The Tillage Edge

Purchased seed is a foundational part of crop production each year and for this week’s Tillage Edge, Michael Hennessy caught up with Jim Cunningham, Seed Plant Manager at Goldcrop’s production facility in Dunleer, Co Louth to chat about how he and his team maintain seed quality and varietal purity from intake through processing, storage and dispatch to growers for the following season.   For more...

At the recent Johnstown Castle Research Centre Open Day, Michael Hennessy caught up with Dr. Fiona Brennan, a Teagasc Senior Researcher in Soil Microbiology, to talk about soil health and how tillage farmers can keep their soils in top condition.    Fiona outlines the key parameters that affect soil health—structure, organic matter, biology, nutrient balance and drainage—and highlights practical s...

New varieties help maintain or increase on-farm yields and Michael Hennessy caught up with John Dunne, Trials Manager at Goldcrop, after their Dunleer open day to discuss the latest varieties coming through the system.   John covers developments in resistance to yellow rust in winter wheat and the near‑standard BYDV tolerance now seen in winter barleys, and explains what those changes mean for gro...

Getting an international perspective can help put current grain-market conditions into context — and for this episode of The Tillage Edge, Brian Caldbeck, an Irish grower who runs Rubisco Seeds in Kentucky, USA, joins the show to discuss what he’s seeing across the U.S. crop landscape.   Locally in Kentucky wheat yields are good, but recent rains may have created quality concerns, while further we...

Don Somers, a tillage farmer from Wexford, and the overall winner of the Environmental Sustainability award in 2025, joins The Tillage Edge, along with John Mahon, his Signpost Farm advisor, to preview the open evening at Don’s farm on June 17th.   The event is targeted at farmers, non-farmers and young people to showcase sustainable practices on tillage farms.     Don is particularly keen to show...

Dubliner Andy Mahon, who is farm manager of the Bromborough Estate in Northamptonshire, UK, discusses crop conditions, how the business is coping with the difficult weather, grass-weed pressure and recent changes to farm support.   Andy also outlines his blackgrass strategy — from planning and growing crops in fields with low blackgrass population, to targeted herbicide use and post-emergence cont...

North Kildare farmer, Phillip Harris, and Teagasc advisor, John Brophy, discuss crop progress and management challenges on this week’s Tillage Edge.    Phillip describes the adjustments he’s made since changing to strip till establishment, plus a strict containment plan for grass weeds involving crop burn off, fallow and rigorous hand rouging.  Phillip recommends herbicide testing for resistance i...

We re-join the conversation with Jim McCarthy, who farms an extensive holding in north-eastern Romania, as Jim walks us through recent changes on the farm, most notably his move away from the big-name manufacturers toward more affordable South American machinery to reduce costs.   He also discusses the wider crisis facing Romanian agriculture after three severe droughts: bankruptcies among local s...

Michael McCarthy, a Teagasc tillage advisor, and Tom Barry, a farmer near Mallow, Cork, discuss how crops in their area are progressing.    This spring brought three distinct planting windows and Michael is concerned about the later two as emergence is only ok and there is visible damage on the headlands, so those fields will need close monitoring.   Tom reports his winter crops are looking well a...

Jim McCarthy, who is farming a large tract of land in Romania, joins this week’s Tillage Edge to talk about the progress on his farm over the past few months.   Jim talks about the changes in establishment system and how this is helping maintain yields by trapping more moisture and allowing him to reduce fertiliser inputs.   However, Jim remains cautious about the outlook for prices and expresses...

Weed control is becoming more difficult with herbicide resistance of one or more weeds now on most farms.  For this episode of The Tillage Edge, Ciaran Collins and Shay Phelan, Tillage Specialists at Teagasc, explain how to get good weed control in spring cereals, even where resistance is an issue.    Shay says that sequencing weed control around wild oats can be effective in ensuring good control...

Dr. Louise McNamara, a researcher with Teagasc, is on this week’s Tillage Edge to talk about the threat posed by aphids and, consequently, BYDV this season.    Louise explains that the thresholds, or triggers for action, are similar to previous years, although ongoing research is expected to refine these in the future.   She highlights that crops emerging after mid-April are at greatest risk, whil...

Last month Teagasc published sector roadmaps, including the Tillage Roadmap 2030, which sets production and sustainability targets and outlines changes needed to advance the sector.    Achieving these ambitions will be challenging but vital.  In this episode, John Spink, Head of the Crops, Environment and Land Use Programme at Teagasc, and Dr Ewen Mullins, Head of Crop Research, join us to explain...

