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These past few weeks have been very busy with many different events and open days taking place up and down the country. This week may see the biggest event – Crops and Spreaders – but next week brings the Irish Farmers Journal Tramlines event on the farm of Martin Hoste near Kilbride in Co Meath. We must also say that Seed Technology have open days at their base in Waterford next week.
The Tramlines farm walk is set to focus on topics that are important, either for harvest or for the year(s) ahead. This is a morning event, commencing at 10am and concluding around 1pm.
Martin has been innovative in his approach to soil management and has not used the plough on this heavy land for quite a number of years now
The event targets issues that centre around harvest, with a number of talks providing information on setting up combines, wheeling up for harvest and staying clear of the law on weights and widths on the road.
The day will kick off with an introduction to the Hoste farm. Many will know the basic farm details as Martin was a Tramlines farmer last year. Martin has been innovative in his approach to soil management and has not used the plough on this heavy land for quite a number of years now. Farm performance is very high with break crops like beans and oilseed rape supporting very high yield potential, and Martin has been an award winner in the YEN project in the UK in recent years.
Chemicals going and coming
Our chemical tool-box is a topic that receives a lot of discussion in these times, with more going then coming. However, it is good that we are about to get a few new actives in the market in the coming years and to tell us more about what we are about to lose and what we may possibly gain, will be Gordon Rennick from the Department of Agriculture.
Also speaking about chemicals, current and new, will be representatives from Corteva who are our partners in the From the Tramlines programme. Corteva is the new company name for the coming together of Dow Agrosciences, DuPont and Pioneer. The new company has quite a number of new actives in the pipeline.
Markets
With winter barley harvest now just over the horizon, we bring you an update of the global market situation by Rory Deverell of FC Stone, a market analyst and advisory company. With so much talk recently about the wet weather and planting in the US, Rory will provide an update on the current state of play.
We will also hear from Tom Kelly of the Irish Grain Assurance Scheme (IGAS). This scheme, which is unique to Ireland, has seen many changes in recent years and Tom will outline these. The scheme assures producers who deliver grain at harvest, those who produce and hold and store their grain and those who are only involved in storage.
Recent variable weather conditions reinforce the need to have combines properly set up and ready to go. To this end, Mark Wilson from Claas will go through the basics of machine set-up ahead of harvest. Optimum combine setting adds to daily output and also to sample quality, so good combine set-up is paramount for performance.
With machines becoming bigger and weather unpredictable, it is always essential to be able to keep your combine afloat in difficult weather. So, where might you draw the balance between duals, four-wheel drive and tracks? Dermot Forrestal of Teagasc, Oak Park, provides basic advice on wheel options if underfoot conditions turn nasty.
While minimising one’s footprint on the land is important, being compliant with our road legislation is also very important. Gross weights, axle number, braking system, hitching points etc, all impact on the legal load weights and it is up to the grower to be aware of all these requirements of weight and width. To address these issues we will have a representative from the Road Safety Authority in attendance.
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