Spring barley harvest in Co. Mayo: What a difference a year makes
This time 12 months ago, Co. Mayo-based tillage farmer, Fintan Murray had not started the 2024 spring barley harvest.
This year, however, he is within days of finishing it.
Murray farms near the village of Balla. A member of the Irish Farmers' Association's (IFA’s) national grain committee, he grows a mix of spring barley and spring oats.
His crops were planted out this year during April. And despite the drought conditions that impacted during May, both the barley and the oats have performed remarkably well.
Murray told Agriland: “The good weather makes all the difference. It takes all the stress out of field work.
"We should be finished the spring barley by the middle of next week with the oats to follow at the beginning of September.
“Up to this point the barley has been coming in at around 2.5t/ac. It is all grown for feed. Some is used on the home farm - the rest goes to local customers.
“Straw quality is pretty good across the board. Again, we will use some of it and sell the rest on.”
Murray is very content with the progress made by his spring oat crops over recent weeks.
He said: “We sell most of the oats on with the straw chopped and submitted for the Straw Incorporation Measure.”
Contracting is another element of the Murray business model.
“There have been tremendous crops of silage made in Mayo this year,” Murray said.
“Farmers are also looking to get slurry out early while ground conditions remain good.
"Too many have been caught in the past with poor ground conditions in the run-up to the end of the spreading season.
“And they do not want to take this risk, if it can be avoided."
The Co. Mayo farmer noted that one issue that has come up is the crusting of grass with slurry solids.
“To get around this issue, farmers are adding water to their tanks in order to dilute the slurry," he said.
“We are also happy to do this for clients, if required.”
Meanwhile, Met Éireann is forecasting that the current spell of good weather will continue well into next week.
Monday will bring a mix of warm sunny spells and scattered showers, with temperatures in the range: 19° to 25℃ in light easterly or variable breezes.Tuesday will be similar with sunny spells and scattered showers, mainly in Munster and Connacht.
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday will bring a fair amount of dry weather with sunny spells and some showers.
