Oak Park Host Major Crops Open Day
‘Technology to fuel profits’ is the theme for the Teagasc tillage crops open day taking place at Oak Park, Carlow, today, Wednesday 27 June. The open day, being held against a background of positive market outlook for cereals and possible new outlets for the energy sector, features the results of the comprehensive tillage research programme being carried out by Teagasc at Oak Park. Teagasc research and advisory staff demonstrate the technology required by tillage farmers in order to prosper in the future.
Professor Jimmy Burke, head of Teagasc Crops Research Centre said the event will help tillage farmers and those in the sector to carefully assess what implications recent research developments will have for tillage farmers in the future and how research carried out at Oak Park can make a difference to improving competitiveness. The crops open day displays the new opportunities beginning to emerge for the energy sector and the results of on-going work at the centre.
Alternative land use is now a major topic of discussion worldwide and the excise relief scheme announced by the Irish Government is creating huge interest in this area. The open day outlines the opportunities to grow crops for fuel such as willow, miscanthus, grain and oilseed rape and the commercial prospects for using land for non-food uses. Teagasc researcher Bernard Rice highlights the potential for Irish farmers to supply this emerging market and outlines what farmers should consider before embarking on major investment in this area.
The crops research programme is focusing on reducing costs and maximising profit on tillage farms. Teagasc researchers, Dermot Forristal, Richie Hackett and Brendan Dunne discuss this topic. Teagasc tillage specialist, Michael Hennessy, addresses the major queries that have arisen since the introduction of cross compliance regulations and the impact on tillage farming, focusing on the action required by cereal producers.
The latest production blueprints for all tillage and energy crops are presented along with research information on the emerging resistance of some cereal diseases to the newer fungicides, minimum tillage, plant biotechnology and new developments in plant breeding. In addition, the outcome of innovative research work on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are on show and farmers will hear about the effect of cropping systems and cultivation methods on CO2 emissions from arable crops.
