EUFRAS/IALB Conference 2016, an international agricultural conference is currently being held at University of Limerick. The four-day event opened on Sunday.
The theme at this year’s conference, which is hosted by Teagasc is innovation in agriculture.
Delegates were welcomed by Prof Tom Kelly, Teagasc and chair of EUFRAS, and by Ulrich Ryser, Agridea and president of IALB.
Inge Van Oost, a policy officer at the European Commission, Directorate General Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI), said: “The EU has a significant interest in the development of diverse, productive and sustainable systems of agriculture. The recent establishment of sectorial European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs) represents a new approach under the Europe 2020 Strategy to speed up EU research and innovation.
Sustainable sector
“This Agricultural European Innovation Partnership (EIP-AGRI) aims to foster a competitive and sustainable agriculture and forestry sector that achieves more from less. It contributes to ensuring a steady supply of food, feed and biomaterials, working in harmony with the essential natural resources on which farming depends.”
Speaking at the event, Fiachra Liston, a dairy farmer from Ballyculleen, Croom, Co Limerick, said: “Innovation has played a major role in the development of my farm in the past 10 years. It has played a major role in grassland management, in genetics and sire selection, in financial management, in milking parlour design and cow flow. Without this ongoing innovation, my farm would be a less sustainable and less profitable place to work today.”
Aileen Walsh, Teagasc dairy business and technology adviser, highlighted the role of farmer discussion groups in delivering financial gain and better practices on farm.
She said: “Dairy discussion groups allow me, as an adviser, to meet a group of farmers to discuss issues/topics relevant to the time of year. It is a sharing of ideas between farmers. These groups meet monthly and allow me to deliver technical advice in a very efficient and timely manner.”