agriculture Archives - Page 9 of 10

agriculture

Grain treatment improves homegrown cereals

Cattle farmers are seeing the benefit of using a grain treatment as they feed more homegrown cereals and therefore improve performance and feed efficiency. Mixed farmer Matthew Jordon from Morpeth has used Maxammon for five years in his suckler herd of 90 pedigree Limousins. The farm feeds as much homegrown cereals and silage as possible, which has cut their bought-in protein by as much as 87%. He said the health…

Slurry Infrastructure Grant – all the intel

Farmers can apply for Slurry Infrastructure Grant funding towards storing and using slurry in a safe and efficient way from autumn 2022. The Grant can cover up to a maximum of 50% of the eligible costs of a project. Farmers can apply for between £25,000 and £250,000 for each business. The remaining costs will need to be paid for through private sources, such as savings or a bank loan. The…

Lower emissions ceiling a blow to farming

IFA President Tim Cullinan said last week that Government’s announcement of a sectoral emissions ceiling for agriculture 25% lower than emissions in 2018 is a potentially devastating blow for Irish farming and the rural economy. This deal between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party is all about the survival of the Government rather than survival of rural Ireland. “The Government has agreed to a target without any pathway…

Potato market picks up – IFA

Potato market sales and consumption have picked up this week as temperatures settle back to average levels, according to the IFA. Queens continue to be lifted across the country and again quality and yields are reported to be very good. High temperatures experienced last week stopped maincrop growth and this may delay harvest in the back end of the year. Recent rainfall was welcomed by growers in most regions. In the…

Informative farm walk and field event

Trench Dairies’ Dairy Farm Walk will be held at Garryduff Middle, Claremorris, Co Mayo. Eircode: F12XT62 on Thursday, 28 July, at 11am. It forms part of the Teagasc – Aurivo Joint Programme. Donal and Liam started milking with 205 heifers in a company partnership in 2021. The farm is a mixed-soil type where 100% of the grazing platform has been reseeded with substantial investment in grazing infrastructure. New cubicle sheds…

Photography competition – 2023 calendar

After last year’s overwhelming response and submissions from so many amateur photographers around the world, KRONE is hosting another photography competition for its 2023 calendar. Of course a prerequisite is that the focus is on KRONE equipment at work in fields around the globe. The judges are looking for 12 winning images. These will be printed in a calendar that will be available for purchase at the international KRONE web…

Native grain prices rose last week – IFA

Native grain prices rose earlier last week (15 July, 2022), but daily gains have struggled to hold overall, according to the IFA. Grain market prices fell on 14 July, 2022 in response to news that a deal on export corridors from Ukraine could be brokered next week. However, native green prices increased slightly – Glanbia offered €280 for barley and €290 for wheat respectively. The Irish winter barley harvest is…

FBD LambPlus Award winners – 12 July

The overall winners of the FBD LambPlus Award will be announced on Tuesday, 12 July2022 at the Sheep Ireland Breeding Conference & Farm Walk. The awards are an opportunity for Sheep Ireland to give recognition to the breeders who are leading the way in performance recording and genetic gain and to those flocks that have made a significant genetic improvement over the past number of years. There are six finalists,…

Beef imported from Poland crushing local farmers – ICSA

ICSA beef chair Edmund Graham has called on the meat factories to come clean on how much beef is imported from Poland and why this is happening. “ICSA has received multiple reports about large volumes of beef arriving from Poland. It is arriving both in carcass form and boxed – some of it is processed further but it’s all then being shipped on to supply various markets at the expense…

Potato consumption plateaus, says the IFA

Domestic potato consumption appears to have plateaued with slight improvement following poorer weather last week, according to the Irish Farmers’ Association. Rainfall over the past week was welcomed by growers, although regional variation was significant. Queens continue to be lifted in the southeast this week. Demand is slow to pick up to date. It will be a couple of weeks before crops are fit along the east coast. There is…

