The National Crops Forum hosted by Teagasc each September will take place virtually this year over two evenings – September 10 and September 17.

Both events will be held from 6:30pm to 7:30pm each evening.

Part one

Part one will focus on the business end of farming. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will update viewers on varieties for the coming season.

Tim O’Donovan of Seedtech will cover new variety technology with an emphasis on barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) tolerance, while the event will finish up with a presentation on planning for a stable income.

There will be time for questions and answers from viewers at the the end of the session.

Part two

Part two (September 17) will look at policy, economics and the future of tillage in this country.

The Department of Agriculture will make a presentation on how the Green Deal and Farm to Fork strategy may affect the tillage industry.

Prof. Michael Wallace of the University College Dublin (UCD) will detail some of his findings on his recent report on the economic impact of the tillage sector.

The event will conclude with an outline of the Crops 2030 report – a strategic plan for the Irish crops sector – by Donal Fitzgerald, the chairperson of the Teagasc Tillage Stakeholders Group.

Registration for the event is available on the Teagasc website and IASIS points are available for the events.