Fodder Crisis

Birdnuts

Say my name wrote: »

It seems like it according to the article.

I never knew proper records were kept and measured in the same place in Ireland for 300 years.

Such records here only go back about 150 years - have to say I'm a bit dubious about the conclusion from that link, especcially when you read accounts of climate related famines here during the 17th and 18th centuries

mahoney_j

Water John wrote: »

So, some lads here will be cutting silage in 5 weeks time?

Will have some on or before may 10 already z grazed ,got slurry and bagged p+k will be topped up with n + sulphur next week

charolais0153

mahoney_j wrote: »

Will have some on or before may 10 already z grazed ,got slurry and bagged p+k will be topped up with n + sulphur next week

How long do you leave between the n and the compound

mahoney_j

charolais0153 wrote: »

How long do you leave between the n and the compound

Got 3*10 10 20’in February

Say my name

Birdnuts wrote: »

Such records here only go back about 150 years - have to say I'm a bit dubious about the conclusion from that link, especcially when you read accounts of climate related famines here during the 17th and 18th centuries

They still don't know what definitely caused the "Little ice age" here but most likely it was the Sun.
Some commentators would tell you we could be heading back that way.
This was published back in 2015.
https://www.sciencealert.com/a-mini-ice-age-is-coming-in-the-next-15-years

It's playing out fairly well so far with this year looking maybe to be the most lacklustre year on record since NASA records began of sunspot activity.
http://spaceweather.com/

Although 2009 will be hard beat.
But this last cycle just never got to the highs of previous cycles.
If you read the space weather website it mentions increased cosmic rays leading to increased cloud cover and bad weather.
Sounds sci fi but there you go.

sonnybill

No growth here really yet , bales disappearing far too fast , be in deficit now for sure

croot

Say my name wrote: »

You'd have to wonder why 2017 was not included in that 10 year comparison?

2017 was the driest year in (I haven't got the records and I haven't got the inclination to look for them on met eireann ) how many years?
But in Johnstown Castle it was 30 mm drier than the previous year and 100mm drier than the year before that.

http://www.met.ie/climate/monthly-data.asp?Num=1775

Someone's looking for more funding me thinks.

The 3 weather stations nearest me had 2017 wetter than 2016.

K.G.

Water John wrote: »

So, some lads here will be cutting silage in 5 weeks time?

Dont know about 5 weeks but just decided toclose a couple bits if ground that were not grazed this spring.probaly just throw out 40units of n to keep options open as regards zero grazing.

memorystick

Are beef factories slow to take cattle at the moment?

gozunda

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Have a read of this;
https://www.met.ie/climate-ireland/rainfall.asp

From that met eireann webpage

Rainfall shows great year to year variability. A 30 year running mean of the national annual rainfall indicated an increase in average national rainfall of approximately 70mm over the last two decades.

As with the annual totals of rainfall, all seasons show a small increase in totals over the last few decades.

So ME data over the last 30 years shows that it has got wetter.

Around here I've never seen the land so wet for so long over the last couple of years at least.

Though I reckon we only have two real seasons in this country - there's the wet season and then theres the slightly less wet season....

Count Mondego

Imagine what a disaster it would have been to get that 10 year wet spell in the 70s when everyone was making hay instead of silage. The whole industry would have been destroyed.

kk.man

Count Mondego wrote: »

Imagine what a disaster it would have been to get that 10 year wet spell in the 70s when everyone was making hay instead of silage. The whole industry would have been destroyed.

They were bad years in the 70s too where 'black' bales of hay were made. Only difference there wasn't as much stock.

20silkcut

Crops were very light too and were almost halfway there before they were cut. Farmers had it down to a fine art. That expertise is long gone and obsolete.

20silkcut

If you were to take all the old timer anecdotes on board you would believe that back in the 40’s 50’s and 60’s Ireland had a Mediterranean climate in summer and an arctic climate in winter.

Bass Reeves

20silkcut wrote: »

If you were to take all the old timer anecdotes on board you would believe that back in the 40’s 50’s and 60’s Ireland had a Mediterranean climate in summer and an arctic climate in winter.

I am in my mid 50's in Kerry and I can say that frost was a regular occurance we got snow ever few years but I remember really good summers during the mid late 70's and the early 80's with one exception that was the summer's of 1980 and 1982, I think which were a wash out. We made hay every year except 1982 when it was so wet we had to make silage, it was the first time we made it.

