The first tillage conference of the New Year takes place in Greenmount Campus on 13 January. This is the main arable conference in Northern Ireland and is jointly organised by CAFRE, the Ulster Arable Society and the Ulster Farmers Union.

The main topics relate to CAP / Greening and soil management. Keith Johnston of DARD will talk about matters relating to CAP changes while Andrew Herron, a grower from Co Down, will outline what he intends to do to meet these new requirements. These presentations will be followed by an update on current AFBI research from Sinclair Mayne and Ethyl White.

The afternoon session will focus initially on soil phosphate management with a presentation from Robin Bolton of CAFRE and David Wall of Teagasc. Phosphate is an expensive input for farmers and its efficient use is very important for crop profitability. Stephen Moss from Rothamsted Research will then talk about considerations for modern weed control and Meath farmer, Gerald Potterton, will give his view on both soil fertility and weed control to open into a discussion session.

This promises to be an interesting conference and well worth the £20 fee which includes lunch, tea etc. Registration is from 9.30am, with throw-in at 10.00am. Registration is essential and an additional cost of £5 will apply for registrations after 8 January.