Dry weather putting land under pressure, but change on way
Thomas Lyons
There is a sense of relief among the farming community with the news that rain may be on the way. Met Éireann say that for this week an area of high pressure centred to the north of the country will dominate our weather; however, next week that should change.
The meteorological service says that there is “a slight signal” that low pressure will become dominant resulting in slightly higher than average rainfall amounts. Rainfall amounts are indicating a slightly wetter than average week, while there is a signal that the mean air temperatures will remain above average for this time of year.
The seasonal outlook for the JJA (June, July, August) period is for above average temperatures with average rainfall overall.
One man keeping an eye on the forecast is Ger Hanrahan of G&A Hanrahan. Since 1979 the Offaly agricultural contractor has provided contracting services to the local agricultural community.
In the 40 years of business husband and wife, Ger and Ann Hanrahan, established a reputation for high standards in all areas of their work, building a loyal customer base. Ger says this prolonged dry spell of the last couple of weeks has been a double edged sword.
“The weather’s been so good we’re not under pressure,” he said, “We’re not drawing in water yet, and any silage we’re cutting is top quality. There are light crops of silage I will admit, but there’s some reasonable crops too. It all depends on whether it was grazed or not.”
Specialising in silage cutting, slurry spreading, ploughing, reseeding, hedge maintenance, corn sowing and harvesting, G&A Hanrahan Ltd are in the busy period where they employ a range of machinery to meet their customers needs.
The weather conditions of the last couple of weeks have had an influence on business: “It’s a while since we had rain, so the land is beginning to come under a bit of pressure now. Silage crops especially, and grass in some areas, are feeling it because any dry, sandy land will feel that pressure,” Ger said.
As yet there have been no phone calls from farmers looking to have water sprayed on land: “That’s another expense, and it doesn’t matter how much water you draw into your fields. There’s nothing to compare with one good shower of rain.
“The dew is helping, but as regards spreading slurry now, that’s all on hold at the moment. Because it’s going to dry up on the ground and it would come out in the next cut of silage.
“There’s not much point in spreading fertiliser either, because it’s all going to stay on top of the ground. It’s not being washed in,” he said.
The unusually dry and sunny May is somewhat of an anomaly: “Normally if you’ve got a week or two of dry weather around now, it would rain. But we don’t seem to be promised rain in the forecast for next week.”
The dry weather isn’t a problem now, but if it continues in the JJA period it could be a cause for concern for tillage farmers: “Corn crops, beans and maize, they all need water now. All the spring corn has had no rain, we’re talking about instances of planting. It needs some little bit of moisture now to keep it going.
“There’s a strain there, the beet is all coming up, and the maize is also coming up, and everything needs water in this country. We’d normally have more at this time of the year.”
Irish farmers are well used to coping with adverse weather conditions. Ger says that on balance the fine weather has many benefits: “It’s one thing we have no control over. You see, cattle are very content. They’re laying out in the sun, they’re not eating a fierce lot. The cowmen may need grass, but because it’s been so mild, many have a stock of silage.
“There’s lots of good silage being made, and there’s silage left over from last year, because we had a mild enough winter.”
Met Éireann says it will be mostly dry weather for the coming week, and that all soils will be trafficable. Currently, soil moisture deficits range from 28mm in the north to 49mm in the southwest of Ireland. This corresponds to some restriction in grass growth.