Irish grain farmers have responded to increased world demand for grain, which threatens to push up food prices further this year, by planting the largest ever winter cereal crop.
An estimated 116,000 hectares of winter cereals are already in the ground in anticipation of a shortage of grain next year driven by a high demand and poor yields in major producing countries like Canada, the US and Australia.
Teagasc tillage expert Jim O'Mahony said farmers were responding to market demands.
Most of the winter wheat produced in Ireland goes into animal feed, as does the winter barley crop, he pointed out. However, there was a very high demand for quality barley for porridge and other cereals for breakfast tables and from the horse industry for quality feed for studs and stables.