The fastest Deere around?
Fast tractors are a topic of interest in the UK as well as here. The driver of a 6130 John Deere tractor got a shock when he received a speeding ticket which stated he was doing 46mph (the equivalent of 74km/h) in a 30mph zone, I heard recently.
While his tractor had a 50km/h gearbox, it still would not be capable of reaching this speed.
He had fallen foul of a fixed camera. The issue generated a lot of discussion online among his farming neighbours. They wondered if the camera was badly out of calibration or perhaps was calculating vehicle speed by measuring wheel speed.
The farmer rang the ticketing office and explained that he could not have been travelling at the speed recorded. At first the operators tried to stick to their guns but then wisely conceded and scrapped the fine.
Gove’s Brexit plans get Batter-ed
Michael Gove.
The new president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) in the UK, Minette Batters, has poked fun at Michael Gove, the secretary in charge of agriculture, over his post-Brexit plan for farming. “Health and harmony” is apparently a title Gove chose himself, but Batters told a crowd at the Hay Festival held in Wales it lacked originality: “I did point out to him that it is a beauty salon in Essex.”
The first female president in the NFU’s 110-year history, Batters said farmers were bemused by the plan, which seemed to focus more on the environment and less on food, which was a “a glaring oversight”.
Farmers out in force at the Rose of Tralee
I see that farmers represent the largest of any professional groups among escorts selected for the Rose of Tralee Festival. According to organisers, there are 11 of them - not counting a forester - among the 58 young men who passed “a number of endurance tests and team-building exercises” before they are let anywhere near the competing Roses. Despite the small size of the farming population relative to the entire country, this leaves other professions such as teachers and doctors far behind. When it comes to producing fine young lads, you can’t beat Irish farms.
Clever young farmers make mark
This country has experienced something of a brain-drain at times given our fluctuating economic health. Therefore, I was delighted to hear Minister for Education Richard Bruton telling the Dáil that there have been “significant improvements in our global rankings”. I’m happy to report we’re second in the world for nanotechnology, animal and dairy, and immunology, and third for material sciences and agricultural sciences. I’m no brainiac, but that sounds good to me.
Tesco UK drops Kerrygold spreadable
Kerrygold spreadable butter has been de-listed by Tesco UK. The Dealer understands the move is part of Tesco’s rationalisation of brands across the business. Retail sales of Kerrygold butter in the UK are in excess of £25m annually. Tesco Ireland continues to stock Kerrygold Spreadable butter as part of its range.
Irish appointments at Corteva
Liz Glynn, formerly Teagasc, now Corteva Agriscience.
Corteva Agriscience, the agriculture division of DowDuPont, has appointed Teagasc crop research specialist Liz Glynn as national field technical manager in Ireland. Glynn joins Corteva from Teagasc Oak Park, where she spent the past seven years in charge of the in-house and commercial trials programme. She took up her new position this week with William Corrigan, who has led the Irish division of the business for the past four years. Corrigan has been appointed as crop protection sales manager for Corteva and will move to England to oversee the key account and area management teams for the UK and Ireland.
An advance environmental works contract is under way into the relocation of the Kerry Slug from lands around the N22 bypassing Macroom and Baile Bhuirne in Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed’s constituency, I see. The slug, which is protected, is to be relocated to a suitable environment as works get under way on a new dual carriageway on the N22, known as the Cork/Killarney/Tralee Road. The slug is expected to be relocated by August, I hear.
Father-and-son duo Martin and John Keane from Errill, Co Laois, are not only farming their 100-cow dairy herd together but also leading from the front in their own way. Martin will be finishing up as the ICOS president next week. He has just taken up the role as chair of Glanbia.
Meanwhile, John is the agricultural affairs committee chair in Macra. He joined Macra’s council as the north Tipperary representative at the organisation’s AGM in May.
Read more
DowDuPont rebrands as Corteva Agriscience
Changes continue in the crop protection world
The fastest Deere around?
