Teagasc day to focus on margins and prospects for tillage crops

THE prospects and margins for tillage crops in 2009 will be discussed at the annual Teagasc Crops Open Day at Knockbeg Research Farm, on the outskirts of Carlow town, on June 25.

A new emphasis by advisers on financial management will aim to assist growers to adapt to input and product price fluctuations. All aspects of wheat and barley growing, along with experiments on bioenergy crops, maize, fodder beet and oilseed rape will be displayed.

New practical technology emerging from Teagasc research and advisory programmes will be highlighted at the event.

Professor Jimmy Burke, head of the Teagasc crops research centre, said the cost effectiveness of plant protection products for the control of leaf and ear diseases in winter and spring cereals will generate a lot of interest, especially this year, after a very difficult spring.

New Teagasc findings on septoria sensitivity changes and their likely long-term effects will be presented on the day.

The current crops research programme on min-till cultivation systems will be outlined by Teagasc staff and the most recent results will be presented on the agronomic performance to-date.

Results of new research on nitrogen, slurry and cover crops will be shown, which could assist with more efficient use of nutrients on farms.

Teagasc said its recent research on wholecrop wheat and maize will be of interest to tillage and livestock farmers, with crop production and animal nutrition experts there to answer questions.