Teagasc Reports a Good Tillage Harvest
Issued 10thSeptember 2001
With harvesting of tillage crops virtually completed, Teagasc has reported good yields and quality for all the major crops.
According to the Teagasc Harvest Report published today, overall grain output will exceed 2 million tonnes and will be just short of the record output of 2.2million tonnes achieved in 2000.
Teagasc Chief Tillage Adviser, Jim O'Mahony said that in view of the major problems in planting crops last autumn and the less than ideal conditions last spring, this is an excellent achievement.
He said yields and quality for the two major cereal crops, winter wheat and spring barley are above expectation. Estimates by Teagasc show winter wheat yields at 4 tonnes per acre (10 tonnes/hectare) while spring barley is expected to average 2.75 tonnes per acre (6.8 tonnes/hectare). However, spring barley yields varied widely, with some of the poorer crops yielding as low as 2 tonnes per acre.
Winter barley crops averaged 3.2 tonnes per acre (8 tonnes/hectare), spring oats is expected to average 2.8 tonnes per acre (7 tonnes/hectare) while yields of winter oats will average a moderate 3.2 tonnes per acre (8 tonnes/hectare).
The Teagasc report states that winter wheat varieties which were not sown until spring, due to the difficult sowing conditions last autumn, are slow to ripen. About 40% of spring-sown wheat still remains to be harvested.
Harvesting in all the major tillage areas is virtually completed , with the exception of South Wexford and Meath where over 30% of crops are still uncut.
The report states that yields of peas grown for protein are back on last year. The average yield is likely to be around 2 tonnes per acre (5 tonnes/hectare). Winter-sown oilseed rape, another protein crop, averaged around 1.4 tonnes per acre (3.5 tonnes/hectare).
Overall straw output is back by more than 20%, according to the report. Demand for straw is also down.
Prices for barley straw for use by farmers as animal bedding have dropped in recent weeks while prices for winter wheaten straw for mushroom composting have improved. Large bales of barley straw are selling at £5-£8 each with small square bales making 50-60p each. Wheaten straw is selling for £7 per large bale with yields back from four bales per acre last year to three bales this year.
For the full Harvest Report, click here
