Irish farming will be affected by
climate change but not as severely as more southern countries. The problems will primarily be the reduction
in summer rainfall by up to 25% and an increase in winter rainfall by 17% by mid century, with
Southern and Eastern counties most affected.
This will result in extended dry
periods leading to drought, flooding, heavy rainfall events and extreme
temperatures, in fact far more unpredictable weather patterns making farming
activities difficult to plan and execute.
While this will mainly make tillage farming more difficult from sowing
to harvesting of crops, livestock farmers will also feel the pressure from
increased stress to animals and providing water in the summer to
ensuring sufficient winter fodder. The wet
summer of 2012 led to a massive fodder crisis in some parts of the country during the winter and spring of
2012/13, leading to massive imports of hay and silage from the UK and Europe. The
increased prevalence of pests and diseases ,especially new pests as their ranges
increase in response to higher temperatures, will affect all farming sectors. It is not all negative because the higher
temperatures will increase cereal and beet yields, which is in stark comparison to
countries such as Romania and Hungary which will see a steep decline in crop yields
due to water scarcity. The
solution is for the Irish farming sector
to increase crop diversity,
alter planting and harvesting regimes, develop more climate resilient
crops, and to introduce water management strategies.
Nick Gray
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