In the first Tillage Edge podcast for 2022, Michael Hennessy talks to Will Stokes, a tillage farmer in Tipperary, who is participating in the Signpost Farm programme.

Will and his Teagasc advisor, Conor Kavanagh, discuss how Will is making changes on his farm, particularly around caring for the soils.

Will is focused on building soil reserves of P & K and as part of that imports organic manures each year. He recently undertook GPS soil sampling to more accurately target nutrient gaps and, he says, finds the information particularly useful to making better decisions for the farm.

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

In the final podcast for 2021, The Tillage Edge looks forward to 2022 with Shay Phelan and Ciaran Collins, both Tillage Specialists in Teagasc.

They discuss the major challenges facing farmers such as high fertiliser prices and the new CAP.

There is a lot to play for in tillage in 2022 and due to the higher costs, especially with fertilisers, many are commenting that growing cereals this year is a much bigger gamble than normal.

Both Ciaran and Shay give some pointers as to how farmers can cope with these changes.

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

Andy Mahon, an Irish man and farm manager of a large farm in the UK, returns to the Tillage Edge this week to discuss with Michael Hennessy how his season went from June to December this year.

Andy reported exceptional yields (11t/ha) from his winter wheats in 2021 (on a direct drill system) but was disappointed with the spring wheat.

Andy described the harvest as ‘the wettest dry weather’ they had for some time and by that. he meant the dull weather over harvest slowed drying and most grains were harvested at 17-18 MC, or very similar to an Irish harvest.

Andy commented that the autumn drilling went extremely, well given all the good weather. However, knowing what he knows now, he would have preferred to delay planting for at least a couple of weeks to help control blackgrass on the farm.

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

Tom Tierney, a farmer in North Kildare, who converted to a direct drill system six years ago, and Ivan Whitten, his Teagasc advisor, join Michael Hennessy on this week’s Tillage Edge podcast to discuss Tom’s farming system and how sustainability is at the core of all his decisions.

Teagasc have set up a network of farms, under the Signpost Farm banner, to help demonstrate sustainable practices and Tom Tierney is participating as one of these farms. Other farmers will get a chance in the coming year to visit Tom’s farm and explore his system as to where he is making gains around the environment and sustainability.

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

2021 will be remembered by most people as an excellent year for tillage farmers. However the year wasn’t without its ups and downs in terms of weather and other events and on this week’s Tillage Edge podcast, Michael Hennessy looks back on 2021 with Shay Phelan and Ciaran Collins, tillage specialists in Teagasc, to hear how it treated tillage farmers.

Ciaran first highlighted the issues around the cold conditions during the spring and how farmers managed with these conditions, but both Shay and Ciaran said that 2021 will be remembered as being an almost perfect year for getting work completed and also for increased income.

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

Jim McCarthy, a farmer from Kildare, joins Michael Hennessy on this week’s Tillage Edge podcast to talk about his farming business in Romania.

The company that Jim manages is farming close to 20,000 hectares, employs over 150 staff and ships all of the grain grown through the Black Sea port in Constanta.

Jim gives a fascinating insight into the farming business which grows a wide range of crops including soya, wheat, sun flowers, sugar beet, oilseed rape and more.

He told the podcast how the changes put in place over the past few years have increased yields on the farm but he is still at the mercy of the weather.

The dry conditions have hampered wheat germination and this is a problem across Ukraine and Russia also.

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

Dermot Forristal, Oak Park, Teagasc joins Michael Hennessy on this week’s Tillage Edge podcast to discuss getting machines ready for the winter.

Dermot focuses on protecting sprayers from frost and says that any heavy frost can cause damage but the most damaging time tends to be a sustained period of frosty weather over a week or so.

Dermot recommends larger sprayers would need 10-15L of concentrated antifreeze mixed at a 30% dilution rate should be sufficient for temperatures in Ireland.

This quantity of liquid should be sufficient to circulate through all elements of the sprayer including the spray lines.

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

John Crowley, a tillage farmer in Wexford, has been working closely with Teagasc to improve his profitability in the past few years as part of the Teagasc/Boortmalt Joint Programme and he joins Michael Hennessy on this week’s Tillage Edge podcast.

John is also interested in reducing his GHG emission on the farm in areas such as cover crops and straw incorporation, as well as hedgerow/forestry management and is looking forward to measuring these changes as part of the Teagasc Signpost Programme.

Eoin Lyons, his joint programme advisor, has been working with John to improve yield and the quantities of malting barley delivered in spec to Boortmalt.

John and Eoin have been targeting seedbed consolidation to improve plant establishment. Various trials have shown getting this correct has resulted in an increase of 50 plants per metre squared. This adds to the yield and ultimately profitability of the system.

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

Fertiliser prices continue to rise putting pressure on crop margins for 2022. Shay Phelan and Ciaran Collins, Teagasc Tillage Specialists, join Michael Hennessy on this week's Tillage Edge podcast with practical ways to reduce your farm's dependence on chemical fertilisers and also how to make the most of every kilogram purchased.

Shay explains how a grower applying good quality cattle slurry (3,000 gal/ac) to 50 acres can save €6,000 on chemical fertiliser (not including the costs of slurry spreading). Similarly Ciaran outlined a change in farm rotation, by maximising beans, could save 7 tonnes of CAN in 2022.

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

Oilseed rape crops have powered ahead this year and most crops are in great shape for the winter. Plantings of oilseed rape are up by 30% and forward prices are up by nearly 50%.

But, disease control is important in all crops to ensure full yields are realised and Dr. Stephen Kildea, from Teagasc, joined Michael Hennessy on this week’s Tillage Edge podcast to discuss disease and growth regulation control in rape.

Stephen said both Phoma and Light Leaf Spot were a problem and need to be controlled in most crops. Walking crops and assessing disease levels is important and in addition to assess if a growth regulator is necessary.

Stephen stressed the need to control disease but also to have a large green canopy next spring to minimise nitrogen inputs.

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