It will be a wet weekend, according to Met Éireann, with not much opportunity for grazing.

Saturday morning will be cloudy and windy with outbreaks of rain, turning heavy and persistent for a time. However, the rain will clear eastwards and sunny spells will develop in the afternoon. Highest temperatures of 10°C to 13°C.

Saturday night will be cold for a time, with lowest temperatures of 2°C to 5°C and a patchy frost in places. Freshening southerly winds and increasing cloud from the Atlantic should bring a rise in temperatures later in the night.

Sunday will be windy and mostly cloudy. A few bright spells in eastern areas at first, but rain in western and northwest areas in the morning will spread to eastern areas in the afternoon and winds will increase. Top temperatures 10°C or 11°C.

Colder, drier, less windy weather will follow overnight, with scattered showers, some wintry in western areas. Lowest temperatures 0°C or -1°C, with frost and some icy patches developing before dawn.

Next week

Early indications suggest that the early days of next week will be cold and changeable, with rain or wintry showers at times. It will be cold and frosty at night too, with some icy patches in places.

Management notes

In beef management this week, Adam Woods discusses the phenomenon of compensatory growth, calving records and dirty cattle.

For dairy, Aidan Brennan writes about the difficulties caused by bad weather in terms of grazing.

In tillage management, Andy Doyle lays out the best guidelines for planting under current ground conditions.

And in sheep management, Darren Carty talks about treatment for scab and lice.

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