National agri-food research body Teagasc says its proposal to plant blight-resistant GM potatoes outdoors in Ireland is a necessary part of a trial to gauge their ecological impacts on bacterial, fungal, nematode and earthworm diversity in the soil.

FARMERS can save €56 per acre by cutting back on fertiliser and spreading slurry during March, according to one Teagasc expert.

HARVESTING of the grain crops has improved, especially in the south of the country, but the work is still well behind schedule with ground conditions difficult in most areas.

THE new director of Teagasc has been announced as Professor Gerry Boyle, an international consultant on agricultural policy with the World Bank.

TILLAGE farming, post-decoupling, will be the theme of the Teagasc national tillage conference, which Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan officially opens in the Dolmen Hotel, Carlow on January 26.