Arable April kicked off on AgriLand this week, in association with the Irish Grain Growers Group (IGGG), and the tillage industry has made a great start to the month of telling its story.
Readers emailed pictures and tagged their activities on social media. Some of AgriLand‘s favourites are included in the article below.
Readers will notice that most of the pictures were taken by the machinery operator when they stepped out of the tractor for a break. The remaining pictures were taken where a team were working and the operator of one machine took a picture of the other while staying safe.
The main job of the week across the country was sowing. Ploughs, drills and rollers were out in their droves.
James Rowan sent in the impressive shot below when he was ploughing outside Kinsale, Co. Cork.
The images in the gallery below were sent in by Denis Crowley from Crowley Farms in Mallow, Co. Cork. The team were spreading fertiliser on winter barley, as well as ploughing and sowing spring barley.
Darragh Cleary was preparing a seedbed for Planet spring barley in Co. Kildare in the shot below.
Seedtech tagged @AgrilandIreland and #ArableApril on Twitter to show us this video of spring oilseed rape seed being planted in Co. Tipperary.
Max Potterton sent in the image below. He was out rolling Husky spring oats on Thursday afternoon in Co. Meath.
Bobby Miller was sowing oats and tagged @GrowersGrain and @AgrilandIreland on Twitter for #ArableApril.
Clive Carter was rolling gluten-free spring oats being grown for Glanbia in Co. Laois.
Photo competition
If you want to get involved share your pictures on social media using the hashtag #ArableApril and by tagging @AgriLandIreland and @GrowersGrain.
Make sure to tag @AgrilandIreland so we can see your picture and in order to show as many people what’s happening tag #ArableApril.
You can also email your pictures to: [email protected].
It’s also great to give some background to the image you send in. So maybe what variety of barley you’re sowing or what the end use of the crop is.
So if you’re sowing, spreading fertiliser, picking stones or walking crops we want to see your pictures.
Follow the Government and HSE guidelines
Of course, Government and Health Service Executive (HSE) guidelines in regard to Covid-19 must always be followed.
Photos should only be taken by machinery operators, who are taking a break, or farmers and agronomists who spot a suitable shot in the course of their own work (whilst on their own). For information from the HSE on Covid-19 click here
Safety when snapping
As well as following the Government and HSE guidelines, farm safety should always be on people’s minds so pictures must be taken in a safe manner.
Some top tips for taking photos
AgriLand has some top tips for taking pictures on your phone. If you turn the phone on its side and take the picture on landscape it will look better on our site or app.
Also if you tap the main subject of the picture on your phone before you take the photo it might improve your picture. For example, if you are taking a picture of a tractor tap the tractor on your phone and then capture the image.