Why has Ireland so many empty green fields?

Doom · 07-01-2014 07:24PM #1

I travel the country a lot, there are so many fields empty with no animals and crops all year round, just green grass, why is this? Surely we should be growing food/crops on them, is it an EU thing.... to produce certain amounts only...forced to by trade agreements?

delaval · 07-01-2014 07:36PM

Doom wrote: »

I travel the country a lot, there are so many fields empty with no animals and crops all year round, just green grass, why is this? Surely we should be growing food/crops on them, is it an EU thing.... to produce certain amounts only...forced to by trade agreements?

This time of year most animals are housed for the winter. Arable would also be at a standstill until Feb or March when planting restarts. There may be some crops sown in autumn that would be green at the moment.

All crops go through a green phase as they grow and flower. Once pollinated they put more energy into the seeds and change colour.

Cattle would be grazing in summer as well as pasture being saved as silage and hay for the winter.

I would have to agree with you on the scarcity of cattle in fields during summer though. We do under utilise our grassland by carrying too few livestock.
There are many reasons, poorer quality land, milk quotas and people retiring and taking it a bit easier.

In my case with milking cows they are kept in one group and move paddock every other day or so. They may only be in the field beside the road for 2-3 days a month.

ganmo · 07-01-2014 07:46PM

this time of year you'd only see sheep(light on the ground and a good coat)
if you want to see animals on green grass I'd suggest taking a drive through the Curragh during summer...you'd probably knock one over if you weren't looking :P
Also there's also alot of the country you don't see from the main roads

norrie rugger · 07-01-2014 07:48PM

Plenty of fields have cattle in them still

norrie rugger · 07-01-2014 07:48PM

Well maybe not this past week but have had all winter

Doom · 07-01-2014 08:00PM

I do end in some back roads etc, but never see big fields of crop.
I drove through central Germany one time, I passed one place with 5 miles of grain growing in fields, maybe farms in Ireland are too small these days, could that be a reason?

ganmo · 07-01-2014 08:04PM

what part of the country do you travel? I can think of a few fields off the M1 where there are crops planted.

Miname · 07-01-2014 08:07PM

Doom wrote: »

I do end in some back roads etc, but never see big fields of crop.
I drove through central Germany one time, I passed one place with 5 miles of grain growing in fields, maybe farms in Ireland are too small these days, could that be a reason?

It's all down to us Irish boys being better farmers. Those lads want weetabix we want steak and big fry ups. That's why we don't grow as much cereal. Too many bloody veggies in Germany.

Sir Arthur Daley · 07-01-2014 08:08PM

Are these fields suitable for housing estates?

norrie rugger · 07-01-2014 08:10PM

Too many wild housing estates roam the midlands as is. Vermin is all they are

Timmaay · 07-01-2014 11:35PM

WikiHow wrote: »

Are these fields suitable for housing estates?

All them nama feilds are full of horses at the sec!

feelgoodinc27 · 07-01-2014 11:56PM

Doom wrote: »

I travel the country a lot, there are so many fields empty with no animals and crops all year round, just green grass, why is this? Surely we should be growing food/crops on them, is it an EU thing.... to produce certain amounts only...forced to by trade agreements?

They are not empty, grass itself is a crop. Even when animals are out on grass most fields will still be empty due to grassland management practices that aim to maximize grass quality and the number of animals that can be supported on the available land.
E.g. a dairy herd might be on a 21 day rotation of available grassland during which they only spend 2 days in any one field. The field itself would probably be strip grazed (divided into multiple grazings) to ensure the most effective use of the land.

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4 · 08-01-2014 08:42AM

Doom wrote: »

I travel the country a lot, there are so many fields empty with no animals and crops all year round, just green grass, why is this? Surely we should be growing food/crops on them, is it an EU thing.... to produce certain amounts only...forced to by trade agreements?

grass is the most common crop in Ireland, as we produce so much beef. we have grass land that is just used for silage/hay production in the summer and never gets any animals directly grazing on it, as the land is too wet in the winter. Land may appear empty, but 99% of the time its not. as mentioned earlier, land used for grazing will only have animals on it for a few days a month, as the grass needs time to recover and grow.

Why has Ireland so many empty green fields?

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