'I have never known a dry spell like it' says veteran Ulster farmer as he hopes for rain this weekend
Figures have revealed the extent of NI’s bone-dry July, with one farmer saying he cannot recall a dry spell quite like the one Ulster is currently experiencing.
Crosby Cleland, a sheep farmer and UFU committee member, was speaking to the News Letter ahead of this weekend’s forecasted rain – which both he and the union said will be welcomed.
Figures obtained tonight from the Met Office show that, whilst the summer in general has been about as rainy as average for Northern Ireland, July has been unusually dry.
Forecaster Marco Petagna said that in the month to date, Northern Ireland as a whole has seen an average of 7.6mm of rain.
That figure is a mere 8% of the average for the whole of July; by this stage of the month, about 68% of its rain would normally have fallen.
The driest county has been Armagh, where just 3% of the average monthly rain has fallen so far – 2.4mm, a figure Mr Petanga described as “crazy”.
The Met Office is predicting that Saturday will be “cloudy with outbreaks of rain” in the Province following weeks of parched conditions.
Mr Cleland, 75, who farms outside Saintfield in Co Down, said he has been farming for over 50 years.
He told the News Letter: “I’ve never had as long a dry spell – never.
"Never ever had as long a dry spell. It’s a long time.”
While the lack of moisture is inhibiting grass growth, thanks to a good spring he had already cut his grass and prepared silage, so is well-prepared.
But he has not got quite enough to see him through to winter, so “we need [the rain] to come back again”.
Rainfall this weekend “will be great”, he said, “but it’ll take more than one splash of rain – it’ll take a bit of consistent rain to fill the reservoirs and the shucks”.
The UFU told the News Letter in a statement: "The prolonged warm and dry weather has placed additional pressure on water supplies and grass growth in some areas, while livestock farmers have also had to carefully manage animals during the hotter conditions.
"The forecast rain will therefore be welcomed, particularly by horticulture growers and farmers with crops and grazing ground in need of moisture.
“However, the warm weather also reinforces the need for extreme caution when mixing slurry, as dangerous gases can quickly build up in enclosed or poorly ventilated buildings.
"During Farm Safety Week, the UFU is urging farmers not to take any chances.
"Buildings should be fully ventilated, livestock removed and everyone must leave the shed once mixing begins.
"Slurry gas can kill within seconds, and no job is so urgent that it cannot be done safely."
Former UFU president Victor Chestnutt, who farms livestock near the Giant’s Causeway, lost two animals recently, for which he blames the heat.
But nonetheless he takes a sanguine view of the current dry spell.
"I wouldn’t complain at all about it,” he said.
"It is a wee bit dry, but we had it too wet and it took that to dry it up.
"Up here on the north coast, we’re enjoying it.
"They’ve forecast rain to come next week, and it’ll be fine.”
He added: “You can say if this is global warming, bring it on…
"With a drop of rain next week, I think we’ll recover.
"We’ve a wee bit of poor grass growth, but it’s nothing that we wouldn’t experience in a very wet year.
"It’s good to show that farmers are not always complaining.”
The Met Office said that so far this summer, 53% of the normal rainfall for the season has fallen (143mm).
The average amount which has normally fallen by this stage in the season is 55%.
Spring 2026 was drier than normal for Northern Ireland, with an average of 221.4mm of rain – 94% of the usual total.
But it followed a far wetter-than-normal winter, when an average of 415.9mm of rain fell: 127% of the typical seasonal amount.
This “emphasises the more extreme nature of the weather we’re getting,” said Mr Petagna.
Met Office chief forecaster Steve Willington said: “The high pressure has been a key feature of the UK’s weather forecast over the last few weeks, bringing above-average temperatures and extremely dry conditions for many.
"However, we will begin to see a modest change as a weak weather front pushes south across the UK on Saturday bringing some much-needed rain, albeit it light and mainly concentrated in the north and west.
"Behind the front a showery air mass will bring potentially heavy showers some of which may be thundery.”