Crops
Proposal to suspend Straw Incorporation Measure for 2024
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D, today, July 19, announced that he intends to seek a deferral of the 2024 Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) from the European Commission.
17 July 2024
Rat’s tail fescue - an emerging threat
Rat's tail fescue can become dominant where ploughing is not practiced due to limited effective chemical options, writes Vijaya Bhaskar of Teagasc Oak Park.
17 July 2024
Worrying picture painted on herbicide resistance
The results of herbicide resistance testing from 2023 harvest samples paint a worrying picture.
16 July 2024
Growing Organics: Sucklers, sheep and tillage in Donegal
Cathal McCauley, Teagasc Organics Advisor, shares insights from John Hamilton’s farm in Co. Donegal, the host of a recent Growing Organics farm walk and home to a suckler, sheep and tillage enterprise.
12 July 2024
Cover crops and straw incorporation – the benefits to tillage farms
John Mahon, Teagasc Signpost Tillage Advisor, tells us more on cover crops and straw incorporation - two post-harvest sustainability actions for tillage farmers that contribute positively to reducing their farms’ greenhouse gas emissions, while also providing additional benefits.
11 July 2024
Wexford’s Gavin Tully on running his successful organic tillage farm
Organic tillage farming may seem out of reach to most conventional tillage farmers. However, Gavin Tully, an organic tillage farmer in Wexford, is on this week’s Tillage Edge podcast to explain how he has successfully negotiated some of the problems associated with the organic system.
11 July 2024
Book straw supply as soon as possible
Shay Phelan, Crops Specialist at Teagasc, provided the reconvened meeting of the National Fodder and Food Security Committee on July 8 with a tillage update, where he shared key details on crop performance, potential yields and straw availability.
10 July 2024
Budget and take action to secure fodder stocks
The results and key advisory messages arising from the Teagasc June Fodder Survey were presented to the National Fodder and Food Security Committee (NFFSC) on Monday, July 8.
09 July 2024
Why is there a shortage of Irish spuds in the shops right now?
Many consumers are noticing that Irish spuds are both scarce and expensive at the moment, with very few "new potatoes" available on shop shelves, Shay Phelan tells us why.
05 July 2024
Top of the crops
For six decades, the Crops Research Centre at Teagasc’s Oak Park campus has been at the forefront of development and innovation in crop science and agronomy. Richie Hackett tells us more.
04 July 2024
Crop Outlook: Winter crops, spring beans and potatoes
Shay Phelan discusses the current status and challenges of winter barley, wheat, spring beans and potatoes.
04 July 2024
New varieties are bringing improved resistance
John Dunne, Arable Trials and Agronomy Manager at Goldcrop, joined the Tillage Edge podcast this week to chat about the varieties coming through the system.
04 July 2024
Time to review your winter feed situation
With PastureBase Ireland showing a 1.2t DM/ha reduction in total grass growth for the first six months of the year when compared to the previous five-year average, the Teagasc Grass10 team is advising farmers to complete a fodder budget to review their winter feed situation.
03 July 2024
Consumer perceptions of plant-based protein key focus of upcoming webinar
How does the European consumer feel about plant-based proteins? What does the future of sustainable consumption look like? These will be just some of the questions addressed as part of the upcoming VALPRO Path webinar titled: ‘European Consumer Perceptions of Plant-Based Protein’.
02 July 2024
Glyphosate label changes
As a result of the re-registration of the glyphosate products, there are some significant changes to the labels (including changes in PCS numbers), which will impact on the use of glyphosate. Ciaran Collins tells us more.
27 June 2024
Brian Caldbeck, a Laois man living in the US, has concerns about the US crops
The wet and cold spring in Ireland was mirrored in the US according to Brian Caldbeck, a Laois man, who is farming and running a seeds business in Kentucky, USA, and joins Michael on this week’s Tillage Edge podcast.
27 June 2024
Safety during Busy Times on the Farm
The summer is some of the busiest times on Irish farms with many essential activities taking place. Children are on holidays from school and may be out and about on farms. Martina Donnelly discusses ways to stay safe during this busy time.
27 June 2024
Benefits of Cover Cropping
Coming off the back of a very wet autumn and winter, it was clear to see the huge benefits a well-established cover crop can bring in terms of protecting soils and reducing losses of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment to water.
24 June 2024
Tim Bergin’s crops in Poland are full of promise
Despite reports of poor weather in parts of Europe, Tim Bergin, a Dubliner who farms in Poland, is on this week’s Tillage Edge podcast to discuss his farming operation where crops are said to look excellent and he’s hopeful for a good harvest.
20 June 2024
Farm and field specific plans needed to improve water quality
The recently published ‘Water Quality in 2023: An indicators Report’ by the EPA has shown no significant change in any of the water quality indicators for Ireland’s rivers, lakes, estuaries and groundwaters in 2023.
18 June 2024
Weed Watch-2024: Herbicide resistance testing
Teagasc launched a ‘Weed Watch-2024’ campaign with the Irish Farmers Journal to encourage growers and industry to utilize the weed seed resistance testing service to test suspect populations of Blackgrass, Italian ryegrass, Wild oats, Bromes, Meadow grass, Poppy, Chickweed, Speedwell, Corn marigold.
17 June 2024
Signpost update: Trialling different establishment methods in Cork
Teagasc Signpost Tillage farmer, Darren Allen tells us how he’s managed through a difficult spring, while also providing an update on his establishment methods for spring malting barley, with both conventional and regenerative systems used.
14 June 2024
Tillage advice: Off-colour barley, ramularia control and the new strain of potato blight
Teagasc Crops Specialist, Shay Phelan shares key advice for spring cereals, fungicide control programmes and EU43 – a new strain of potato blight identified in Ireland.
13 June 2024
Key management actions for spring crops
As we move towards the end of the growing season, some final actions are necessary on spring crops.
13 June 2024
Further extension to liming programme announced
A further extension to the date by which lime must be spread under the National Liming Programme has been announced.
13 June 2024
‘Off colour’ spring barley causing concern for growers
Ciaran Collins, Teagasc Crops Specialist, looks at some of the factors leading to spring barley crops being ‘off colour’, and some of the remedial actions required.
06 June 2024
The Kilkenny farmer getting the best from organic manures
Kilkenny farmer Kevin O’Donnell joins Michael Hennessy on this week’s Tillage Edge podcast to explain how he is getting the best from organic manures on his tillage operation.
06 June 2024
Grass weeds - a growing problem on Irish tillage farms
Shay Phelan, Teagasc Tillage Specialist, and Vijaya Bhaskar, Teagasc Researcher, Oak Park, write: The recent Enable Conservation Tillage (ECT) project aimed to inform farmers, who wish to transition into reduced cultivation systems, about one of the potential pitfalls: uncontrollable grassweeds.
04 June 2024
Creating a fertiliser plan – why it’s needed and how to get one completed
Getting a fertiliser plan should be a priority for every farmer in 2024, writes Tim Hyde, Environment Specialist at Teagasc, who details why it’s required and the process of having one completed.
31 May 2024
Tailoring disease control strategies for spring barley
With many spring barley crops at the stem extension stage, Head of Crops Knowledge Transfer at Teagasc, Michael Hennessy discusses the importance of knowing your varieties when selecting the most appropriate disease control strategy.
31 May 2024