03 September 2024
Diary date: What’s planned for the Teagasc Crops Forum?
As poor weather over recent cropping seasons has forced many farmers into making decisions which affected rotations and soil health, the upcoming Teagasc Crops Forum 2024 will address some of these critical areas.
Some of the key elements to be covered at the event taking place on September 11 are: how to get rotations back on track; early planting of winter barley; and an in-depth focus on assessing soils, draining wet spots and, at the same time, the protection of water quality.
Varieties
Session one commences at 2pm on September 11. Chaired by Ewen Mullins, Head of Crop Science Department at Teagasc, this session will focus on ‘mapping the best varieties for your farm’.
Cara Mac Aodháin of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s Cereal Variety Testing Division will focus on the varieties available for the upcoming planting seasons, focusing on their strengths and weaknesses and how this information may be used to your advantage when selecting the most appropriate varieties to grow on your farm.
Following this presentation, Tillage Specialist at Teagasc, Ciaran Collins will look at rotations and their risks and how to ensure you get it right on your farm. Concluding this session will be Dr Richie Hackett, who’ll delve into the risks associated with the early planting of winter barley and how to maximise the yield potential of the crop. All three speakers will partake in a questions and answers session after their presentations.
Healthy soils for better returns
Session two, commencing at 3pm and this time chaired by Michael Hennessy, Head of Crops Knowledge Transfer at Teagasc, turns to the role healthy soils play in generating better returns. Speakers in this session include: Veronica Nyhan, Soil Specialist at Teagasc, who’ll centre her presentation on soil assessment and repair; Cathal Somers, Water Specialist at Teagasc, who’ll focus on soil drainage on mineral tillage soils; and Eoghan O’Brien, ASSAP Advisor, who’ll discuss water quality while sharing tillage farmer experiences. Like session one, a question and answer session will take place after the presentations.
The Tillage Forum
The concluding element of the event is the Tillage Forum, which commences at 4.10pm. Consisting of a panel of Teagasc Specialists, soil experts, drainage contractors etc, this session will discuss repairing and maintaining soils for good functionality and to improve soil health. The panel will also address how improvements in soils can benefit water quality.
When and where?
The Teagasc Crops Forum 2024 takes place in the Keadeen Hotel, Newbridge, Co. Kildare, W12 T925 on September 11. Commencing at 2pm, this in-person only event is free to all.
More information on the Teagasc Crops Forum 2024 is available here.