
Crops grow again despite cropping bans
Crops have returned to their previous height of more than 10% and are now growing again in Ireland, with the number of tonnes of crop on the soil increasing by more than a third in the past year.
The latest figures, released by the Department of Agriculture, showed that there were nearly 5,500 hectares of crop growing in Ireland in the last 12 months.
The Irish Corn Growers Association (ICGA) said there had been a sharp fall in the number per hectare of crop, from an average of 7,000 tonnes in the previous 12 months to 5,400 tonnes in 2017.
However, the Irish Corn Council (ICC) said the figures do not include the yield that crops can produce, which could be higher than expected.
The ICC said it has recorded a decline in the volume of corn on the field as a result of the cropping ban.
It said it will monitor the crop yields in coming months to see how far it has recovered.
The number of acres of land cropped by crops has increased from 2,500 in 2015 to 3,000 in 2017, according to the Department for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
However in recent years, the number has increased by more.
The last two years have seen an increase in crop production of over 200,000 hectares.
The annual production of crops is the amount of food that can be produced per acre of land in Ireland.
The government has pledged to make cropping a more attractive way of farming in order to stimulate the economy.
It has announced that all agricultural products will be certified organic in 2021, and that there will be an increased emphasis on the quality of agricultural products and the quality and quantity of food on the market.
In 2017, there were 8,000 fewer hectares of cropping than in 2014, and the number was down by more that 500 hectares from 8,200 in 2016.
There have been an average decrease of about 1,000 metres in the crop production per hectawatt of the land.
The figures were released by Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney as he announced the extension of a 3.5% levy on farmers’ annual rent for a number of years.
“I welcome the increase in cropping.
It is the right thing to do for the country, for the farmers and for the wider economy,” he said.
The Department of Environment and Rural Affairs has set up an industry-wide taskforce to look at ways to improve the country’s cropping system.
A Department of Finance spokesperson said the levy is intended to make sure that the value of cropland in Ireland is not lost through a loss of value from the crop itself.
The spokesperson said that the government was determined to ensure that the benefits of crops are passed on to the local communities.