This week’s episode of Farmland takes a special focus on tillage, looking at Harvest 2022 so far, and features an in-depth discussion on how the sector is currently looking.
In the programme, which can be viewed by clicking the YouTube link above, chairman of the Irish Grain Growers’ Group (IGGG) Bobby Miller and agronomist Richard Halleron join Agriland editor Stella Meehan in studio.
They take a look at how this year’s harvest is progressing and what factors have affected it, including the weather, diseases, rising input costs and fluctuating international markets.
Halleron discusses the main diseases that played a role in dropping harvests this year, with the most severe one being Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV). He and Miller discuss the prospects around managing this going forward as regulations tighten on the use of various pesticides.
As the new season approaches, Miller reports that many tillage farmers are becoming concerned over the high stakes involved in this type of farming, as they pay high fertiliser and fuel bills in the hope that their yields will bring a sufficient return next year.
Both Halleron and Miller discuss the options for tillage farmers to manage these risks, such as forward selling grain and taking out crop insurance.
Tillage emissions
Later in the programme, Miller speaks about the carbon emissions produced by the tillage sector and calls for recognition of its efficiency in this regard.
He outlines that in the face of the country’s carbon budget, tillage can be part of the solution to reducing agricultural emissions if long-term investment is made into the sector.
His comments come given the ongoing reaction to the government’s announcement last week that the sectoral emissions ceiling for agriculture will be 25%.
This week’s episode and podcast of Farmland is now live on the Agriland platform. All previous episodes can be streamed via the award-winning digital platform, agriland.ie, and links will also be available across Agriland social media platforms.
All episodes of Farmland can be viewed by clicking here.