Growers of certified seed are an integral and critical part of the certified seed supply process. Many of these growers produce a considerable proportion of their cropped area as certified seed, with a number even producing seed of break crops like oilseed rape and beans. The high level of husbandry standards required are onerous but generally seen as contributing to the high standards required for profitable farming. This article reports on the farming businesses of three certified seed producers around the country

Donal Fitzgerald GOLDCROP

Keep it clean – these are the words that are constantly reverberated by Liam Day from Ardnabourkey, Whitegate in east Cork. And this applies not just to the crops but also to the farmyard. The yard, machinery and surrounding fields are all in impeccable order and the quality of the crops grown reflect the effort that goes into producing them.

ADVERTISEMENT

According to Liam, “it’s all about getting the most out of each acre that you farm, and paying attention to detail at all times”.

Liam’s farming operation is run in partnership with his father, also Liam. Together they farm around 500 acres on a mix of owned and rented ground, which includes 200 acres of certified cereal seed crops that he grows for Goldcrop, AMAC and Germinal.

The farm was once part of the State Oil Refinery and the view from Liam’s home today is still the same as it was back then. It looks down on Cork harbour and Ireland’s only remaining oil refining facility in Whitegate.

Barley is the main crop grown (winter and spring), but he also grows winter wheat, oats, beet, maize, beans and grass. From this mix you can envisage a very strong emphasis on rotation and in maximising soil fertility/structure ahead of each crop.

“We try to operate a four-year rotation with break crops,” Liam said. “We try to ensure that there are no more than three years of continuous cereals in any field and we mainly use beet, maize and beans to provide suitable break crops. This year we are trying some winter oats. We also have some grassland for cattle during the grazing season,” he said.

Field hygiene and certified seed

The Days are big advocates of certified seed and the importance of crop/field hygiene. They see the production of certified seed as a good way of keeping their land free from harmful weeds like wild oats and sterile brome. It also helps to raise their average grain yields through the use of new varieties with better yield potential and improved disease resistance.

Liam Snr is particularly impressed with the level of yield improvement provided over the past few decades. “I remember my father telling me that he grew his first ever two-tonne crop of spring barley in the ‘60s. And 50 years later we grew almost double that yield of spring barley in 2014 – another milestone,” he added.

The Days recognise the additional margin potential from growing certified seed. He emphasised that it is one of only a few added-value crop options available to tillage farmers in the area. “We have lost many traditional premium crops in this area, including malting barley via Bennetts, vegetable growing with Universal Foods and sugar beet. All of these have been a massive loss to growers in east Cork. And while the seed premium is smaller than we might like, it still leaves a greater margin than growing feed grain,” Liam stated. And having the land clean means an additional benefit every year.

Continuous challenges

Liam is very aware of the risks posed by weeds such as canary grass, sterile brome and blackgrass, and is always on guard to ensure that they do not spread on to his farm. He is also fully conscious of the need to have all machinery properly cleaned before sowing and harvesting seed crops.

A pre-harvest inspection is done to ensure that all machinery and tipping areas are fully cleaned down to help prevent seed contamination. This year they had signs erected in their fields to avoid any potential confusion between varieties or grades. “It is good to see the seed companies being more proactive in this regard,” Liam said.

Addressing long-term concerns, Liam said it is worrying to see land rental prices going in the opposite direction to grain prices. “The rewards from cropping rented land are quite often minimal, if not negative,” he said. But Liam is still optimistic for the future of Irish grain and Irish seed. “We have a great climate for growing crops and a big livestock sector to consume the grain and straw,” Liam concluded.

AIDAN MOORE SEEDTECH

Ivan Hemeryck operates a large diverse tillage farm outside Lucan in Co Dublin. He uses a rotation which incorporates potatoes, wheat, barley, oats, beans and oilseed rape. He has a preference for winter crops due to his heavier land and high yield potential. It is the yield potential of the land which attracted him to hybrid barley varieties in the early days when he achieved over 5t/ac from the earlier hybrids.

Good management practices are important for Ivan and he has a full time agronomist to advise on fungicide and pest control. This gives him added flexibility to concentrate on good field practices and good land management while enabling constant monitoring of crops, which he considers essential. As well as being good for yields, break crops are used to help control weeds such as sterile brome, etc, which can be easily controlled in broadleaved crops.

Ivan is a strong supporter of certified seed and what it means for crop production in Ireland. “We must continue to move forward and strive for the highest possible standards. I am a keen supporter of the variety evaluation system we have here in Ireland. We depend on improving varieties and on all other advancements in technology,” Ivan stated.

