Horticulture

Maria Keane - Green Cert experience
“The Green Cert gives you a great foundation in agriculture,” says Maria about the Teagasc distance Level 6 Specific Purpose Certificate in Farming course, which she completed at Gurteen College. Maria talks about her distance "Green Cert" course which she found flexible and accommodating
26 July 2022

Dave Moloney - Green Cert student experience
“My only regret is that I didn’t do it years ago!” says Dave Moloney, Co Cork about the Teagasc part-time Level 6 Specific Purpose Certificate in Farming course, which he completed at Teagasc Macroom. Dave, who won 2021 Teagasc Student of the Year Competition, talks about his "Green Cert" course
25 July 2022

Promoting Positive Mental Health among Farmers
Mental Health Awareness is today's Farm Safety Week theme. Farmers live in constantly changing times with possibilities of farming problems and many issues that can cause stress and associated mental health challenges. John McNamara, Teagasc Health & Safety Specialist discusses managing stress here
22 July 2022

Farm safety champions and farm accident survivors
It's #FarmSafetyWeek and Wednesday's theme is farm safety champions and farm accident survivors. Teagasc Health and Safety Specialists, Francis Bligh and John McNamara encourage you to be a farm safety champion this July. They introduce Ann Doherty, a south Kilkenny farmer and accident survivor
20 July 2022

Thomas Curran is New Head of the Teagasc Advisory Service
Thomas Curran has been appointed as the new Head of the Teagasc Advisory Service. The appointment was approved by the Teagasc Authority today, Tuesday, 19 July. Thomas Curran will lead the Teagasc advisory service, which is delivered to farmers nationwide by a team of agricultural advisors
19 July 2022

Young persons - be safe around farm vehicles and machinery
Health and Safety Authority figures tell us that sadly 22 children lost their lives as a result of farm accidents in the past 10 years. HSA figures also tell us that 91% of childhood deaths on farms had a farm vehicle or a machine involved. Get some advice here on keeping young persons safe
19 July 2022

Child Safety on Farms in 2022
The farm safety week theme for Tuesday is Child safety on farms. Francis Bligh, Teagasc Health & Safety Specialist outlines ways to keep children safe on farm. He discusses the importance of teaching children about farm safety and lists various resources for children including ‘Stay Safe with Jessy'
19 July 2022

Why July is the most dangerous month
Grim figures suggest greater caution than ever is needed on farms in summer. Farm Safety Week 2022 takes place from Monday 18 to Friday 22 July. This is timely as Francis Bligh, Teagasc Health and Safety Specialist demonstrates that July is the most dangerous month on farms. Read more here
15 July 2022

Today's Farm - July/August 2022
The July/August edition of our bi-monthly magazine is now available online. In this edition Meet our Green Cert graduates. With Farm Safety Week in July we learn it's the most dangerous month. Also Seven steps to maximise lamb performance, Growing demand for oilseed rape; joining ACRES and more
15 July 2022

How to control potato blight
The current edition of The Tillage Edge features researcher Steven Kildea discussing potato blight with crops specialist Shay Phelan.
07 July 2022

Tillage Update on Oilseed Rape Desiccation and Potato Blight
Shay Phelan, Teagasc Crops and Potato specialist provides this week's tillage update. He has advice on how to decide if an Oilseed rape crop is ready for desiccation and the steps to take. He also discusses potato blight, Met Eireann's blight warning system and various fungicides which can be used
30 June 2022

Successful Kildalton 50th Open Day
The Teagasc Kildalton Agriculture, Horticulture and Equine College in Piltown county Kilkenny opened its doors and its gates to thousands of visitors on Saturday, 25 June to celebrate its 50th year as an education college.
27 June 2022

Saving our soil
Teagasc is engaged in an extensive range of research including national and international collaborations. Teagasc highlights the impacts of its latest research in "Research impact highlights in 2020". Soil is one such area as Teagasc researchers Michael Gaffney and Dheeraj Rathore outline here
26 June 2022

Safety net: food security in Ireland
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to a global increase in food costs, worsening food security problems in some countries, and introducing it to others. Here, Teagasc’s Head of Rural Economy Development Programme Kevin Hanrahan examines food security in Ireland, and rising food prices
23 June 2022

Show Jessy your Farm Safety ideas and win!
Calling 4-12 year olds! Jessy the Sheep Dog, our Teagasc Farm Safety mascot, loves to help keep everyone safe on the farm so she wants to give 4 lucky winners a prize. Find out about the ‘Stay Safe with Jessy' art competition, how to enter and what you can win. Closing date for entries is 22 July
19 June 2022

