What to expect at Tillage Day 2024?

The inaugural Irish Farmers Journal Tillage Day is set to take place next Thursday, 7 November, addressing the challenges and opportunities facing the tillage industry. This conference is designed for the entire sector, so whether you’re a farmer, involved in trade, agronomy, the food or drinks industry, advisory or policy-making, it’s an event not to be missed.

Programme

Supported by the Irish Seed Trade Association, Tillage Day will focus on the practicalities of tillage farming in this modern era and will feature a range of speakers from both farming and industry. The event will also host a busy trade stand area, opening at 8.30am. Here’s a preview of what’s set to be discussed on the day.

On the ground view

Plenty of farmers will be participating in panel discussions throughout the day. Bringing perspectives from across the island, we’ll address the challenges growers face on the ground. Farmers from the Tramlines series, including Tony Bell, Patrick Kehoe and Tom Murray from Dublin, Wexford and Kilkenny respectively, will kick off the day’s first discussion on this topic. Guest speaker David Fuller from McGregor Farms in Scotland and the north of England will attend the day to share his farming experiences.

Agronomy and markets

A key focus of the day will be on agronomy and markets. The parameters within which we farm are shifting—often faster than farmers feel they can keep up with. However, to survive and thrive in the tillage industry, farmers must stay at the top of their game. This means keeping up with the latest crop protection strategies, crop nutrient programmes and variety choices. We’ll have a range of agronomists present on the day to delve into these topics.

Ireland may be a small player in the global grain market, but that doesn’t mean we can’t engage strategically to make smarter grain marketing decisions. We’ll hear from Ireland’s leading grain traders and marketers to gain insights into the market trajectory and learn how to maximise our position within it. We’ll also be discussing ways to add value to our work as tillage farmers, including the best premium crop choices available for next year.

Policy

For a long time, it felt as though the tillage industry was disproportionately affected by policy changes. The three-crop rule, buffer strips, crop protection product bans etc — changes were coming thick and fast and it was hard to keep up. Unfortunately, this isn’t likely to change; in fact, policy direction may introduce even more challenges. So why is this happening, and is there a way to improve this for farmers? To discuss this, representatives from the Department of Agriculture, industry and farmers will join us for the fourth panel of the day.

The future of tillage

The big question on everyone’s minds these days is: what does the future of the tillage industry look like? We’ll be dedicating an entire panel discussion to this topic, posing this question to some of the industry’s leading figures.

There’s no doubt the sector is under pressure at the moment, but make no mistake, there is a future for us. We intend to explore how Ireland’s most carbon-efficient farming sector can thrive in the years ahead.

Questions and answers

A big part of the day is to hear your thoughts and opinions on the range of topics set to be discussed. As well as taking questions from the floor, we’ll also be running a series of polls and questions which you can take part in through the application Slido. We’ll explain it all on the day, but get ready for an interactive day.

Over 20 trade stands will be present on the day, with the exhibition area open from 8.30am. The exhibitors represent a broad spectrum of the tillage industry, who will be there to discuss any questions or challenges you may face in the year ahead. The full list of exhibitors is below.

Tickets and points

The conference takes place next Thursday 7 November 2024 in the Killashee Hotel, Naas, Co Kildare.

Twenty-five IASIS points will be available for those who attend the day. Tickets are €49.99 (including lunch) and can be purchased at www.ifj.ie/tillageday.