Winter barley harvest kicked off over the weekend in Danesfort, Co Kilkenny.

Beef and tillage farmer Morgan Ging was the first over Dalton's Chancellor's Mills' weighbridge for harvest 2025.

Ging began to cut 64ac of KWS Joyau six-row conventional winter barley on Saturday and got finished on Sunday as a result of some showers in between.

The moisture content of this feeding barley ranged between 19% and 20%, with a bushel weight of between 62KPH and 65KPH.

Owner of Ballykeeffe Distillery, Ging said he was very happy with how it yielded at 4t/ac.

"It's the first time I've sown this variety - Dalton's recommended it for the soil type of the field. It's also BYDV-resistant so that was another reason to go for it. I don't like spraying for BYDV.

"It was sown on 4 October 2024 at 180kg/ha and conditions were good at the time. We sowed the inside of the field first, then ploughed the headlands to avoid compaction.

"I went in with a pre-emergence spray in the fall of the year and didn't go near it again until first spraying and nitrogen application in spring."

John Dalton of Dalton's Chancellor Mills told the Irish Farmers Journal that Danesfort would be one of the driest parts of the county. He expects more winter barley to be cut in the area next week.

Ballykeefe Distillery

Ging has been in the distillery business since 2017 and is the only independent distillery owner in Ireland.

The market for Ballykeefe's whiskey, gin and vodka is mainly export-based, with sales to Supervalu and hotels in Kilkenny also.

Ging grows around 50ac to 60ac of malting barley every year, with the byproducts of distillation fed to fattening cattle.