Hay Weather July

Oscar 2

Hi all,

Anyone going to chance a bit of hay over the next few days? Weather looks good in the northern half over the next few days and we’ll into next week. No heatwave, but dry with sunny spells.

Water John

It will be around 20C, so that's good for Ireland generally.

Birdnuts

I'm planning the third week in July myself - has rarely let me down in the past 15 years or so

Oscar 2

I guess if you don’t cut and take a chance you wont get anything ðŸ˜

Water John

Bidnuts is a believer in St Swithin. If the 15th July is dry, you have 40 dry days.
I wouldn't tie to a date but anticipate a good spell of weather. Mow when the weather turns which looks like this weekend.

Oscar 2

Yes often heard that saying. Yr weather seems to change so often. Was giving dry weather with sunny spells into next week and now it’s saying showers. Was just curious to see if anybody else was in the same dilemma! Iv about 10 acres and it’s a little heavy.

Birdnuts

Water John wrote: »

Bidnuts is a believer in St Swithin. If the 15th July is dry, you have 40 dry days.
I wouldn't tie to a date but anticipate a good spell of weather. Mow when the weather turns which looks like this weekend.

The weather nerds will say that the third week in July is the most likely to register the highest temps of the year;)

Tileman

Oscar 2 wrote: »

Yes often heard that saying. Yr weather seems to change so often. Was giving dry weather with sunny spells into next week and now it’s saying showers. Was just curious to see if anybody else was in the same dilemma! Iv about 10 acres and it’s a little heavy.

I’m the very same. Was going cutting Thursday/ Friday. Now I see yr giving heavy rain for Monday .
But YR is very changeable.
As the saying going we will keep looking at the weather options until we find the one we want to see😂

thelegend1979

Same predicament here. Intended to mow tomorrow but not as confident in weather now.

SouthWesterly

Have a field to cut at the weekend.

Tileman

SouthWesterly wrote: »

Have a field to cut at the weekend.

I see met eireann giving heavy rain for Monday. Is too. Well feck it anyway.

Oscar 2

Don’t think it’s going to happen, raining nicely here still in west mayo. We’ll have to see what the 3rd week of July brings!

Water John

Yeah the band on Mon is the only rain, about 12mm.
M T Cranium has it getting unsettled again on Sat 18th. The windows are tight.
It's not my crop, but one could mow it dry eg Fri and not disturb it until after Mon and then turn it regularly. Baled and drawn Thur/Fri. that would be my hunch, looking at it.
An undisturbed crop down, isn't harmed much by a short spell of rain.

Sami23

Water John wrote: »

Yeah the band on Mon is the only rain, about 12mm.
M T Cranium has it getting unsettled again on Sat 18th. The windows are tight.
It's not my crop, but one could mow it dry eg Fri and not disturb it until after Mon and then turn it regularly. Baled and drawn Thur/Fri. that would be my hunch, looking at it.
An undisturbed crop down, isn't harmed much by a short spell of rain.

Some fair points but it will do well to be dry by Friday after today's rain but hopefully

wrangler

Last time we a spring like 2020 the rain started in june and finished in the following April

Birdnuts

wrangler wrote: »

Last time we a spring like 2020 the rain started in june and finished in the following April

That sounds like 2012 - and sad to say it has the feeling of it this year for shure. According to the weather forum this June has already been the dullest in nearly 30 years and July won't be far behind if it keeps going as is:(

Sami23

Well did any of ye get excited since and cut for Hay.
Tbh it doesn't look like there's any window coming in the next week to save Hay as far as I can see and I've looked at pretty much every forecast so made decision to cut today and wrap it Saturday before Sundays rain

Water John

yr.no has very little rain for Cork until this day week. Whether it's right or wrong is a different question.
https://www.yr.no/place/Ireland/Munster/Cork/long.html

If you run Met Eireann's 7 day rainfall forecast, there's little rain.

Sami23

Water John wrote: »

yr.no has very little rain for Cork until this day week. Whether it's right or wrong is a different question.
https://www.yr.no/place/Ireland/Munster/Cork/long.html

Temperatures are not great looking for Hay thou are they and the problem lately with Yr is it has a tendency to change often enough from no rain to rain

Water John

It isn't great weather TBH, but it's about as good as we get for a summer quite often. A number of years have been nonrunners completely for hay.
It's good to remember that, making loose hay needed less of a completely dry spell that bales would ideally require.

kk.man

Sami23 wrote: »

Temperatures are not great looking for Hay thou are they and the problem lately with Yr is it has a tendency to change often enough from no rain to rain

+1
You need sun to make hay and not much of that forecast.

kk.man

Sami23 wrote: »

Temperatures are not great looking for Hay thou are they and the problem lately with Yr is it has a tendency to change often enough from no rain to rain

+1
You need sun to make hay and not much of that forecast.

Tileman

Sami23 wrote: »

Well did any of ye get excited since and cut for Hay.
Tbh it doesn't look like there's any window coming in the next week to save Hay as far as I can see and I've looked at pretty much every forecast so made decision to cut today and wrap it Saturday before Sundays rain

Thought hard abuu oi ure it and was going to put on the mower but then looked at the weather at 6 o’clock and it wasn’t great so decided against it. Might cut band wrap it instead

Birdnuts

Looking like hay making my end may be pushed back to nearly August now:( - at least I still have a good stock of the stuff from the previous 2 years which were of good quality.

Ard_MC

Not even haylage weather where I am. Rain ever day this week including this morning. So much for the few dry days!!!

Contractor is 2 weeks behind he was telling me yesterday.

Birdnuts

Ard_MC wrote: »

Not even haylage weather where I am. Rain ever day this week including this morning. So much for the few dry days!!!

Contractor is 2 weeks behind he was telling me yesterday.

Things are looking a good deal better now according to the models from later next week - lets hope they are right!!

Tileman

Birdnuts wrote: »

Things are looking a good deal better now according to the models from later next week - lets hope they are right!!

Yea looking good now for next week end. Unfortunately after looking at the weather yesterday saying it was to get bad again next weekend I decided to sell it to a neighbour and he cut and wrapped it.
Still have another meadow for hay next week but would have kept this one too only for all the bad reports earlier .
Any here’s hoping this weather forecast lasts this time.

Sami23

Birdnuts wrote: »

Things are looking a good deal better now according to the models from later next week - lets hope they are right!!

Where are ye seeing the good forecast for next wend

Birdnuts

Sami23 wrote: »

Where are ye seeing the good forecast for next wend

i was going on some of the model runs recently - it does look like drying out in the South and East next week, at least compared to recently. Other areas may take longer and there is still alot of uncertainty as we go into August due to alot of tropical activity coming out of the Caribeann.

Tileman

Birdnuts wrote: »

i was going on some of the model runs recently - it does look like drying out in the South and East next week, at least compared to recently. Other areas may take longer and there is still alot of uncertainty as we go into August due to alot of tropical activity coming out of the Caribeann.

Yea it’s very changeable. Not as definite for next weekend now. Neighbour cut some today and will let it lie for Monday and Tuesday with the bit of rain and then looks good for Wednesday to Friday.

Western Pomise

Looking a long term forecasts you will be very lucky to see any substantial amounts of hay in next fortnight anyway.

Did the good spell come too early or was there much hay got early on?