Financial planning essential to support future crop yields and margins
The Teagasc National Crops Forum brought together farmers, researchers, specialists and industry representatives to discuss the latest agronomic developments and examine how growers can maintain profitability amid rising production costs and relatively static grain prices.
Opening the forum on Thursday, 10 September, at the Keadeen Hotel, Newbridge, County Kildare, Teagasc launched the Soil Cycle Project, a collaborative initiative focused on improving the use of livestock slurries in growing tillage crops, particularly winter cereals. The project aims to increase nutrient use efficiency and provide growers with practical guidance on how best to utilise organic manures within cereal production systems.
Ciaran Collins, Teagasc Crops Specialist and Project Leader, said: “The outcomes from this project will help farmers better understand how and when to apply slurry to growing crops so that they can maximise the nutrient value and financial return from these valuable organic resources.”
Kilkenny farmer Andy O’Donnell, one of the participating farmers in the project, highlighted the value of slurries to his farm and the confidence he is getting by participation in the project.
“The project set-up is excellent, not only for participating farmers but also for neighbouring growers who can see first-hand how organic manures can be successfully incorporated into a tillage system” he said.
Variety choice
The forum also heard from Cara MacAodhain of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, who presented details of the recommended cereal variety lists for 2027. Alongside agronomic performance data, Cara outlined findings on yellow rust resistance in winter wheat varieties.
“The results continue to show that selecting varieties with poor yellow rust resistance leads to more challenging crop management and can ultimately result in yield losses,” he said.
Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus
The importance of variety choice was further highlighted by Dr Louise McNamara, entomologist at Teagasc Crops Research Centre in Oak Park, who presented research on Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) tolerance in recently introduced cereal varieties.
According to Dr McNamara, the tolerance traits are performing well under Irish conditions.
“The data from Oak Park indicates that BYDV tolerance is providing growers with an important tool in managing the virus. However, early-sown crops are still likely to require insecticide intervention in most seasons to adequately manage risk,” she said.
Weed management
Weed management was another key focus of the agronomy session. Dr Vijay Bhaskar, Weed researcher at Teagasc Oak Park, outlined recent research on grass weed control in winter wheat and winter barley, which showed robust pre-emergence residual herbicide programmes continue to provide the most reliable approach to achieving effective grass weed control in winter cereals.
The financial challenges
The final session of the forum focused on the financial challenges facing the tillage sector and how growers can improve profitability in an increasingly challenging economic environment.
Trevor Donnellan, Teagasc Economist, outlined trends in farm profitability across the sector. While family farm income per hectare was broadly similar across farms of different sizes, there were notable differences in how that income was generated.
Trevor also highlighted that machinery costs have risen by 47% on tillage farms from 2020 to 2025, which is posing a significant cost to the industry.
Research on production systems was presented by Jack Jameson, Teagasc researcher, who compared the financial performance of conventional tillage systems with lower-cost, non-inversion cultivation systems.
His analysis found that lower-cost systems using reduced establishment systems had lower production costs but also achieved lower yields. As a result, these systems appeared more resilient during years of high costs and lower yield potential. Conversely, conventional systems that invest more heavily in crop production often achieved stronger returns in seasons where growing conditions supported higher yields.
Closing the financial session, Shay Phelan, Teagasc Tillage Specialist, highlighted the importance of crop rotation and careful crop positioning in driving long-term profitability.
He stressed that financial planning and crop selection decisions should be based on individual farm performance rather than short-term responses to a single harvest.
“The starting point for every farm should be their own figures. Farmers need to look at average crop performance over a number of years, assess current production costs and identify which crops provide the most consistent margins for their rotation.” he said.
The forum concluded with a panel discussion involving researchers, advisors and industry representatives, focusing on practical strategies to improve margins and strengthen the resilience of Irish tillage farms in the years ahead.
Presentations from the Crops Forum are available to view here.
Featured image caption: Pictured at the 2026 Teagasc National Crops Forum are: Cara MacAdhain, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; Andy O Donnell, Kilkenny farmer; Jack Jameson, Shay Phelan, Ciaran Collins, Louise McNamara, Stan Lalor, Sean Og McCormack, Tapiwa Zengeza, Teagasc; Anne Mcguire, DAFM; Richard Halleron Agriland; Vijaya Bhaskar and Michael Hennessy, Teagasc,