The Tillage Edge

A year ago, many farmers faced significant challenges due to the unusually wet weather, which disrupted their crop rotations. 

For this week’s Tillage Edge, John Pettit, a Teagasc tillage advisor from South Wexford, shares his insights into how farmers are adapting their crop rotations to suit both their land and the local markets.

John explains that there may be more than one rotation on a farm to account for variations in soil, whether lighter or heavier. 

He also emphasises the importance of calculating financial margins on the farm to make more informed decisions.

For more episodes and information from the Tillage Edge podcast go to:
https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/crops/the-tillage-edge-podcast/

Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com 

Winter oilseed rape has grown strongly over the past month but these conditions are also good for foliar disease development.  

Dr Stephen Kildea joins the Tillage Edge this week to talk about disease levels in oilseed rape and if control is necessary.

He encourages all growers to walk their fields to look for Phoma and Light Leaf Spot (LLS) and recommends if LLS is not visible, to take some leaf samples, put in a bag, leave in a warm environment and assess after a couple of days.  If no disease is present then there is probably no need to apply a fungicide.  

For more episodes and information from the Tillage Edge podcast go to:
https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/crops/the-tillage-edge-podcast/

Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com 

Organic farming is gaining attention as a viable option for tillage farmers, especially with the demand for organic feed in livestock production on the rise. 

Martin Burke, an organic specialist from Teagasc, joins the Tillage Edge podcast to discuss how the recently opened Organic Scheme could offer new opportunities for farmers looking to diversify and improve sustainability.

With profitability challenges in conventional tillage farming, Martin says the organic scheme is ideally suited to tillage farming where part of the farm can be converted to organic and continue to farm the remaining area as conventional. 

For more episodes and information from the Tillage Edge podcast go to:
https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/crops/the-tillage-edge-podcast/

Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com 

Over recent weeks, most farmers have had the opportunity to plant winter crops, with many crops well emerged. 

Ciaran Collins, a tillage specialist, and Vijaya Bhaskar, a weed researcher from Teagasc, join the Tillage Edge podcast this week to discuss the best options for effective pre and post emergence weed control in winter cereals. 

Ciaran emphasises that controlling grass weeds through pre-emergence or early post-emergence is essential for effective management.

Vijaya provides an update on ALS herbicide-resistant annual meadow grass detected across the country, noting that pre-emergence herbicides are effective on these resistant populations.

For more episodes and information from the Tillage Edge podcast go to:
https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/crops/the-tillage-edge-podcast/

Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com 

With many crops just starting to emerge, it's time to think about protecting them from BYDV, or Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus.

Dr. Louise McNamara, an entomologist from Teagasc, joins this week’s Tillage Edge to discuss the best strategies for controlling BYDV in winter cereals.

Louise emphasises that monitoring for aphids is key to any Integrated Pest Management approach. 

However, due to the challenges of correctly identifying aphids and determining whether they carry the virus, the recommended timings for aphid control this year remain similar to previous years.

For more episodes and information from the Tillage Edge podcast go to:
https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/crops/the-tillage-edge-podcast/

Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com 

With harvest complete, farmers now have a clear understanding of the grain they have available for sale. 

While many have already sold their grain in forward market positions, others are considering deferring sales for several weeks or months.

James Nolan, a grain trader at Barnett-Hall, is on this week’s Tillage Edge to discuss the current market outlook and what farmers should expect as we move forwards.

James highlights the challenges of drought in Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as adverse weather conditions in South America. However, the underlying factor of abundant maize supplies is likely to keep pressure on the market.

For more episodes and information from the Tillage Edge podcast go to:
https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/crops/the-tillage-edge-podcast/

Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com 

The Department of Agriculture now has a full view of all nutrients imported onto tillage farms and this week on the Tillage Edge, Pat Murphy, Head of Environmental Knowledge Transfer in Teagasc, goes through what this means for farmers.  

Pat explains that all chemical fertilisers bought and organic manures imported onto a farm are reported to the Department of Agriculture and the combined figures can be used as part of an inspection on the farm.

Pat also encourages all farmers to declare any chemical fertilisers which are unused as closing stocks to the Department through the Agfood system as soon as possible.  

For more episodes and information from the Tillage Edge podcast go to:
https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/crops/the-tillage-edge-podcast/

Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com 

Weed control in winter cereals is essential to protect yields and to prevent weed seed return and on this week’s Tillage Edge, Shay Phelan and Ciaran Collins, Tillage Specialists at Teagasc, chat through the reasons to prioritise pre-emerge herbicide applications in winter wheat and winter barley.

Shay says there is some flexibility in the pre-emerge application timing, however there is very little flexibility in the rates and he recommends using high rates to achieve season-long persistency.  

The Teagasc Crop Report can be downloaded here from the Google and Apple app stores:

Google Play:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ie.teagasccropreport.app&pli=1    

Apple: 

https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/teagasc-crop-report/id1612644393

For more episodes and information from the Tillage Edge podcast go to:
https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/crops/the-tillage-edge-podcast/

Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com 

As planting season begins, the choice of crop varieties will shape the management practices for the year ahead. 

Ciaran Collins and Shay Phelan, Tillage Specialists at Teagasc, are on this week’s Tillage Edge to discuss the key factors in selecting varieties and why certain ones may be more suitable.

Ciaran advises that for larger acreages, a mix of varieties is crucial. He suggests starting with a BYDV-tolerant variety and then planting a combination of two-row and six-row varieties.

For more episodes and information from the Tillage Edge podcast go to:
https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/crops/the-tillage-edge-podcast/

Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com

This week on The Tillage Edge podcast, we’re circling back to the National Tillage Conference from earlier this year and focusing on the trade-offs of establishment systems with Jack Jameson, as well as the growing problem of weeds, particularly poppies, with Charlotte Morgan.

For more episodes and information from the Tillage Edge podcast go to:
https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/crops/the-tillage-edge-podcast/

Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com