The bottom line is a major factor for all decisions on Ivan’s farm. He is always keen to incorporate new varieties that show improved yield potential within his annual cropping plan. Increased output remains a critical element for the efficiency of his business, especially when his land base is continuously being eroded due to urban expansion. All of these things force him to continuously strive for efficacy, to get better every year and to make every euro invested count.

Given all of the aforementioned factors it is hardly surprising that Ivan is a grower of certified seed crops. He is currently growing Volume hybrid barley seed, as well as seed beans for Seed Technology in Waterford. His objective to maximise returns by making the best use of his post break crop slots was part of the reason why he was attracted to growing high value seed crops. In doing this Ivan works closely with all the stakeholders involved, ie the Department of Agriculture, the seed houses and seed processors. All of these contribute to the production of high quality seed for certification.

Ivan is fully aware that the process of producing quality certified seed begins with attention at planting and continues with careful management through the growing season. There are other things that must be done as well as just growing the crop. He recognises his importance in the production chain, as the seed he produces is what commercial growers need to plant their crops in the following season.

Producing quality seed crops requires additional management practices which are necessary. These range from retaining basic seed labels, to providing LIPS field maps, to rogueing the crops on a number of occasions, checking the cleanliness of the drill at planting and inspecting the combine prior to harvesting.

While Ivan faces the same profitability challenges as other growers, arising from low prices and world market pressures, he has an additional challenge. Access to quality labour and getting good people to help is fundamental for any business but his location adjacent to Dublin makes it difficult to attract and keep good workers.

Ivan is currently preparing to plant the two parents to produce hybrid barley seed for certification in 2016. He is glad of these production opportunities and the high quality standards associated with the Irish seed certification scheme. “Such opportunities help ensure we have a viable and dynamic tillage sector going forward,” Ivan concluded.

David Leahy Glanbia

Living just outside Carlow town, Clive Bayley and his father Melvin grow a variety of crops on both owned and rented land. They farm together and have an extensive contract fodder beet growing business. In the current agricultural climate, they recognise the importance of crops that carry a value premium.

Because of this, the majority of the crops they grow – which include winter and spring wheat, winter and spring barley, winter and spring oats, spring oilseed rape, fodder beet and spring beans – carry a premium contract of some sort that is useful to offset some of the volatility associated with the grain markets. The gluten-free oat crop is being grown to supply Glanbia’s Sturm contract.

Believe in breaks

As well as providing the necessary break required for basic certified seed production, fodder beet is a fundamental part of their overall business. This is grown, washed, chopped and supplied on contract to local livestock farmers.

This year, the Bayleys are growing a crop of Planet spring barley for basic seed for Glanbia. Clive explained that his plans to produce a seed crop begin with the planting of the break crop in the previous year. This is very much the mindset that sums up all Irish seed growers.

Every field must be assessed for wild oats and other grass weeds at least a year ahead of planting and if levels are too high then Clive will not risk planting a basic seed crop in that field. With fodder beet frequently used as the preceding crop, it tends to be sprayed with a graminicide if there is a risk of volunteer cereals, wild oats or other grass weeds. Like most other seed growers, Clive only uses wild oat sprays as a last resort for control as rogueing is his preferred method because it can be more thorough.

Soil focus for productivity

Soil fertility and health are areas which receive a lot of attention from the Bayleys. Organic manures are commonly used, when possible, and these have helped to increase soil fertility levels and field performance. The beet tops, which are ploughed down, also give the following seed crop a great start.

As soon as a crop is harvested and the straw is cleared, the Bayleys cultivate all of their stubbles. This creates a stale seed bed and encourages volunteers and weed seeds to germinate and these are sprayed off later. Even though all crops are established conventionally with the use of the plough and one-pass, this is still a very good practice to adopt, especially as seed crops cannot be sprayed pre-harvest with glyphosate.

Clive’s attention to detail can be clearly seen in the way in which he approaches his seed crop management. For example, in fields where cleavers or grasses could be an issue along field boundaries or next to roadways, a small strip is sprayed with Roundup to prevent contamination of the crop by weed seeds.

Both combines and one-pass are also well cleaned down before switching crops or varieties. This ensures that there is no risk to the seed crop of cross contamination. When you talk to Clive it is very apparent how important break crops, like fodder beet and beans, are to the Irish seed trade for seed production.

It is a measure of the farmer to see that the Bayleys have successfully merged two separate businesses together, ie the contract growing of fodder beet along with the production of basic seed.

An essential premium

Clive values his premium crop contracts with Glanbia and understands why these demand the use of certified seed.

“As a basic seed grower I understand the level of detail that goes into producing this seed. Because of this I can have confidence when I am obliged to purchase certified seed for my other premium contract crops. For these premium markets I need to be sure that the seed is pure and free of any contaminants that could, in turn, be an issue with imported seed or for the quality requirements of the final crop,” Clive concluded.