Co Kilkenny Tillage Farmer Enjoys Strong Start to the 2025 Cereal Harvest

Agriland

4 days ago

Co. Kilkenny tillage farmer, Edward Delahunty, has enjoyed an encouraging start to the 2025 cereal harvest.
This week he has cut a crop of Integral winter barley, which is yielding just over 4.2t/ac at 15% dry matter.
Delahunty grows a mix of winter barley, spring barley, and gluten free oats.
Fodder beet and forage maize are also key to the cropping rotation followed on the farm. Integral is a six-row variety with Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV)-tolerance.
'The barley was sown out on October 6 into a perfect seed bed and it has been a good news story from that point through to final harvest.
'The crop got the rain when it was needed, with the sunshine and heat available at the right times as well.
'We have had the driest spring on record, which meant that disease levels were very low throughout the growing season.
'We yield-map the ground as the harvest progresses and all the trailers are weighed. So we know the yields we are getting almost in real time," Delahunty told Agriland.
He is also pleased with the high yields of high quality straw currently.
'We will make a mix of round and square bales depending on the location of the straw.
'I had applied for the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM). But given the tremendous condition of crops at the present time, I will probably bale everything this year – even the oat straw.
'There is a tremendous demand for straw at the present time, for both bedding and feeding purposes," Delahunty said.
The Co. Kilkenny farmer added that the fact that disease levels in crops have been so low this year has been adding to its quality.
"Straw values now make a real contribution to the margins generated by all cereal enterprises," he said.
One key factor that has made life a little easier this year is the weather.
'This year, all field work was carried out at the correct time and without any stress placed on farmers looking to get on with the work.
'And it's an absolute pleasure to be out in the fields right now cutting crops that are in almost perfect condition.
'Too often in the past, growers have found themselves fighting a combination of bad weather and poor ground conditions. It's so rewarding when, every now and then, everything goes to plan," Delahunty added.
He has walked all his cereal crops over recent days and was surprised at how quickly they are coming through to harvest.
'There's a week's good weather in the offing. And based on what I am looking at in the fields right now, I would be confident enough that we will be cutting spring barley well before the end of August.
'I am aware that some spring crops got caught by the drought during May. Here in Kilkenny we got rain when it was required. As a result, spring barley crops look promising enough. But we won't know the true story until we get through to the actual harvest," he said.
Maximising the returns that can be generated from his crops is also a priority for Delahunty - which is one reason why he also focuses on gluten-free oats.
"All the spring barley is grown to a malting standard. If it doesn't meet this requirement then it can always be sold for feed.
'The additional price bonuses available for these value-added crops make a real difference when it comes to either making a profit or a loss from a cereal enterprise.
'And given the current state of world grain markets, Irish tillage farmers need all the incentives they can avail of," he said.
According to Delahunty, traditionally cereal growers have been prices takers, however, the opportunity to produce value-added crops - such as gluten-free oats and malting barley - delivers an opportunity for tillage farmers to gain a much needed foothold in more premium markets.
He is always keen to boost crop yields, and one way he dos this is with the use of slurries and animal manures.
'I have used pig slurry at a number of locations across the farm. And the positive difference it is making to final crop yields is immense admittedly, there are a number of factors coming into play here - the distance that slurry has to be transported in the first instance being one of them.
'However, given good ground conditions, the use of an umbilical system means that large volumes of slurry can be spread within a very short space of time.
'Putting more slurry out on to tillage ground makes sense from every perspective. In the first instance, animal manures are extremely valuable fertiliser sources.
'And spreading them on tillage ground is helping livestock farmers to fully comply with the various nitrates and water quality regulations. It all adds up to a win-win story for farming as a whole," Delahunty added.
But at the same time, he is always very aware of the environmental challenges facing all farmers at the present time and believes it is vitally important that the role of tillage in helping to deliver a lower carbon footprint for agriculture as a whole is now fully recognised.
Although the initial results from the 2025 harvest have been positive for Delahunty, he has sounded a warning about the outlook for tillage farmers this year.
Over the last three successive seasons, the price that tillage farmers have received for their grains has remained static. However, their input costs have continued to rise.
'Tillage farmer are also conscious that farm gate prices across all the other sectors of farming have never been higher.
'The figures are not adding up. Tillage has been under immense economic pressure for the last three years.
'Growers are not in a position where they can invest in the businesses they have right now, never mind expand the scale of their operations," he said.
Delahunty believes is calling on the government to commit to supporting tillage on a consistent and constructive basis.
'Budget 2026 gives government an opportunity to kick start this process," he said.