Teagasc’s National Tillage Conference, which will take place at the Lyrath Convention Centre in Co. Kilkenny, is set to focus on challenges facing the sector in the future.
The official theme of the conference, which will run from 9:00a.m to 4:00p.m on Wednesday, January 25, will be ‘Mitigating risks that challenge future sustainable production’.
While the strong 2022 season, due to favourable harvest conditions and high grain prices will be noted, the conference will largely focus on the difficulties that the industry will be up against in 2023.
These include the loss of chemicals for pest, disease and weed control, price uncertainty and the challenge of rolling out more sustainable practices, which tillage farmers will be required to do, to help Ireland reach its climate targets.
Discussions on delivering science-led strategies for managing the lack of pesticides available to farmers will be held on the day as concern grows amongst the sector on how pests can be managed without impacting yields.
The profitability of plant protein crops and value-adding opportunities will also be on the agenda at the event. Speaking about the schedule, head of the crops science department in Teagasc Dr. Ewen Mullins said:
“The topics covered this year are highly relevant to the issues that growers continue to face with respect to cereal disease control plus the growing threat from grassweeds.”
Conference agenda
Researcher Dr. Louise McNamara will detail the challenges that have arisen around controlling Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) over the past number of years at the event too.
She will be outlining the work that Teagasc’s BYDV surveillance programme has been doing, before Dr. Sacha White from the UK will join her to discuss BYDV supports for cereal growers.
Mitigating risks to yields from wheat diseases will be discussed by Dr. Steven Kildea from Teagasc Oak Park on the day, who will also detail the plans for a new scoping impact assessment on the Sustainable Use Regulation, underway in 2023.
Integrated Weed Management strategies that are being deployed in the UK will be outlined by Dr. John Cussans from the UK’s National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB).
This will be followed up by a presentation on the results of a nationwide survey on problem grassweeds and herbicide resistance on Irish tillage farms from Teagasc’s Dr. Vijaya.
Other discussions that will take place throughout the day will include the potential of beans to reduce nitrogen applications, ongoing work on the use of oats in rotations and various sustainability targets.
Teagasc requires all attendees to pre-register for the event, regardless of whether you plan to attend in person or online. Bookings can be made on Teagasc’s event website.