Co. Donegal cereal grower, Hugh Kelly, has confirmed that he won’t be growing winter cereals again, such has been the impact of the weather on his business over recent years.

“I used to grow great crops of winter wheat, with 4.5t/ac a regular enough occurrence," he told Agriland.

“Autumn cereals are just too big a risk to take. The crop losses that kick in during the winter period are just too big to take.

“By the time harvest comes around, at least one third of the crop’s potential could be lost. This makes all the difference when it comes to making a profit or racking up big losses," he added.

Kelly farms between Lifford and St. Johnston with his 100ac of ground marching the banks of the River Foyle.

“The land is good enough to grow excellent crops of cereals, but for me, the future lies with spring barley," he continued.

"The 2024 harvest is, more or less, wrapped up in Donegal. There are a few crops of spring beans yet to be harvested, and that’s it."

With regard to his own spring barley, Kelly secured yields in the range 2.7t/ac to 3.1t/ac.

“A fair bit of the crops went down following heavy rains that hit Donegal around the middle of August. But it wasn’t the end of the world. All of the spring crops were save," he explained.

“Straw yields have been exceptional from this year’s spring crops, this is where the profit lies."

Kelly added that "half of this year’s straw was round baled with the remainder put into small, square bales".

Kelly was extremely disappointed with the outcome of Budget 2025. He represents Donegal on the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) National Grain Committee.

“The €100/ha support payment must be increased, and I know that the IFA is working away in the background in an effort to achieve this,” he stressed.