When I first moved up the country the first thing I noticed was the frost was a lot harder that we got down there then around the 90's frost started to disappear until this year and 2009-2011. We actually got sunny summers then as opposed to overcast ones. Yes you got rain but was more summer showers, hail stone was common enough.

I like to see a sunshine chart for comparrison as opposed to rainfall. While rainfall may be similar and Tempeartures higher and it as dry then as now I think we get less sunshine and less frost that we did 40 years ago

tabby aspreme

20silkcut wrote: »

Crops were very light too and were almost halfway there before they were cut. Farmers had it down to a fine art. That expertise is long gone and obsolete.

Definitely, could you imagine trying to cut today's silage crops with a knife bar mower.

Dakota Dan

Bass Reeves wrote: »

I am in my mid 50's in Kerry and I can say that frost was a regular occurance we got snow ever few years but I remember really good summers during the mid late 70's and the early 80's with one exception that was the summer's of 1980 and 1982, I think which were a wash out. We made hay every year except 1982 when it was so wet we had to make silage, it was the first time we made it.

When I first moved up the country the first thing I noticed was the frost was a lot harder that we got down there then around the 90's frost started to disappear until this year and 2009-2011. We actually got sunny summers then as opposed to overcast ones. Yes you got rain but was more summer showers, hail stone was common enough.

I like to see a sunshine chart for comparrison as opposed to rainfall. While rainfall may be similar and Tempeartures higher and it as dry then as now I think we get less sunshine and less frost that we did 40 years ago

I'm in Cork and around the same age as you, it was 1981 that we had the wet summer. I bought a square baler in 82 and spent a good part of that summer baling hay. We did have colder winters in the 70's and better summers, plenty snow falls as well.

Dakota Dan

tabby aspreme wrote: »

Definitely, could you imagine trying to cut today's silage crops with a knife bar mower.

It was hard enough to cut crops of hay in the 70's with a finger bar especially if it were slightly lodged. Every blade of grass would want to be standing tall for those mowers.

Bass Reeves

Dakota Dan wrote: »

I'm in Cork and around the same age as you, it was 1981 that we had the wet summer. I bought a square baler in 82 and spent a good part of that summer baling hay. We did have colder winters in the 70's and better summers, plenty snow falls as well.

Could have been 1981 but I remember two bad summers around then as I was just leaving school and beacause of a family breavement in 1980. But I think the weather is a good bit different to then.

Dakota Dan

I says wrote: »

Frank McCourt in Angela’s ashes said it always rained in limerick before he emigrated.

He also tugged off to sheep with his friends, the man was full of lies.

Dakota Dan

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Could have been 1981 but I remember two bad summers around then as I was just leaving school and beacause of a family breavement in 1980. But I think the weather is a good bit different to then.

83 was a great summer and 84 had no rain from April to September. 85 was a washout. I can't remember 1980.

cute geoge

In all fairness the summers were alot better in the 80/90's if you took 85/86 out of it ,it was a complete different climate .All the silage was made locally with 90 hp 2 wd tractors and drawn with nathional or lee single axle 13x8 ,nowadays you would be lucky to get 2 days to go with a 4 wd and flotation tyres on trailers .I can also never remember such continuation of bad weather during winters ,I worked off farm in the noughties and the weekend was for farming and i can never remember not one saturday/sunday that the weather was so bad that you could not get the all the farm jobs done ,no wonder the country was booming every day was too the good!!!

I says

I’ve neighbours ringing for bales this week things are getting desperate another cold ****ty day here no growth will be the 1st of may before anything gets out around here.

Reggie.

I says wrote: »

I’ve neighbours ringing for bales this week things are getting desperate another cold ****ty day here no growth will be the 1st of may before anything gets out around here.

Few boys hitting the wall around here too

I says

Reggie. wrote: »

Few boys hitting the wall around here too

Dairy men in deep sh1te

Reggie.

I says wrote: »

Dairy men in deep sh1te

New big farmer around Lough ennell I think is out

I says

Reggie. wrote: »

New big farmer around Lough ennell I think is out

The Scottish one

Dozer1

Bord Bia lad was here doing the inspection lately said its nothing but depressed farmers around.
said he doesn't want to be the one pushing anyone over the edge so he's working with lads trying to get them certified but its not easy when you see the state some lads are in.

easy count the bales in every yard now, tank here is full out they go next week if at all possible

Dakota Dan

Reggie. wrote: »

New big farmer around Lough ennell I think is out

How long did was he in it?

Reggie.

I says wrote: »

The Scottish one

Yep. Seen his pits empty a good week ago. Not sure where his feed is coming from and he has plenty of mouths