There will be plenty of talk about the future of the tillage industry at Tillage Day.

Grain price is a key part of this, along with added value products and investment in the sector.

In the morning, James Nolan from R&H Hall will give an overview of markets this season, things that will be likely to have an impact on markets and opportunities to sell.

Donal Moloney from Tirlán will talk about forward selling and the advantages and disadvantages of forward selling grain.

Rory Deverell of Black-Silo Grain and farmer David Hobson will discuss a new option available to help farmers de-risk their business and secure a minimum price for their grain.

Policy

Barry O’Reilly of the Department of Agriculture and George Blackburn - a farmer and agronomist with Cooney Furlong Grain Company - will examine tillage policy and what changes might help to improve the sector.

Irish Farmers Journal dairy editor Aidan Brennan will talk about the nitrates derogation and the panel will discuss opportunities for the tillage and dairy sector to work together and how some changes to policy could make a difference on farms.

Future of the sector

The final panel of the day will focus on the future of the sector.

Tim O’Donovan of the Irish Seed Trade Association, Liam Leahy of Dairygold, farmer John Dunne and Barry Larkin of Acorn Independent Merchants will talk about opportunities to add value to Irish grain and improve the price paid to the farmer.

They will discuss what changes they would make to help farmers and the sector. They will also discuss the Food Vision tillage report and what policy changes could be made to help the sector.

Tickets

Tillage Day takes place at the Killashee Hotel, Naas, Co Kildare, on Thursday 7 November 2024, with stands from 8.30am and the conference from 9.30am until 4.30pm.

Tickets are €49.99 and include a two-course lunch. They can be purchased at www.ifj.ie/tillageday.

See the full agenda here.

Pesticide advisers

There are 25 IASIS points available for pesticide advisers to meet continuous professional development requirements.