the tillage area would be expected.

A key point to note is the 2026 season is being planned now. Catch crops will be planted in a matter of weeks. There needs to be some urgency on support and a vision for the sector.

The variation in weather, lack of new chemistry and tightening regulations mean growers are struggling, while imports continue from countries with much less stringent rules.

We either want to maintain this sector or we don’t – let’s not decide to let it wither away like some other agri sectors.