Tillage Day takes place this Thursday, 5 November in the Keadeen Hotel, Newbridge, Co Kildare. It is the tillage event of the year, not to be missed by farmers.
Over 20 speakers will join panels throughout the day talking about field management decisions, markets, policy, new products and genetics, the use of Irish grain and adding value to Irish grain.
Tillage Day is a farmer-focused event organised by the Irish Farmers Journal and supported by the Irish Seed Trade Association. The aim is for attendees to leave the event with ideas to make their crops yield higher, to create more profit and looking to the future of the sector.
Tillage Day kicks off at 9.30am, registration is from 8.30am and their will be refreshments on arrival. You can view the trade stands at this time and chat to the different companies from fungicides and fertiliser to drones and machinery.
Where to buy your ticket?
You can purchase tickets online or on the phone. To purchase tickets you can log onto www.ifj.ie/tillageday or phone 01-4199525.
Focus on farmers
The first talk will be with farmers and agronomists looking at the year gone by and the season to come. What went well, what needs to change? This will be followed by a look at EU policy, plant protection product registrations and new genetic technologies.
Yield Watch
After a break to visit stands and get a cup of tea we will release the final results of Yield Watch. Isaac Wheelock, George Blackburn and John Dunne will chat through the challenges faced with this winter wheat crop and tell us if the extra spend was worth it. Did the crop make money?
Markets
There will then be a really interesting panel on markets from malting barley to trading feed grain and using Irish grain to produce a litre of milk that sells at a premium of 59c compared to own brand.
Attendees will get their dinner and have another chance to chat to fellow farmers and the trade before Professor Finbar Mulligan will present 10 years of research from the UCD Lyons on dairy systems. The cows at UCD have been fed Irish concentrates – beans, oats and barley.
Future
The future of the sector will be discussed from the Food Vision Tillage report to research, adding value to grain, market opportunities and support for the sector.
Minister
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon will join the end of the day to chat all things tillage supports and targets.
Irish Farmers Journal editor Adam Woods will close out the day and highlight the key messages from the panels and presentations.
The full agenda
9.30am - Introduction with Adam Woods, editor Irish Farmers Journal
9.45am - The season gone by and to come with farmers and agronomists, chaired by Siobhán Walsh tillage editor Irish Farmers Journal with:
10.25am - Plant protection, imports and genetics - how the EU regulates, chaired by editor Adam Woods with:
11am - Tea break
11.35am - Yield Watch - aiming for the highest yields and profit, chaired by tillage editor Siobhán Walsh with:
12.25pm - The need to innovate in grain markets, chaired by Irish Farmers Journal renewables editor Stephen Robb with:
1.05pm - Lunch
2.30pm - Irish grain feeding Irish cows - Professor Finbar Mulligan, University College Dublin
2.50pm - Discussion on Irish grain feeding Irish cows, chaired by editor Adam Woods with:
3.25pm - The future of Irish tillage with industry experts, chaired by tillage editor Siobhán Walsh with:
4.10pm Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in conversation with Siobhán Walsh.
4.30pm - Conference close with Adam Woods, editor Irish Farmers Journal
