Darren Allen: Tallying the costs and rewards of regen legumes at Ballymaloe

Pea/Bean mix harvest on September 12

Following the challenges of the 2024 growing season, we have been making steady progress with harvest. As we speak, only the spring beans remain to be cut, which are still a few weeks from harvest following the extremely late sowing date of April 20. However, I am hopeful they will yield well, as they have looked strong all year, and reports from other farmers show that beans harvested to date are yielding quite well.

These were sown as part of ongoing Teagasc field research into legumes, comparing beans to a pea/bean combi-crop where the primary aim is to use the beans as scaffolding to hold up the peas from serious lodging. The combi-crop was also sown both conventionally and direct drilled, as detailed in my last article (June 2024).