Harvest 2021 ‘one of the most profitable ever’ – Teagasc
Harvest 2021 was “one of the most profitable seasons ever for tillage farmers” and “one of the best cereal harvests in recent memory”, according to Teagasc.
The 2021 harvest report, published by Teagasc, estimates that the production of cereals was 2.32 million tonnes in 2021.
This represents an increase of 407,000t – or 21% – over harvest 2020, Teagasc says.
Total cereal area increased by 3.1% over 2020. There was a major shift back to winter cereals due to favourable sowing condition in autumn 2020 where the area of winter wheat, winter barley and winter oats increased by 58%, 31% and 67% respectively.
The area of spring barley decreased by 18% to 116,238ha in 2021.
Yields in all cereal crops were well above the five-year average, with winter oats recording an average yield of 9.32t/ha. Winter wheat, spring barley and winter barely were all close to – but just below – the record yields recorded for these crops in previous years.
The 2021 growing season was favourable for cereals. Good sowing conditions in autumn 2020 and in late March and early April resulted in good establishment, and disease was well controlled, according to Teagasc.
Grain quality was good in general and moisture contents were below 20% for most crops. Harvest losses were minimal due to good weather in August and September, and grain moisture was below average.
The agricultural research and advisory agency noted that straw quantities were good in all cereals and dry harvest weather allowed farmers to bale or incorporate straw “without much difficulty”.
The new Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) – which was introduced to support tillage farmers in chopping and incorporating straw into the soil after harvest – does not seem to have created any deficit in the market, with demand and supply well matched.
The estimated winter cereal area for the 2021-2022 growing season is broadly similar to the previous season.
The area of winter oilseed rape is estimated to have increased significantly to 13,000ha.
Crop establishment was “excellent”, Teagasc says, due to favourable weather conditions for sowing in late September and October, and all crops are rated as “very good” to “excellent”.
Above average yields and good harvest weather, combined with strong grain and straw markets “resulted in high-financial output” from cereals in 2021.
Michael Hennessy, head of crops knowledge transfer at Teagasc, commented: “Harvest 2021 was one of the best cereal harvests in recent memory with a combination of good yields and good harvest conditions, all combining to make this one of the most profitable seasons ever for tillage farmers”.