Fast tractors are a topic of interest in the UK as well as here. The driver of a 6130 John Deere tractor got a shock when he received a speeding ticket which stated he was doing 46mph (the equivalent of 74km/h) in a 30mph zone, I heard recently.
While his tractor had a 50km/h gearbox, it still would not be capable of reaching this speed.
He had fallen foul of a fixed camera. The issue generated a lot of discussion online among his farming neighbours. They wondered if the camera was badly out of calibration or perhaps was calculating vehicle speed by measuring wheel speed.
The farmer rang the ticketing office and explained that he could not have been travelling at the speed recorded. At first the operators tried to stick to their guns but then wisely conceded and scrapped the fine.
Gove’s Brexit plans get Batter-ed
Michael Gove.
The new president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) in the UK, Minette Batters, has poked fun at Michael Gove, the secretary in charge of agriculture, over his post-Brexit plan for farming. “Health and harmony” is apparently a title Gove chose himself, but Batters told a crowd at the Hay Festival held in Wales it lacked originality: “I did point out to him that it is a beauty salon in Essex.”
The first female president in the NFU’s 110-year history, Batters said farmers were bemused by the plan, which seemed to focus more on the environment and less on food, which was a “a glaring oversight”.
Farmers out in force at the Rose of Tralee
I see that farmers represent the largest of any professional groups among escorts selected for the Rose of Tralee Festival. According to organisers, there are 11 of them - not counting a forester - among the 58 young men who passed “a number of endurance tests and team-building exercises” before they are let anywhere near the competing Roses. Despite the small size of the farming population relative to the entire country, this leaves other professions such as teachers and doctors far behind. When it comes to producing fine young lads, you can’t beat Irish farms.
Clever young farmers make mark
This country has experienced something of a brain-drain at times given our fluctuating economic health. Therefore, I was delighted to hear Minister for Education Richard Bruton telling the Dáil that there have been “significant improvements in our global rankings”. I’m happy to report we’re second in the world for nanotechnology, animal and dairy, and immunology, and third for material sciences and agricultural sciences. I’m no brainiac, but that sounds good to me.
Tesco UK drops Kerrygold spreadable
Kerrygold spreadable butter has been de-listed by Tesco UK. The Dealer understands the move is part of Tesco’s rationalisation of brands across the business. Retail sales of Kerrygold butter in the UK are in excess of £25m annually. Tesco Ireland continues to stock Kerrygold Spreadable butter as part of its range.
Irish appointments at Corteva
Liz Glynn, formerly Teagasc, now Corteva Agriscience.
Corteva Agriscience, the agriculture division of DowDuPont, has appointed Teagasc crop research specialist Liz Glynn as national field technical manager in Ireland. Glynn joins Corteva from Teagasc Oak Park, where she spent the past seven years in charge of the in-house and commercial trials programme. She took up her new position this week with William Corrigan, who has led the Irish division of the business for the past four years. Corrigan has been appointed as crop protection sales manager for Corteva and will move to England to oversee the key account and area management teams for the UK and Ireland.
An advance environmental works contract is under way into the relocation of the Kerry Slug from lands around the N22 bypassing Macroom and Baile Bhuirne in Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed’s constituency, I see. The slug, which is protected, is to be relocated to a suitable environment as works get under way on a new dual carriageway on the N22, known as the Cork/Killarney/Tralee Road. The slug is expected to be relocated by August, I hear.
Father-and-son duo Martin and John Keane from Errill, Co Laois, are not only farming their 100-cow dairy herd together but also leading from the front in their own way. Martin will be finishing up as the ICOS president next week. He has just taken up the role as chair of Glanbia.
Meanwhile, John is the agricultural affairs committee chair in Macra. He joined Macra’s council as the north Tipperary representative at the organisation’s AGM in May.
Read more
DowDuPont rebrands as Corteva Agriscience
Changes continue in the crop protection world
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