LATEST: Kilkenny to host major conference today!

Kilkenny is set to welcome a national conference to the city with the annual Teagasc National Tillage Conference set to take place today (Wednesday,  January 29), in the Lyrath Conference Centre.   

Organised into thematic sessions and targeted workshops, attendees will hear outcomes from the latest research on the capacity of tillage soils to capture carbon plus the positive impact of cover cropping on water quality, in monitored agricultural catchments.

To maintain added value opportunity within the sector, the constructive impact of rotation to lessen the risk of mycotoxins in oats will be presented with new opportunities describing the use of pea and bean flour in food processing.  

Pesticide use reduction is a constant subject of discussion at both national and EU level and a specific session will provide both an insight into what can be learned from existing global research on integrated pest management (IPM) and results of a recently completed expert survey on potential implications such reductions may specifically have on Irish cropping systems.

Those results highlight the opinions collated from expert stakeholders across the tillage sector, who indicated the potentially negative impact current reduction targets will have on productivity. This same research also highlighted the critical role IPM will play in aiding mitigation of such potential impacts.   

Speaking in advance of the conference, Dr Ewen Mullins, Head of the Teagasc crops research department, said; “The practical, interactive workshops in the afternoon, which was very well received in 2024, will allow attendees to participate in sessions of particular interest to them.   The session is designed to promote more engagement and discussion between attendees and panellists on topics including disease control and weed management decisions, and how best to exploit the environmental credentials of the tillage sector. An additional workshop will focus on the potential learnings that can be attained by farmers from on-farm field evaluations of new products/processes, but equally the trade-offs that can occur in the absence of a robust evaluation method.”  

Attendees will have the opportunity to register for up to three workshops from the listed four, with each hosting a panel with research, farmer/industry and advisory input. Workshop included are:

• On-farm field evaluations to optimise production
• Weed Clinic
• Environmental credentials of tillage sector and role of Ag-Nav
• Disease control decisions for 2025