Crops
Keeping a finger on the pulse
Richard Lynch, VALPRO Path project manager, tells us about the Teagasc led project focusing on adding value to pulse crops, this World Pulses Day, Saturday 10 February.
10 February 2024
Unlocking the potential of protein crops
The success of the Irish dairy industry is largely due to its ability to take milk and produce a whole host of products that later form the building blocks of other food products, but are there opportunities for the tillage sector to achieve similar results?
10 February 2024
Managing winter oilseed rape and evaluating the potential of spring beans
Teagasc Crops Specialist, Shay Phelan writes on the important management tasks to complete for winter oilseed rape crops, while also evaluating the potential of spring beans as a crop option this year.
08 February 2024
A preview of the Teagasc Regional Winter Crop walks
Teagasc will run a series of winter crop walks across the country from February 13 to 16. On this week’s Tillage Edge podcast, Shay Phelan, Teagasc Crops Specialist, chats about what to expect.
08 February 2024
Value your rotations carefully
Tillage rotations not only play an important role in maximising crop yields and margins, but they also bring sustainability benefits, Dermot Forristal, researcher in Teagasc Oak Park, told the recent National Tillage Conference.
07 February 2024
Glyphosate: Avoid the resistance risk!
Glyphosate is an essential component of IWM and a resistance management tool. We must protect its efficacy to ensure we can continue to control critical grass weeds in the future, writes Vijaya Bhaskar of Teagasc Oak Park.
06 February 2024
Watch: Farmers share experiences of ‘smash and grab’ winter plantings
The difficulties farmers experienced during the winter planting campaign were highlighted at the Teagasc National Tillage Conference. Tom Short, who farms in east Wicklow, and Tom Nolan from Co. Wexford gave an overview of how the winter planting season went on their farms.
04 February 2024
Converting to organic tillage
Martin Bourke, Teagasc organic tillage advisor, speaks with Liam O’Toole about his experience, one year in.
03 February 2024
Careful assessment required before committing to re-sow
Tillage farmers have been advised to assess their crops carefully before committing to re-sow. That was one of the key messages from Teagasc Crops Specialist, Shay Phelan who spoke at the Teagasc National Tillage Conference on January 31.
02 February 2024
Buffer strips and tillage farming - the benefits and regulatory requirements
All farmers have a role in the protection of water from nutrients and pesticides, writes Ciaran Collins, Teagasc Crops Specialist, and in a tillage context, one of the primary ways we can protect water is by the establishment of buffer strips along water courses.
01 February 2024
Survey results: 38% of winter area unsown
A survey conducted by the Teagasc Crops Department between December 18 and January 15 has highlighted the extent to which winter plantings have been delayed on tillage farms.
01 February 2024
Fertiliser markets update and is Polysulphate for you?
The fertiliser supply chain & costs have been volatile over the past couple of years, Liam Dunphy, Managing Director of Gouldings, & Peter Scott, Technical Director of The Fertiliser Division in Origin Enterprises Ireland/UK, join Michael Hennessy to talk about the fertiliser market and Polysulphate
01 February 2024
Tillage sector support payments commence
The commencement of support payments worth €14.3 million to the tillage sector was today, January 29th, announced by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, T.D.
29 January 2024
Final day to register for the Teagasc National Tillage Conference
The annual Teagasc National Tillage Conference will take place this Wednesday, 31st January, in the Lyrath Conference Centre, Kilkenny. This in-person conference is set against the background of a very difficult 2023 season, the impact of which has carried into 2024.
29 January 2024
The tillage sting in the tail after a difficult autumn
Many winter cereal crops were drilled early and have suffered varying levels of damage. Others were planted late, reducing yield potential; some crops were not planted at all. Growers must try to salvage these crops while keeping an eye on costs, Shay Phelan writes.
27 January 2024
Scale of seed shortage becomes apparent
Planting delays in spring 2023, challenging harvest conditions and a reduction in the winter planted area have combined to create seed shortages for tillage farmers this spring.
26 January 2024
Plan your nutrients to maximise your spend
Fertiliser is one of the largest variable costs every year on tillage farms. On the latest Tillage Edge podcast, Dr Veronica Nyhan, a tillage advisor in Teagasc, chats through the benefits of planning the correct nutrients for each crop in 2024.
25 January 2024
Planning for 2024 on tillage farms
Take the time to carefully plan your crops for 2024.
22 January 2024
A preview of the National Tillage Conference
Dr Ewen Mullins, Head of Crops Research at Teagasc, joins this week's Tillage Edge podcast to talk about the exciting line up and the change of format for this year's National Tillage Conference.
18 January 2024
Weed control in oilseed rape and managing cover crops
Shay Phelan writes about key considerations for winter crop management, weed control and catch crops.
18 January 2024
Month of tillage events commence to address ongoing challenges
The Teagasc crops team is commencing a month’s worth of events, which will offer farmers timely and practical advice to meet some of the key challenges arising at farm level.
16 January 2024
Winter wheat varieties can be successfully sown up to mid-February: Trials
Teagasc and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) variety trials have shown that winter wheat varieties can be successfully sown up to mid-February. Ciarán Collins tells us more about the trials and what the mean for tillage farmers.
12 January 2024
Revisiting the fundamentals of soil make-up and chemistry
This week’s episode of the Tillage Edge podcast is a repost of an episode from January 2023, with Professor Mike McLaughlin. Originally from Co. Antrim, he's a Research Professor with the University of Adelaide, Australia, and is an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow with Teagasc.
11 January 2024
The National Centre for Brewing and Distilling
It’s been almost a year since work began getting the national centre for brewing and distilling set-up and running.
08 January 2024
What to expect and planning for the year ahead
Having an optimistic view is one of the cornerstones for all farmers. Undoubtedly, there will be challenges in 2024, there are plenty of areas that tillage farmers can still be positive about.
04 January 2024
Forage crops and store lambs proving a good fit
Increasing the area of forage crops sown has helped integrate the sheep and tillage systems on the Gavin farm in Co Carlow, Ciarán Lynch, Teagasc Sheep Specialist, and Frank Campion, Sheep Researcher, tell us more.
02 January 2024
Grain the advantage
Innovations in plant variety testing in Europe are laying the foundation for more sustainable agriculture.
01 January 2024
Black grass and how to eliminate it from your farm
Grass weeds are a problem on almost all farms in Ireland and the scale of the increase and the measures necessary to control them is less well known.
28 December 2023
Weed control and monitoring the BYDV challenge
Very few winter cereal crops have received any herbicides so far in 2023. In this article, Shay Phelan, Teagasc Crops Specialist, looks at the options for weed control in winter barley, wheat and oilseed rape.
28 December 2023
Assessing options to make your farm more resilient
Judging performance in a year such as this can give a very negative view of a farm business, writes Shay Phelan, Teagasc Crops Specialist, but it’s an opportunity to identify areas to make your farm more resilient in the years ahead.
26 December 2023