Apply for Tillage Incentive Scheme and Protein/Cereal Mix Crop Scheme

The online application system for the Tillage Incentive Scheme and Protein/Cereal Mix Crop Scheme is now open. Charlie McConalogue, Minister Agriculture, Food and the Marine, has announced that farmers wishing to apply for the scheme can do so themselves or through their advisor up to 20 July, 2022 by logging on to the Exceptional Aid System. Letters are now being issued to eligible applicants based on the crops declared on…

Green dock beetles attack dock leaves

Irish beetles bred by Mayo-based couple Louis and Siobhan Ward have been recruited to tackle the war on dock leaves at ABP’s Demonstration Farm in Carlow. The initiative is part of an ABP approach to promote on-farm environmentally sustainable and regenerative farming practices. ABP’s Demonstration Farm at Clonegal is a centre of excellence when it comes to industry-leading environmental research. Trials carried out at the farm have already shown the potential…

Handy steering frame takes hoeing into hi-tech

The Steketee EC-Steer parallel steering frame from LEMKEN expands the range of applications for any hoeing machine. It effectively turns unsteered hoeing machines from popular manufacturers into implements with joystick or even camera steering. It is a simple option for farmers who want to upgrade their existing hoeing technology or switch between systems. How does the steering frame work? The three-point mounted frame enables smooth and precise steering while working with open lower link stabilisers on the tractor, as no lateral movements are transferred…

Irish Business Voice Programme: survey

Irish-owned businesses across the country are working through unprecedented times and rapid change. An easing of Covid restrictions has enabled many businesses to ramp up their activity, however, this has come against the backdrop of rising inflation and costs of doing business. The Shannon Chamber is delighted to announce their support of the Grant Thornton 2022 Irish Business Voice Programme. The purpose of the programme is to ensure that Irish…

Social Farming reaps rewards for mutual benefit

Social Farming really works, for participants and their families, for support services and for social farmers. This was one of the key messages to come out of a national conference held by Social Farming Ireland at the Killashee Hotel in Co. Kildare. For participants, the sheer variety of activities naturally available, the family environment which they can become part of, the “realness” of what happens on the farm are all…

Downward sentiment causes grain prices to fall

Grain prices fell sharply the week of 24 June, 2022 with downward sentiment taking hold. MATIF Sep 22 closed 23 June at approximately €360/t – nearly 20% down on the peak in mid-May. Rapid progress in US wheat harvesting, an early European harvest and a very large Russian forecast appear to be exhibiting pressure on all commodity markets. Paris rapeseed (Nov 22) closed at €718.50 on Tuesday (21 June) and…

Delivering on the Ambition of Food Vision 2030

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and Teagasc co-organised a recent seminar and workshop on Research & Innovation for Sustainable Food Systems: Delivering on the Ambition of Food Vision 2030. More than 120 delegates from across Ireland’s agri-food sector, higher education and civil society gathered at the Teagasc Ashtown Food Research Centre in Dublin for the event. On the day participants explored the central role research and…

Strong demand for beef and sheep

Supplies of suitable finished cattle are tight on the ground. Despite attempts by factories to reduce quotes, demand is strong, said Brendan Golden, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) Livestock Chairman Brendan Golden. Golden said strong and stable beef prices in the coming months are vital as suckler and beef farmers deal with input cost increases that these farms do not have the capacity to absorb. He said supplies are predicted…

IFA partners with Euronit for National Ploughing Championships

The Irish Farmer’s Association (IFA) will partner with Euronit again for this year’s National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska, Co. Laois in September, 2022. Euronit, formerly known as Tegral, has been at the heart of agriculture and farms across Ireland since 1936. They look forward to presenting their new look and having the opportunity to connect again with farmers, fabricators and co-ops from across Ireland. Tegral as a company has been…

Silage time with Farmer Phil and the MF 2725

It’s silage time and Farmer Phil can barely contain his excitement. “It’s one of my favourite jobs, and I don’t get to do it half enough,” he says. What’s more, the Massey Ferguson 2725 is out on the draw for the first time (minus a window and some doors) and he wonders if she handle it! The first cut at silage time is action-packed. Farmer Phil sums it up: “Liv,…

