The Irish Farmers Journal will hold its first farm walk of the From the Tramline series this Thursday 4 July.

The walk takes place on the farm of Martin Hoste near Kilbride, Co Meath.

From the Tramlines is Ireland’s leading tillage series and follows the cropping progress of 12 of the country’s top growers over 40 weeks.

The theme of the farm walk is ‘Getting ready for harvest 2019’ and speakers will focus on topics that are important for both this coming harvest and for the years ahead.

The event will commence at 10am and conclude around 1pm and is free to attend.

Host farm

The morning will commence with a conversation with the host farmer. Martin was also a 2018 From the Tramlines farmer.

He 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 such as beans and oilseed rape supporting very high yield potential.

Martin has been an award winner in the YEN project in the UK in recent years.

Agenda

The morning will continue with a number of short talks centred on harvest issues.

Rory Deverell of FC Stone, a market analyst and advisory company, will bring an update of the global grain market situation.

Tom Kelly will discuss the Irish Grain Assurance Scheme (IGAS). 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.

Gordon Rennick from the Department of Agriculture will discuss the pesticide actives which we are about to lose and what we may possibly gain.

Liz Glynn and Willie Corrigan will represent Corteva, partners in the From the Tramlines programme. Corteva is the new company name for the coming together of Dow Agrosciences, DuPont and Pioneer. Liz and William will discuss their new actives coming to the market soon and the challenges of grassweed control this year.

Demonstrations

Correct combine set up is crucial before harvest time.

The walk will then proceed outdoors where a number of demonstrations will take place.

Session 1: Mark Wilson from Claas will go through the basics of machine setup ahead of harvest. The demonstration will centre on a Claas Lexion 750 hybrid machine and a Claas Lexion 660 straw walker machine.

Optimum combine setting adds to daily output and also to sample quality, so good combine setup is paramount for performance.

Session 2: Joe McDonagh of the Road Safety Authority will engage in a discussion with Michael Moroney, motoring and vintage editor with the Irish Farmers Journal, on the current agricultural trailer regulations such as gross weights, axle number, braking system, hitching points, etc.

Dermot Forrestal of Teagasc, Oak Park, will provide advice on tractor and combine wheel options in order to minimise compaction at harvest time.

This event is free for everyone to attend and refreshments will be served after.