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Tillage Establishment Systems and Grass Weed Webinars

Enable Conservation Tillage (ECT) Project

The Enable Conservation Tillage (ECT) project ran a series of webinars focusing on tillage systems and grass weeds. 

The webinars gave an insight into farms from across Ireland who are converting to non-plough based systems and also how these farmers are dealing with grass weed challenges.

Specialists and Advisors gave an overview of the practice change to date and Researchers gave an overview of research to date around resistant issues.   

Details of the webinars are as follows:

Tuesday, 8th June | 11:30am - from the South East

Host Ciaran Collins, Teagasc Tillage Specialist was joined by ECT focus farmer Simon Neville, along with his Teagasc Adivsor, John Pettit and ECT Project Manager Jimmy Staples to give an insight into his current cultivation system, some of the issues that he's had with grass weeds throughout the years and some of the plans he has in place to overcome these issues.

Garrett Browne, ECT focus farmer and his Teagasc Advisor Ciaran Hickey also joined the webinar to give an insight into how weather and soil conditions dictate what cultivation methods he uses, wild oat resistance, sterile brome on the farm and what he does to overcome the challenges on the farm.

Watch webinar recording below

Tuesday, 22nd June | 11:30am - from the North East

Host Shay Phelan, Teagasc Crops Specialist was joined by Conor O'Callaghan, Teagasc Crops Advisor; Gareth Culligan, Base Ireland and tillage farmer Michael Grace.

Michael Grace who farms with his father Shay in Clane, Co. Kildare was joined by his Teagasc Tillage Advisor Ivan Whitten to discuss the sterile brome problems that they've experienced on their farm over the last number of years. Michael gives an insight into changes and practices that they've put in place on their farm over the past 10 years to control sterile brome on the farm. 

Conor O'Callaghan, who is a Teagasc Crops Advisor based in north county Dublin discusses the issue of blackgrass on a couple of farms in the area, how it has impacted on those farms and the control measures that they've put in place to try and deal with that problem. 

Gareth Culligan from Base Ireland joined the webinar to discuss the systems that he has put in place on his farm in Stabannon, Co. Louth. Gareth also gives an insight into the changes and practices that he has put in place on his farm over the last number of years as he has moved from a plough based system to a no-till or a direct drill system.

Watch webinar recording below

Tuesday, 6th July | 11:30am - from the South

The final Enable Conservation Tillage (ECT) project webinar looked at blackgrass and sterile brome control on three ECT focus farmers and how the identification of resistant grassweeds on these farms will affect their management strategies.

Host Shay Phelan, Teagasc Crops Specialist was joined by three ECT focus farmers, Donnie McGrath, Tipperary; Bill Shanahan, Waterford and Rob Coleman, Cork. Also joining the webinar were Jimmy Staples, ECT Project Manager, Teagasc; Vijaya Bhaskar, ECT Project Researcher, Teagasc; Michael McCarthy & Elaine Clifford, Teagasc Cork East Tillage Advisors; and Conor Kavanagh, Teagasc Tipperary Tillage Advisor.

Topics covered

  • Blackgrass and sterile brome control in non-inversion tillage systems
  • Resistant grass weed identification and management

Watch back the webinar below

ECT Project is a European Innovation Partnership (EIP) co-funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM) under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020.