Growing Wild - bluebells and guelder rose
Catherine Keena, Teagasc Countryside Management Specialist takes a closer look at some of our native Irish biodiversity to look out for in the countryside. Here she shares some interesting facts of nature about bluebells and guelder rose
19 June 2022

New Teagasc Regional Reviews Published
Teagasc has published Reviews for each of the 12 Teagasc Advisory Regions. The reviews give an overview of the range of the agricultural and farming sectors in each region. The supporting advisory activities and education courses provided by Teagasc are also highlighted and available in the reviews.
19 June 2022

Heart health – changes are needed
Farmers aged 17 to 64 are seven times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than salaried employees. Simple steps can reduce your risk. John McNamara Teagasc Health and Safety specialist & Diana van Doorn Teagasc Walsh Scholar discuss this recent major study on improving cardiovascular health
12 June 2022

Planning for Succession & Inheritance
Planning for succession is a vital process to engage in, for all farm families. It is through this process that that the next generation of farmers or farm owners are brought into farming or the ownership of land. Thomas Curran, Regional Manager of Teagasc Cork West has worthwhile advice here
07 June 2022

Hebe Shrub 2.0
A novel Hebe shrub developed by researchers at Teagasc has the potential to be a new candidate crop for the growing cut foliage sector. Farhana Afroze, Helen Grogan & Andy Whelton of the Horticulture Development Dept and Gerry Douglas formerly Forestry Development Dept worked on the research
05 June 2022

John Burke receives World Potato Congress Industry Award
John Burke has been announced as one of the winners of the World Potato Congress Industry Awards. John Burke is one of Ireland’s foremost experts in the area of potato agronomy.
02 June 2022

TResearch Summer 2022
TResearch is an official science publication of Teagasc. It aims to disseminate the results of the organisation’s research to a broad audience. Picture of health - Researchers are leading work to improve the health and happiness of animals on farms, as public interest in animal welfare increases
31 May 2022

Treat yourself to a wildlife pond
Ponds have been garden features for millennia. Chris Heavey, Lecturer, Teagasc College at the National Botanic Gardens gives us an overview of what is involved in creating a wildlife pond and outlines his experience of creating a pond in his garden.
29 May 2022

How farmers can help bees on World Bee Day
It's #WorldBeeDay. Bees need food all year round, requiring a diversity of flowering plants in the landscape. Farmers can help bees by allowing space for wildflowers to grow and flower within hedgerows and field margins, around farmyards, along farm roadways and in field corners. Learn more here
20 May 2022

Kildalton 50th Anniversary Open Day launched
Kildalton College in South Kilkenny will hold a major open day on Saturday, 25th of June this year kindly supported by FBD. Martin Heydon TD, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine recently launched the open day in Kildalton and reviewed the plans for the event.
16 May 2022

Today's Farm - May/June 2022
The May/June edition of our bi-monthly magazine is now available online. The main focus of this edition is on Teagasc Grange research and previews the BEEF2022 Open Day. It also has articles on the upcoming Sheep Open Day; heart health; butterflies and moths; fodder budgets; silage walls and more.
13 May 2022

27% of farmers in Ireland report their wellbeing was ‘poor’ or ‘below average’
A recent Irish study shows that 27% of farmers reported their wellbeing was ‘poor’ or ‘below average’ whilst a further study found that the most common sources of work related stress are weather, workload and money. Other issues causing stress include policy changes, regulation and farm succession.
10 May 2022

Commercial Apple Production
Irish apples have been grown commercially for over a century. Dessert apples are the most common type found in retail sales in Ireland. It should also be noted that the proportion of Irish apple retail sales through supermarkets has increased in recent decades. Find out more in this factsheet
08 May 2022

Managing stress
The most valuable assets that any person has is their health and safety. With pig farmers facing into increasingly difficult times – be it financial, personal or professional – the one thing that shouldn’t be neglected is your mental health and well-being.
06 May 2022

New strawberry varieties to complement ‘Malling Centenary’ - Webinar
Dr. Eamonn Kehoe, Teagasc Soft Fruit Advisor hosted an interactive seminar on Tuesday, 15th March which focused on the new strawberry varieties to complement ‘Malling Centenary’. Eamonn was joined by guest speaker Adam Whitehouse, Strawberry breeder, NIAB East Malling Research, East Malling, Kent.
01 May 2022