Ireland: Seed companies and merchants report massive increase in winter barley area

A massive increase in the area of winter barley planted has been reported by seed companies and merchants in Ireland, Independent.ie reported on October 17.

However, a shortage of seed for oats, particularly for the spring crop, could hit the total area of that crop.

Industry sources estimate that the area of winter barley planted is likely to top 70,000 ha for the first time since 2016, and could reach the 75,000 ha mark.

This represents a 25-30pc jump in the area sown last year. Around 74,000 ha of winter barley were planted for the 2016 harvest, but this fell to 64,000 ha for the 2017 crop, and to 56,000 ha for this year's harvest.

Donal Fitzgerald of Goldcrop attributed the lift in the winter barley acreage to the excellent sowing conditions of late, the poor spring barley harvest this year, the fact that barley is priced the same as wheat, and the better straw returns which the winter barley crop delivers.

"Sowing conditions have been brilliant. The early harvest helped, and we've had really good weather since," he said.

Mr Fitzgerald said lively farmer demand for straw, and the expectation that the market would remain strong, was also influencing planting decisions.

He said that the straw yield from winter barley generally averaged around 12 4x4 bales to the acre, while spring crops usually yielded about five bales per acre.

At a price of €25/bale, this meant the straw yield from winter barley was €300/ac, compared to €125/ac for spring barley - a differential of €175/ac, Mr Fitzgerald noted.

While winter wheat plantings are expected to hold at last year's levels, Jim Gibbons of Germinal Seeds admitted that there was an issue with seed availability for oats.

"A share of the crop didn't get sown in the spring because of the cold and wet," he said. "And then the summer drought hit yields."

Some merchants have forecast a 30pc shortage of seed for spring oats and that imports will be needed to bridge the gap.

Seed for spring oats were scarce right across Europe, said Mr Gibbons, adding that the availability of seed for spring barley could also be tight as a result of the poor harvest.

Around 20,000 tonnes of certified seed are generally needed for the spring barley crop. However, this requirement may be reduced next spring because of the switch to winter barley.

Mr Gibbons said the availability of spring seed would also be influenced by the tonnage of green crop recently harvested.

The shortage of seed might also impact on the area of wild bird cover sown under GLAS, merchants and seed companies have warned.

Over 90pc of the winter barley crop is believed to have been planted to date, with around 80pc of winter wheat sown. More ground could be drilled for winter wheat after the spuds, beet and maize harvests are completed.

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