Weekend weather: staying mostly dry before heavy rain on Sunday

Friday will be mainly dry with some sunny spells. Top temperatures of 10°C to 12°C with light to moderate southwesterly breezes. There will be some rain tonight along southern and western coastal areas in fresh southerly winds.

Saturday

The best of the sunshine will be in the east and north on Saturday, with the west and south expected to be duller. There will be rain over the southern half of the country and by the afternoon this will spread northwards. Top temperatures of 11°C to 13°C and it will be breezy. By Saturday night there will be heavy rain in southwest Munster, and edging slowly northeastwards over the rest of Munster by the morning.

Sunday

The wet weather will spread to the rest of the country on Sunday morning, with heavy showers on the forecast. Gusty southeasterly winds will move west in Munster from the afternoon, clearing the rain there. The clearance will move northeastwards, reaching Ulster after nightfall. Most places will by dry by Sunday night with variable cloud amounts. Minimum temperatures of 1°C to 5°C, with a touch of grass frost in parts of Munster and south Leinster

In the beef notes, Adam Woods covers BPS applications, vaccines, dosing purchased animals and grass supply.

Aidan Brennan writes why it’s worth considering getting grass samples analysed for mineral content in the dairy notes. He also look at what to consider in advance of the breeding season and milk urea nitrogen.

Shearing activity, grazing management and a reminder on tasks for the Knowledge Transfer sheep programme are in Darren Carty's sheep notes.

The dry spell means farmers are busy in the fields. However, it is still cold, writes Andy Doyle in the tillage notes. Also covered is spraying and nitrogen.