Ear of barley
Spring Barley
Field of ripe barley
Winter Barley
Field of wheat
Spring Wheat
Ear of ripe wheat
Winter Wheat
Ripe ear of oats
Oats
Combine harvester cutting corn

The cereal sector makes up a large and important section of Barrett Agri business.

Barrett Agri supply a large range of both winter and spring cereal seed. We pick the top varieties off the recommended list that suit growing conditions in Munster. Traits such as yield, disease resistance and standing ability are all taken into account. Seeing rates are also calculated annually depending on the thousand grain weight. With the changes in the single farm payment  to the new basic payment scheme crop rotation and the new 2 / 3 crop rule are all taken consideration.

Barrett Agri also supply chemicals and fertiliser along with full agronomy advice to tillage farmers in Munster. Our agronomy / crop walking service  is by trained IASIS technical sales representatives.

We  buy and sell both green and dried grain direct from farmers. This has increased in recent years with the use of maxammon treated home saved grain.

Tillage management: What factors affect seed rate?

Seeding rate is affected by many different factors. The thousand grain weight of the seed, the time of sowing, sowing conditions and the target plant population will all impact on the seed rate.

When calculating seed rate you will need the following three figures:

  • The target plant population (plants/m²);
  • The thousand grain weight (TGW) of the seed;
  • The estimated plant establishment percentage.

For example, the seed rate will be 183kg/ha (11.7st/ac) at a target plant population of 300 plants/m², a TGW of 51.9 and an estimated establishment of 85%.

Thousand Grain Weight

The TGW is provided on each individual bag of seed and will vary between different varieties, batches and seasons. Results from Department of Agriculture trials provide TGW figures for different varieties. A list of these TGWs is provided for spring barley, spring wheat and spring oats below.

Where seed is home saved the TGW must be calculated. This can be done by counting 1,000 grains and weighing the resulting sample. Growers may also count out 100 grains and multiply the weight by 10. This should be carried out a number of times in order to get a representative figure.

For more agronomy information please contact our Team of experts.

To view the recommended cereal seed listings linked to the Department of Agricultural list please click below.

For more agronomy information please contact our Team of experts

Harvest - Barrett agri
Harvest - Barrett Agri