Grain Growers Wait for Weather Window as Conditions Lead to Yield Loss of €100m

The IFA National Grain Committee met in Portlaoise this morning to assess the impact of the weather on the harvest. Chairman Noel Delany said, “As September approaches, only one-third of the harvest has been cut as the incessant wet weather makes conditions very difficult. Yields are down 25% and 500,000t in potential grain production has been lost at this stage, leaving growers down €100m compared to last year. Some of the straw that has been cut will also be lost because of the persistent rain.”
Noel Delany described the mood at this morning’s meeting as downbeat. “Every day the weather fails to pick up more damage is done to crops and the yield potential is slipping. Because there has been no let-up in the rainfall, ground conditions remain challenging and many fields cannot take heavy machinery. The forecast suggests an improvement in the middle of this week, which may give growers the chance to get working. They remain hopeful that the rest of harvest can be saved.”

“Ground conditions are deteriorating rapidly with water tables at unusually high levels for the time of year. Even if the weather improves, parts of many, if not all, of some fields maybe left un-harvested at this stage as some parts of the country are receiving in excess of 200% of normal rainfall for the time of year. ”
“Grain farmers have made significant investment in increased harvesting capacity over the last few years and rapid progress could be made if there were to be a significant improvement in weather and soil conditions.”