Friday

Met Éireann has forecasted that a few bright spells should dominate eastern areas before cloud spreads from the west.

This cloud cover will bring some light rain and patchy drizzle, especially along the western coast.

Highest temperatures will range from 10°C to 13°C, with southwestern gusts increasing to moderate to fresh winds.

Lowest temperatures of 7°C to 10°C will be felt on Friday night.

Saturday

Saturday is to start cloudy and breezy, with outbreaks of rain.

These showers are set to clear from the northwest, as it develops into a mild day.

Highest temperatures will reach 10°C to 13°C before dropping to between 0°C and 4°C on Saturday night.

Sunday

Outbreaks of rain and drizzle will be heaviest on Sunday afternoon. These showers will be prevalent across much of the west and northwest.

Highest temperatures of 8°C to 11°C are to be expected, with southwest winds fresh to strong blowing across the country.

Management notes

Sheep

In this week’s sheep notes, Darren Carty addresses the issue of in-lamb ewes being presented for slaughter, the feed value of cheaper ration ingredients found in cheaper concentrate mixes and the deadline for returning sheep census documentation to the Department of Agriculture.

Tillage

Andy Doyle takes a look at the unusually dry end we are having to January, upcoming sprayer retesting deadlines and the early nitrogen considerations for dense winter rape stands.

Dairy

The management of colostrum after calving, labour-saving tips for spring-calving dairy herds and current grass growing conditions are discussed by Aidan Brennan in this week’s dairy notes.

Beef

Adam Woods covers the tight margins of calf beef systems, the updated ICBF genetic evaluations and the Irish Farmers Journal spring webinar series.