The last three weeks have for many farmers been very challenging in terms of weather and rainfall. Those on heavier soils in the south, midlands and west have been hardest hit, with multiple inches of rain recorded in many places.

Low-lying callow type ground was saturated and regular rainfall meant that opportunities for this land to dry out have been limited.

So while there was weather windows to get work done, this type of ground needed to dry out first and those opportunities just weren’t present over the last few weeks.

This weeks’ forecast is looking much better, with a return to high pressure and dry, settled weather nationwide, at least until the weekend.

Priority jobs must be getting first-cut silage wrapped up and completing reseeding work. Both of these tasks have been delayed on due to the weather.

The impact of delayed silage harvesting will be felt in a number of ways. Firstly, second-cut silage will be later than normal and this may impact how much grass is available for grazing in August and September.

Secondly, the quality of the silage will be poor, due to the late cutting date. It is possible that many of the crops being cut this week will have DMD levels in the low 60s so additional meal may need to be fed to animals consuming this silage next winter.

On the reseeding front, there are a number of key jobs starting with spraying of newly established swards. This is essential to prevent dock infestations and the best time to spray is when the new dock seedlings are the size of a €2 coin.

Some farmers had land sprayed off with glyphosate before the weather broke and didn’t have the chance to cultivate since. This week should present opportunities to get these jobs done.

Finally, with the good spell of weather this week contractors are likely to be extremely busy. Contractors perform an important service so be patient, give plenty of notice and keep farm safety in mind at all times, especially during busy, stressful periods.