Last month, the National Tillage Conference saw large crowds of farmers and members of the tillage industry gather in Kilkenny.

The annual Teagasc conference focused on a number of topics, including resistance, agronomic updates, the environmental footprint of the sector and much more.

Read the report from the day here.

Throughout the day, nine questions were posed to attendees through the mobile interaction app Slido. The questions were devised based on some of the key challenges facing the sector.

In a bid to gauge the audience’s reactions to these challenges, respondents could choose up to three answers.

The answers were ranked based on the number of times they were selected, with one being the most selected. Below are the answers:

Q1 What are the main challenges facing the sector?

1. Loss of fungicides, herbicides and insecticides.

2. Lack of more resilient varieties.

3. Current production unsustainable from a soils perspective.

4. Dairy expansion.

5. Labour shortage and cost.

A total of 134 people responded to this question. The loss of fungicides, herbicides and insecticides was the top choice in this poll by a significant margin. Interestingly there was less than 6% between the second, third and fourth top answers.

Q2 How can we protect our soils in continuous tillage?

1. Use cover crops to improve soil quality.

2. Reduce machinery impact with larger tyres, lower pressures, improved headland management.

3. Avoid working in wetter (vulnerable) soil conditions.

4. Use reduced cultivations to build more resilient soils.

5. Bring grass leys back into rotations.

6. Adopt direct drilling (no-till).

133 attendees responded to this question with the use cover crops to improve soil quality ranking as number one. There was just 5% between the second and third choices. Interestingly, adopting a direct drilling (no-till) system ranked the lowest.

Q3 What currently restricts you from adopting non-plough tillage?

1. Grass weed control is challenging.

2. Riskier establishment requiring early autumn sowing.

3. Perceived negative impact on yields.

4. Expensive to change over.

5. Less suitable for spring crops/ Insufficient research in our conditions.

6. Not suitable for our climate.

7. No restriction.

Around 123 attendees answered this question. Grass weed control came in as the number one restricting factor to adopting non-plough tillage. This was closely followed by riskier establishment requiring early autumn sowing.

Q4 What will be the main opportunities for crop producers in the future?

1. Grow higher value crops for specific markets: food oats; specific varieties for beer/spirits.

2. Utilise organic manures from intensive grassland.

3. Grow more food/protein crops to feed demand for a plant-based diet.

4. Grow energy crops or crops for anaerobic digestion.

5. Grow current crops but with more regulated production methods and traceability; bringing a higher return.

6. Plant forestry to maximise carbon capture.

7. No other option but to continue as we are.

132 conference attendees answered this question. Growing higher-value crops for specific markets such as food oats or specific varieties for beer/spirits was selected most often. However, this was closely followed by utilising organic manures from intensive grassland. Just 3% of respondents said they had no other option but to continue as there are.

Q5 What will be the biggest impact if we are to lose glyphosate in 2022?

1. Scutch will re-emerge as a huge constraint on tillage farming/non - plough systems will struggle and may not be viable.

2. Reduction in tillage area.

3. Harvest management with cereals will become problematic.

4. No effective desiccant for oilseed rape and other crops will constrain production.

5. The market will pay more for glyphosate free produce/plant protection companies will have new products ready.

A total of 133 respondents answered this question. Interestingly, two options came joint first. The re-emergence of scutch grass and the viability of non-plough systems were the top concerns of respondents.

Q6 What are the most important factors that contribute positively to sustainability?

1. Using cover crops for spring cropping.

2. Using organic manures instead of conventional fertiliser.

3. Avoiding soil compaction and structure damage.

4. Adopting more diverse rotations.

5. Getting grass breaks back into crop rotations.

6. Remove livestock and increase tillage area.

Around 133 attendees replied to this question. There was a difference of just 2% between the first and second top answers. Using cover crops for spring cropping came in as number one, closely followed by using organic manures instead of conventional fertiliser. Removing livestock and increasing the tillage area came in last at just 6%.

Q7 Do you see your crop mix changing over the next five years?

1. No - largely the same/ Yes - more break crops like beans, OSR or oats.

2. Increased land use for energy crops or anaerobic digestion.

3. I will have less cropped area.

4. More potatoes or horticultural crops.

127 people answered this question. Two options came in joint first, no - largely the same and yes - more break crops like beans, OSR or oats. The second most popular answer was increase land use for energy crops or anaerobic digestion.

Q8 What are the benefits of non-plough tillage?

1. Faster and less costly establishment/improved soil structure.

2. Increased retention of soil carbon.

3. Reduced GHG emissions.

4. Less disease pressure.

5. Higher yields.

Around 127 attendees answered this question. Again there were two joint top answers. These were faster and less costly establishment and improved soil structure. Just 3% of respondents stated that non-plough tillage would result in higher yields.

Q9 How can we remain competitive with production from much larger scale units?

1. Improved agronomy knowledge to allow more precise management.

2. More careful and accurate costing of all inputs: variable and fixed.

3. Produce with high production standards, good traceability and premium price.

4. Reduce machinery costs by better matching of machinery systems to needs including partnerships, machine sharing etc.

5. The use of purchasing groups for all inputs.

131 answered the final question of the day. Improved agronomy knowledge to allow more precise management came in as the number one most popular option, underpinning the importance of strong agronomy research.