Protecting margins through smart crop planning focus of Teagasc Crops Forum
The Teagasc Crops Forum takes place in the Keadeen Hotel, Newbridge, Co. Kildare, W12 T925, on Thursday, September 10 at 2pm, centred on the theme of ‘Protecting Margins Through Smart Crop Planning’.
Despite appearances, 2026 will go down as a challenging year for tillage farmers. Good harvest weather masked rising input costs, disappointing yields and squeezed margins. The temptation next season is to ‘roll the dice’ again and hope for better weather.
However, this year’s Teagasc Crops Forum tackles a different approach: practical agronomy and planning to protect your bottom line.
The Teagasc Crops Forum will feature focused presentations on variety choice, rotation planning and in-season crop management, including BYDV control and grassweed strategies. Alternative management options, from using organic manures to different establishment systems, and how logistics and season-long decisions can reduce costs and risk, will also be explored.
Attendees at the event will leave with actionable crop planning and variety decisions for 2026/27; practical pest, weed and disease control to protect yields; and alternative management and cost-saving measures to defend margins.
Session one
Session one commences at 2pm and will be opened by Dr Stan Lalor, Director of Knowledge Transfer, Teagasc and will feature the launch of the Soil Cycle project.
Ciaran Collins, Teagasc Crops Specialist and Project leader, will introduce the Soil Cycle Project, while Sean Og McCormack, Project Advisor, will deliver a presentation titled: ‘Matching logistics will minimise costs’. During the session, Andy O’Donnell, a tillage farmer from Kilkenny, will outline how he’s utilising organic manures in his farming system, while a Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) representative will outline the importance of EIPs.
Session two
The focus of session two moves to selecting and protecting your crop. Chaired by Dr. Ewen Mullins, Head of Crop Science Department, and commencing at 2:35pm, presentations during this session include:
- Varieties for 2026/2027
- Cara Mac Aodháin – Crop Policy, Evaluation and Certification Division, DAFM
- BYDV control in winter cereals
- Louise McNamara, Teagasc
- Importance of pre-emerge herbicides
- Vijaya Bhaskar, Teagasc
Session 3
Chaired by Michael Hennessy, Teagasc Head of Crops Knowledge Transfer, and commencing at 3.15pm, session three will feature presentations focused on protecting margins through better planning, including:
- Farmer returns – what can we learn for the future
- Fiona Thorne, Teagasc
- Can an alternative establishment system return more profitability
- Jack Jameson, Teagasc
- Scenario building on crop planning
- Shay Phelan, Teagasc
All three sessions will provide an opportunity for audience engagement through a questions and answers session.
Crops forum panel discussion
The forum closes with a panel of experts who will discuss small, practical changes tillage farmers can make now to improve yields and preserve margins in the years ahead. Panellists include Davy Keogh, a Wexford tillage farmer, Shay Phelan, Teagasc Crops Specialist, Dr. Fiona Thorne, Teagasc Research Officer, and Philip O’Connor, IFAC.
For more information and to register to attend the Teagasc Crops Forum, visit here.