Teagasc scientists feature in tonight’s episode of ‘10 Things to Know About… The Future of Farming’ on RTÉ One television

On tonight’s episode, Wednesday, 11 November, of the television series 10 Things to Know About…, on RTÉ One television, we explore how GPS technology is helping farmers work smarter as the workforce ages; a Teagasc-led network linking Irish farmers with peers in 13 European countries on biodiversity-friendly farming; and research to turn rejected ‘wonky’ carrots into pasta, pesto and chocolate ganache

Technology and farm labour

This episode explores the complex issue of generational renewal in Irish farming and highlights how GPS technologies and research-led improvements in managing day-to-day tasks are helping farmers work smarter, not harder.

Conor Hogan, Teagasc; Presenter Fergus McAuliffe and Neil O’Leary, Teagasc Walsh Scholar.

Conor Hogan, People in Dairy Programme Manager at Teagasc explains: “If we want to secure the future of Irish dairy farming, we must ensure it is attractive and a career of choice for the next generation. Reducing workload, improving how work is organised and embracing smarter ways of farming are essential to achieving this. Measuring and understanding farm labour is a key step towards building more attractive farms and supporting generational renewal.”

Biodiversity-friendly farming practices

Farming in ways that nurtures nature is the future of agriculture, and we explore a groundbreaking Irish-led project building a cross-European network to turn biodiversity-friendly farming practices into farm reality.

Meritxell Grau Butinay, FarmBioNet Project Manager, Teagasc describes how it works: “FarmBioNet is about farmers learning from one another. Through national networks and a wider European network, we bring farmers together to share biodiversity-friendly practices. Peer-to-peer learning lets them see firsthand what other members have adopted and discuss how it could be adapted to their own land.”

Presenter Kathriona Devereux and Meritxell Grau, Teagasc.

Reducing food waste by making use of wonky veg

We also meet the team seeking to turn rejected fruit and vegetables into delicious and nutritious dishes.

Maeve Henchion, Principal Research Officer, Teagasc, explains about the work of the ROSETTA project: “Viewers will see how supermarket standards can leave edible vegetables behind, and how research can find new uses for them. We explored making more of each crop, such as using carrot pulp in bread and pasta and leaves in pesto. We also looked at how consumers respond to these foods, highlighting the importance of combining appealing products with well-planned communication.”