Crops

What lies ahead for tillage margins?

What lies ahead for tillage margins? As part of the Teagasc Outlook 2025, Economic Prospects for Agriculture, Dr. Fiona Thorne of the Teagasc Agricultural Economics and Farm Surveys Department provided a forecast for 2025 tillage margins. The forecast for net margins on tillage farms in 2025 is for an increase in margins, […]
26 December 2024

Reviewing yields with Signpost farmer Tom Barry

Reviewing yields with Signpost farmer Tom Barry After a challenging year, Tom Barry, a Signpost tillage farmer from Co. Cork, takes a look back at the yields obtained on his farm. Tillage farming in 2024 was one of the most challenging years; many of us did two years’ work in one, along […]
23 December 2024

The story behind your Christmas potatoes

The story behind your Christmas potatoes Most of the potatoes on Irish tables this Christmas will come from local farms, showcasing the country’s rich agricultural heritage. Shay Phelan explores potato cultivation, popular Christmas varieties, and the thriving local market for this festive staple. Counties such as Meath, Dublin, Louth, Donegal, Cork, and […]
23 December 2024

The Next Generation: Planning for Farm Succession

The Next Generation: Planning for Farm Succession In this first episode of a four-part series on The Tillage Edge, how families can best plan for succession on the farm is explored. James McDonnell, a Farm Management Specialist with Teagasc, discusses the key aspects of family farm succession. This episodes focused on how […]
19 December 2024

Vincent Macken’s reflections after a ‘whirlwind’ year for tillage farming

Vincent Macken’s reflections after a ‘whirlwind’ year for tillage farming Looking back on the whirlwind year that’s been, Signpost tillage farmer, Vincent Macken takes time to reflect on his 2024 farming decisions and crop yields. Harvest 2024 eventually finished for me on October 15 with late spring beans, yielding 2.0t/ac at high […]
16 December 2024

Calculating tillage incomes for 2024

Calculating tillage incomes for 2024 Teagasc Economist, Dr. Fiona Thorne discusses the key findings from the recent Teagasc Outlook 2025 conference on this week’s Tillage Edge. Tillage farm incomes are expected to rebound after the tough year of 2023, with estimates showing a 40% increase in 2024 and further gains in 2025. […]
12 December 2024

Straw incorporation – its role in achieving net zero on tillage farms

Straw incorporation – its role in achieving net zero on tillage farms Ciaran Collins, Crops Specialist at Teagasc, takes a closer look at straw incorporation and its important role in achieving net zero on tillage farms. This follows an announcement by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine that Straw Incorporation […]
12 December 2024

Assessing your tillage performance as winter approaches

0 Assessing your tillage performance as winter approaches Michael Hennessy, Head of Crops Knowledge Transfer in Teagasc, shares advice on protecting crops over the winter, benchmarking your yields to help pinpoint strengths and weaknesses in your crop management and, most importantly, assessing your farm’s performance. As we approach the shortest day of the […]
6 December 2024

Leading the Way in Sustainable Tillage: Tom Barry’s Journey – Part 2

0 Leading the Way in Sustainable Tillage: Tom Barry’s Journey – Part 2 For this week’s Tillage Edge podcast, Michael Hennessy re-joins Tom Barry, a tillage farmer from North Cork, who shares how he’s implementing sustainable farming practices, using organic manures and reducing fertiliser use to enhancing biodiversity. On this episode, Tom explains […]
5 December 2024

Tillage emissions stable

Tillage emissions stable Despite profitability and weather related challenges, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Irish tillage farms remained stable over 2023, the recently released Teagasc National Farm Survey (NFS) Sustainability Report 2023 has indicated. Presented on both a yearly and three-year rolling average basis, the NFS report points to tillage GHG emissions […]
30 November 2024