Join Teagasc’s tillage farm walks this June

This month’s Tillage Signpost and IPMWorks Farm Walks will address sustainability challenges and solutions on tillage farms such as water quality and nitrates, reducing pesticides, and developing non-plough-based systems on farms. IPMWorks is an EU-wide farm network established to demonstrate and promote cost-effective strategies on Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Walk the farm of John Crowley, Tinnashrule, Ferns, Co. Wexford, Y21 TX82 on Tuesday, 28 June, 2022 at 11am. Darren Allen’s Ballymaloe Farm is the venue…

June rainfall favours crop growth and development

Rainfall in the first week of June was welcome as soil moisture deficits were at 50mm in the southeast, according to Mark Plunkett, Soil & Plant Nutrition Specialist at Teagasc. His recent tillage crop report states that spring barley crops have developed quite well over the last seven to 10 days with many crops now at or approaching the correct stage for the final fungicide application (T2). The correct time for the…

Pig industry in dire straits, report finds

A report by PwC on the pig industry in Ireland states that 10% of pig farmers exited the sector in recent months, with a further 20% at risk of leaving. IFA Pigs Chairman Roy Gallie said the report highlights a sector that is on the brink of collapse. “The PwC analysis confirms just how dire a position the pig sector is in at the moment. The month of May showed no…

No change to Irish pig price this week

The pig price in Ireland was unchanged this week for the larger processing plants with farmers receiving quotes of €1.78c/kg up to €1.82 or €1.84 to €1.88/kg. There was also very little pig price change across Europe over the past week with member states, Spain and France receiving over €2.00/kg as well as the UK. The European market prices have levelled with the weighted average price for grade S & E…

Join the Enable Conservation Tillage Project Crop Walks

Teagasc is facilitating Enable Conservation Tillage Project Crop Walks on various farms across the country to encourage the adoption of conservation agriculture practices on Irish tillage farms. The intention is also to provide growers with the knowledge, skills, and capacity to achieve effective grass weed control. Attendees will look at grass weeds in various establishment systems as well as best practices for getting the best results. The next Enable Conservation…

Agriculture the backbone of rural economies – ICMSA

As government talks over sectoral targets continue, farmers are hoping that Charlie McConalogue, the Minister for Agriculture, will “hold the line” on keeping carbon emission cuts to the lower end of the scale. If Ireland has any chance of meeting its climate goals, agricultural emissions must drop by closer to 30%, not 22% as stated last November 2021. “It is necessary that we hold the line and set an aspiration…

New tech to help agriculture reduce emissions – IFA

Farmers are looking at ways to reduce emissions and there are technologies coming on stream that will make a real difference, according to IFA President Tim Cullinan. “The Environmental Protection Agency’s own analysis shows that with the additional measures (WAM) proposed in the 2021 Climate Action Plan, agriculture can achieve a reduction in emissions of over 22% by 2030 compared with 2018 which is within the sectoral ceiling range set…

Come farm with me – Anna Truesdale

Ulster Farmers’ Union member Anna Truesdale has built up a substantial social media following since she started posting about daily life on her dairy and sheep farm in Northern Ireland. You can watch her dog, Izzy, “who knows silage is going to be dear this winter” and supervises proceedings to ensure she gets to use “every blade of grass grown on the farm this year” and see footage of Anna’s…

IFA sheep price update – cull ewes in demand

IFA Sheep committee chairman Kevin Comiskey said we are approaching the end of hogget supplies. Spring lamb numbers are increasing, but still remain below last year’s levels. He said hoggets are trading between €7.20/kg and €7.50/kg with factories still trying to buy spring lamb between €8.20/kg and €8.50/kg to 21/kg. Cull ewes are in very strong demand with top-end prices of €4.20/kg paid. Comiskey said throughput in sheep factories to…

Beef price update – cattle supplies are tight

On the release of the beef price update on 2 June, 2022, IFA National Livestock chairman Brendan Golden said supplies of cattle are extremely tight with throughput dropping over the last two weeks by 3,700 to 32,098. The kill to date has been very strong at 739,869, which is 81,619 head above last year’s levels with the increased figures for the year predicted by Bord Bia almost all through the…