Growers paid over the odds to water crops in July, August

Some vegetable growers had to pay nine times the normal amount to water their crops during this summer's drought conditions, a new report by Teagasc has found.

According to the findings, a single 25mm irrigation application generally costs around €345 per hectare, however, to protect their crops during the exceptionally dry and warm weather in July and August some growers spent more than €3,100 per hectare to water vegetables such as lettuce.

Even with the extra irrigation, Teagasc's Specialist Vegetable Adviser Eoin Sweetman noted that "even on irrigated ground, we saw higher grade-out rates, more variable size and quality that didn't meet specification, so growers were often paying more to produce less marketable yield, not less overall production".

In its report, the state body for agriculture and food development says the country's field vegetable sector "faces a significant challenge in managing the increases in risk and costs posed by climate change".

The Teagasc research also said Ireland experienced its hottest summer on record in 2026, "marking the second consecutive year in which the national summer temperature record has been broken.

"A severe, sharply concentrated drought through July and into August placed exceptional pressure on outdoor field vegetable production, with impacts varying enormously depending on one factor above all others: access to irrigation."

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The report titled 'The 2026 Drought and Its Aftermath: Impact and Recovery in the Irish Outdoor Vegetable Sector' - noted that from the third week of August "the weather pattern broke down, rain returned across the country, and soil moisture has since recovered to close to normal levels for the time of year".

According to the research, unirrigated crops saw yield and quality losses of 25% to 40%, while irrigated crops retained substantially more of their value.

"Subsequent weather since late August has created uneven timing of recovery, meaning that surplus and shortage can occur at different points in the season, and even simultaneously across different crops," the research found.

"The clearest risk now is disrupted continuity of supply, not a simple lack of product," it added.

Teagasc said that only 30% to 35% of Ireland's vegetable production area carries sufficient irrigation capacity, and that capacity itself is not simply about access to water: it depends on equipment, infrastructure, labour, location and soil type together.

"Even well-equipped growers found that capacity, built for two-to-three-week dry spells, was tested by a drought that ran eight to nine weeks," it said.

The report said comparable drought and water restrictions affected growers in the UK and Europe this summer, which it said are relevant to Ireland's reliance on imported produce.

Head of Teagasc's Horticulture Development Department Dermot Callaghan, said: "2026 wasn't an anomaly, it was a rehearsal, and not just for Ireland. It seems clear that what counted as adequate irrigation capacity needs to shift in line with climate.

"Unlike many in Europe, Ireland has plenty of water on an annual basis; what's missing is the infrastructure to manage it according to seasonal crop requirements. The work of closing that gap must start now, because the next event of this scale is no longer a risk to plan for. It is a certainty to prepare for."