Winter Barley Growers Miss Out on Higher Yields with Poor Crop Rotations

At the Teagasc National Crops Forum on September 10, Shay Phelan, a Teagasc Crops Specialist, highlighted the importance of crop rotations for growers. He noted that first cereal crops after break crops tend to yield more and are less expensive to grow.

In his presentation, Phelan shared research from the Teagasc Crops Research Centre, Oak Park, which showed that first crop winter wheats after a break provided a 11% or 1.1t/ha yield benefit, while first crop winter barley crops benefitted from a 9% yield increase or an additional 0.7t/ha.

Phelan expressed concern that 80% of winter barley is grown in the second subsequent cereal slot, which he described as 'not ideal'. He also stated that winter barley yields are not meeting expectations, with five-year average data from the CSO showing yields closer to 8.8t/ha.

Phelan examined three potential crop rotations for growers of winter wheat, winter barley or malting barley, noting that rotation choice will be heavily influenced by land suitability, rotational considerations, weed pressures and market demands.