Two varieties feature within the spring wheat recommended variety listing for 2026, recently published by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

WPB Duncan has a relative yield value of 100. It is good yielding, moderately late maturing option.

Duncan is moderately susceptible to lodging. The variety is moderately resistant to mildew and septoria  while demonstrating good resistance to yellow rust and sprouting. Grain quality is good.

KWS Helium is a good yielding, moderately early maturing variety. It has a relative yield value of 98. The variety is moderately susceptible to lodging.

Helium shows good resistance to mildew and sprouting. It is moderately susceptible to Septoria and yellow rust. Grain quality is very good.

Spring oats

Three varieties feature on DAFM's winter oat recommended list for 2026. All are well known to Irish growers.

WPB Isabel has a relative yield value of 104. It is a high yielding, moderately early maturing variety.

Isabel shows good resistance to lodging and very good resistance to straw breakdown.

It is moderately susceptible to mildew and crown rust. Grain quality is very good.

WPB Enya has a relative yield value of 98. It is a moderate yielding, very early maturing variety, showing moderate resistance to lodging.

Enya is moderately susceptible to straw breakdown, mildew and susceptible to crown rust. Grain quality is good.

Husky has a relative yield value of 96. It is moderate yielding, very early maturing variety.

Husky shows moderate resistance to lodging and moderately susceptible to straw breakdown.

The variety is also moderately susceptible to mildew and crown rust. Grain quality is good.

2026 planting plans

Meanwhile, the jury is out in terms of growers’ planting intentions for 2026.

Given the excellent opportunities to get winter cereals and oilseed rape into the ground, one might argue that they have all the cards to play.

However, this is not the case. Tremendous uncertainties overhang the malting barley and oats’ sectors.

Given this backdrop, tillage farmers may fell that simply opting for feed barley is the direction of travel they should take.

Certainly, if February comes in dry and soil conditions are suitable, a significant number of growers will opt for spring beans.

Underpinning this commitment is the certainty of the Protein Aid Support scheme.

The other crop option in the spring 2026 mix is forage maize. But with milk prices having taken a dip over recent months, will dairy farmers be as keen to support maize this year as was the case in 2025?

We will get answers to all of these questions over the coming weeks.