Nitrogen is arguably the most important input in agriculture, and applying the right amount in the right place is essential to maximising return on investment.     Dr Richie Hackett, a researcher with Teagasc, joins the podcast to discuss how farmers can get the best from their nitrogen inputs.   Richie explains that liquid nitrogen can be just as effective as solid nitrogen sources. Preliminary t...

As spring moves into peak planting season, the ideal window for establishing several crops is closing quickly.    Conor Kavanagh, a tillage advisor from Tipperary, and Eoin Lyons, a tillage advisor from Laois, join the podcast to discuss spring planting progress in their respective areas and outline priorities for the coming week.   Eoin notes that good progress has been made across all crops, alt...

Changes in the yellow rust population last year means that all winter wheat crops are at risk of infection in 2026.     Dr. Stephen Kildea, a researcher with Teagasc, and Conor O’Callaghan, a Teagasc tillage advisor, join the Tillage Edge podcast to discuss the threat that yellow rust poses to wheat crops this season.   Conor says that where yellow rust is allowed to establish, it becomes difficul...

With the recent improvement in weather and a favourable forecast ahead, planting of spring cereals has now begun.    Ciaran Collins and Shay Phelan, Tillage Specialists with Teagasc, join the podcast to discuss priorities for planting over the coming week and whether increased input costs are likely to influence plans this spring.   Shay says that typical costs for spring cropping have risen by ap...

Rising tensions in the Middle East have once again caused volatility in fertiliser markets, pushing prices higher and creating uncertainty. With these costs increasing, there is renewed focus on ensuring fertiliser applications are closely matched to crop and soil requirements.   On this week’s Tillage Edge podcast, Dr Veronica Nyhan, Soils and Plant Nutrition Specialist with Teagasc, discusses cu...

With the arrival of spring weather, Teagasc tillage specialists Ciaran Collins and Shay Phelan join the podcast to discuss the priority agronomy tasks for the coming weeks. Soils remain quite wet on many farms, and both Ciaran and Shay caution against rushing into fieldwork — whether that’s spreading fertiliser or planting spring crops. A little patience now, they advise, could lead to better resu...

Sheila Alves, a researcher in Teagasc, Oak Park and Cork-based Teagasc tillage advisor, Michael McCarthy, join this week’s Tillage Edge to discuss what growers need to know about spring beans for the 2026 season.   “With margins remaining competitive compared to other spring crops, beans are expected to be widely grown again this year,” Michael McCarthy explains.    The conversation focuses on key...

Working with the EU funded VALPRO Path project team, Michael Hennessy visits agricultural grain drying and storage specialists McArthur BDC in the UK.   Michael speaks with John McArthur about the company’s work installing large-scale grain storage and drying systems, alongside their plans to process home-grown beans for inclusion in poultry rations. The discussion explores how small-scale trials,...

Don Somers, the Wexford tillage farmer who won the 2025 Teagasc–FBD Environmental Sustainability Award, and Siobhán Kavanagh from Teagasc’s Signpost Farm programme, join Michael Hennessy on this week’s Tillage Edge.   Don explains why winning the award was important to him and how it recognises tillage farmers’ sustainability work.   Siobhán outlines the awards categories, judging criteria, suppor...

For the second in a series featuring talks from this year’s Teagasc National Tillage Conference, this week on the Tillage Edge we focus on research and the key issues that will shape tillage farming in the years ahead.   This episode highlights new research from Teagasc Oak Park with Jack Perry who provides an update on BYDV transmission in tolerant barley varieties; Sinéad Dermody discusses the s...

We begin a series of talks from this year’s Teagasc National Tillage Conference, focusing on the research and issues that will shape tillage farming in the years ahead.   This episode of the Tillage Edge examines Irish competitiveness, both at home and internationally.    Teagasc economist, Dr Trevor Donnellan, presents a paper prepared by Dr Fiona Thorne, outlining how Irish farmers remain compet...

One of the highlights of the Irish tillage calendar is the Teagasc National Tillage Conference, a must-attend event to hear about the latest research, innovation and agronomy.    For this week’s Tillage Edge, Dr. Ewen Mullins, Head of Crop Science at Teagasc, previews what to expect this year.     To register for the National Tillage conference visit:  https://teagasc.ie/crops/crops/events/#NTC202...