A dry May saves the day for West’s Farmers

A WARM, dry and sunny May seems to have saved the day in terms of fodder and grass problems for farmers across the West of Ireland.

May has turned out to be our driest month of the year so far and this coupled with a dramatic rise in temperatures has fuelled a major spurt in growth as well as drying out the land.

Soil temperatures for the last week of the month hovered between 17° and 20° Celsius while sunshine for this period was around double the average.

Abbeyknockmoy weather recorder, Brendan Geraghty, told the Farming Tribune that his rain figure for the 31 days of May stood at 1.89 inches, the driest month of the year so far.

That figure would have been much lower only for the downpour we had on the Sunday night of May 20th, that brought over an inch of rainfall into Brendan Geraghty’s goblet.

“It really has been a very good month both in terms of rainfall and in warmth. The soil has really warmed up; the land has dried out; and at last we have seen a major improvement in grass growth.

“May has proven to be a real welcome month after one of the toughest winters that we’ve come through over recent years or even decades,” said Brendan Geraghty.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.