Forage maize was one of the key success stories of the last farming year. So, could we be looking at the same scenario unfolding in 2026?

The answer to the question in my opinion is a very definite yes.

Recent days have seen the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) include maize in the listing of crops that can help build Ireland’s tillage area into the future.

There is also a growing sense that Teagasc crop specialists view maize as making a valuable contribution to the rotations that can be implemented on tillage farms over the coming years.

Forage maize

The reality is that maize is fast becoming a mainstream crop in Ireland.

Advances made in breeding new varieties, suited to our more temperate climate, is making all of this possible.

Throw-in the added impact of climate change and the true potential of maize could soon be realised by local farmers. 

Over the coming years, it is quite feasible that crops of forage maize, planted in late April and harvested in late September, could soon be a realistic prospect in this part of the world.

What we would then have is a crop silage option that can deliver up to 18t of fresh weight per acre with exceptional dry matter (DM) and starch values.

Agronomy

Advances in maize agronomy are also kicking-in to help make this happen.

New compostable films are now available, which boost crop growth rates, particularly at those all-important early stages of development.

But perhaps the greatest game changer, where maize is concerned, is the use of liquid nitrogen (N) fertilisers at the 10-leaf stage.

This is an approach to plant nutrition that ensures the maximal uptake of N and other nutrients.

Another advantage of maize is the fact that crops act as an outlet for slurry and farmyard manures during the late spring period. 

Moreover, disease control is very straightforward; in reality, there are no diseases that attack maize crops when grown at these latitudes.

So it all adds-up to win:win scenario for local farmers.  

Tillage

Admittedly, not every dairy or beef producer is set up to grow crops of maize. But tillage farmers are.

The option of growing maize on a contract option becomes immediately obvious in this context.

Let’s be honest, the need to expand Ireland’s tillage sector is more than obvious.

We have already seen the seen the success of the Protein Aid Scheme in helping to boost the production of crops like beans over recent years.

So could the growing of greater maize acreages help boost this momentum still further? In my opinion, it’s all to play for.

The tipping point for maize will come when crops can be harvested on a consistent basis before the end of September.

At that stage, gone would be the days of taking heavy equipment on to land when ground conditions are more than challenging.

A September harvest would also allow tillage farmers to follow-on directly with a crop of winter wheat, barley, oats or oilseed rape (OSR).

In turn, this would mean that land would be in active use 12 months of the year.