Day 1 of the National Crops Forum highlighted important information on varieties, septoria and grain markets which is worth listening to if you missed it the first time around.

The new varieties of winter barley, wheat and oats were discussed, as well as the influence of sowing dates on septoria control for the season with John Joe Byrne from the Department of Agriculture and Teagasc’s Stephen Kildea.

Phelim Dolan, from Comex McKinnon, shared his thoughts on the prospects for grain for the coming months. He strongly suggests all growers look closely at markets and take a profit when it’s there as it may not be around for long.

On this week’s Tillage Edge podcast you’ll hear the questions and answers between Michael Hennessy and the speakers.

The full webinar can be found on the Teagasc Crops YouTube channel at:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR1LyJxDjO0dFywu6Y3OXnw

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

Hedgerows are a very important resource within our landscape but over-management is an issue on tillage farms according to Dr Catherine Keena, a Countryside Management Specialist in Teagasc who joins Michael Hennessy on this week’s Tillage Edge podcast.

Catherine encourages farmers to leave some of the hedgerows unmanaged each year to let plants flower which is good for pollinators, and the resulting fruit, which provides vital food for wildlife through the year.

She also highlights the number of bee species which use hedgerows throughout the year and explained how there are over fifty-five species of birds which nest in hedgerows each year.

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

Headlands occupy a significant proportion of fields, particularly in an Irish context – for example, a 24 metre headland makes up 50% of the total area on a 4 hectare field. Meanwhile, the increasing size and weight of machinery is a threat to soil structure and its ability to produce crops efficiently is a concern.

On this week’s Tillage Edge podcast, Dr Mark Ward joined Michael Hennessy to discuss his work in this area.

Mark reported variable yields on headlands with yield reductions of up to 30% recorded at the field edge. The importance of correctly setting fertiliser spreaders for accurate headland applications was stressed. Fertiliser spreading on headlands tends to be uneven and Mark recorded application rates varying from 80-120% of the target rate.

Soil structural quality differed across headlands with the poorest structure documented in the zone where all machine turns are concentrated. Mark advises all growers to grab a spade and investigate the soil structural condition on their headlands. This will focus growers on maintaining output on headlands by protecting the soils.

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

On this week’s Tillage Edge Podcast Shay Phelan talks to soil specialist Mark Plunkett about the impact of the rising cost of fertilisers on tillage farms.

This increase in prices has led to a renewed interest in the use of organic manures on tillage farms.

Mark discusses the value and costs of the different manures available, the practicalities of using them and the crops most likely to benefit the most from using organic manures.

Mark also discusses their impact in reducing greenhouse gas emissions as well as overall fertiliser costs to the farmers.

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

On this week’s Tillage Edge Podcast Shay Phelan talks to three advisors around the country for latest on the harvest.

Broken weather over the last few weeks has slowed down the progress of the harvest so Shay spoke to Conor Kavanagh in Tipperary, Ciaran Hickey in Enniscorthy and John Brophy in Louth to get a view from their areas.

While the harvest has been a stop-start affair so far, some of the highlights according to the three advisers has been above-average yields, good quality grain, low proteins in malting barley and a good demand for straw.

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

Cover crops can be useful for many different functions in a field but some farmers see them as an inconvenience both to plant and to manage before the next crop.

Richie Hackett, a researcher in Teagasc, Oak Park, Carlow, has been working with cover crops for over 10 years and joined Michael Hennessy on this week’s Tillage Edge podcast to go through some of his findings - especially the advantages of planting cover crops early.

Richie explained how cover crops are useful for mopping up nitrogen, growing organic matter, reducing soil erosion, helping soil structure and soil health and can supply nitrogen to the next crop.

Richie advocated planting early as trials show a 2t DM/ha reduction in crops grown for every three week delay in planting from late July. He was surprised by the scale of the differences but said that all crops were ploughed back in before the next crop without difficulty or the use of glyphosate.

Richie has produced a video outlining the advantages of planting cover crops early:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P7nShiQLrc

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

Many growers are switching between harvesting and planting this month to get their winter oilseed rape planted and on this week’s Tillage Edge, Ciaran Collins, a Tillage Specialist in Teagasc, joins Michael Hennessy to give an insight into the advantages of getting the crop planted in August rather than September.

Ciaran points to the increased growth, giving the plant more resilience against pests early in the season, bird attacks later in the season and how the crop will take up more nitrogen allowing for saving in the spring, as all beneficial factors.

Growers should select varieties carefully, he advises, as resistance to light leaf spot is very important in the Irish climate. The DAFM recommended list is a good place to start looking for information. There are other sources of information especially from the UK however, growers should look at these sources carefully as they don’t fully translate to growing conditions in Ireland.

Ciaran also points out the advantages and disadvantages of the different weed control options available to farmers. Pre-emerge has advantages in controlling chickweed and speedwell whereas post-emergence applications are necessary for grass weed control and for some broad leaf weeds like fumitory.

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

Close to 2,000 farmers signed up to incorporate some or all of their straw this year and on this week’s Tillage Edge podcast, Dermot Forristal joins Michael Hennessy to chat through the main factors to take into consideration when incorporating straw.

Dermot explains that depth of incorporation can be quite flexible from 5cm up to 10 cm with good soil to straw contact heeling with a more rapid breakdown.

Soils in a non-inversion system may be able to cope with straw raking, which stirs the straw on the surface with some clay and is reliant on soil worms to help the mixing process.

The breakdown process can result in a demand for nitrogen as straw has a high Carbon to Nitrogen ratio. However trials suggest the application of extra nitrogen is not needed to help the breakdown process as there is sufficient freely available soil nitrogen.

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 potential of combines or indeed other machinery to spread weeds is now a serious concern for most farmers as grass weeds such as blackgrass, canary grass and wild oats can be easily spread and this is more worrying when these weeds may be herbicide resistant.

Dermot Forristal and Brendan Bourke joined Michael Hennessy on this week’s Tillage Edge podcast to discuss machinery hygiene at harvest.

Dermot explained that a large combine can cover over 900 hectares over the season which could be as much as 70 average size fields. Each of these fields will have different weed burdens and the potential for spread of seeds from field to field is enormous.

Brendan Bourke outlined the main areas where weeds can build up on the combine and the best tools to use to dislodge these weeds. Brendan strongly recommends a cleaning routine on a daily basis, for fire safety reasons, but also to prevent weeds spreading by the combine.

The advice to farmers who are using contractors over the harvest is to discuss the need for weed-free machinery before the contractor comes to the field.

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

On this week’s episode of the Tillage Edge podcast, Shay Phelan catches up with Tim Bergin who is a Dublin farmer now farming near Slupsk in North West Poland.

Tim spoke to the Tillage Edge earlier in the year but Shay got an update on the season so far on his farm and the prospects for the harvest not only in Poland but all across Europe.

Tim also spoke about the impact of drought on his potato crop and the impact on yields and supply.

Like in Ireland, Covid 19 and Brexit are having an effect in Poland and Tim describes the issues that have affected his business but also the potential opportunities that may arise as a consequence.

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