Winter Conference 2013
The theme for our conference is Adapting a Tillage Farm for ‘Tomorrow’.
The next few years are likely to result in considerable change for the tillage sector. There are many factors, external and domestic, that are set to contribute to a faster than normal period of transition. Significant challenges particularly with regard to the Single Farm Payment Budget, competition for land from an expanding dairy sector and closer to home with regard to cropping practices and husbandry techniques lie ahead. These will affect both policy makers, farmers and the sector as a whole, and it will ultimately be the ability to adapt to this changed environment that will determine the productivity and competitiveness of the sector into the future.
The Irish Tillage and Land Use Society is delighted to welcome Professor Jimmy Burke to this years conference. There will be a first hand opportunity to hear the views of Professor Burke from the School of Agricultural Science and Food , UCD on the challenges for Research to add value to tillage.
Matt Ryan, Agri-consultant and former Dairy Programme Manager at Teagasc will outline the challenges and opportunities an expanding dairy sector will have on Irish Agriculture. His paper will consider if there is real potential in the Dairy Sector to grow to meet projections and how our tillage sector can adapt to meet these challenges ahead.
The greening of the CAP is possibly the most significant policy change in recent years that will impact on tillage farmers. The background and latest greening proposals will be outlined by Mr Paud Evans, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and how they might shape the future of crop production. He will also explain why these measures are included in the reform and they will affect both the tillage and grassland farmer. New buzz words such as Single Farm Payment Convergence, equivalence and Ecological Focus Areas will also be discussed.
Also, the potential for technologies and tools that will be required to deliver this potential will be discussed. The competitiveness and future profitability of our winter cereals will be investigated as the production of consistently high yielding crops of winter wheat has become more challenging in recent years.
There will also be an opportunity to hear the experiences of two highly successful cereal growers who have already taken significant steps in adapting their farming system and crop mix over the past 5 years to maximise profitability. They will also outline their plans for future development of their farm businesses.
The conference promises to be a very informative and interesting day. Pre-booking is essential to help organisation of the conference. The programme is enclosed and I look forward to seeing you on the day.
For more information click on the links below.