Tillage and water quality were at the forefront of a recent meeting with the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) grain committee and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

Following the meeting, IFA grain chair Kieran McEvoy said that the discussion was "a worthwhile exercise with constructive dialogue".

The association members met with senior inspectors from the DAFM Nitrates and Biodiversity and Crop Policy and Evaluation divisions.

“We stressed the importance of maintaining current fertiliser application rates for tillage crops. The tillage sector is particularly vulnerable at present and actions which further damage the economic competitiveness of the sector must be avoided at all costs," McEvoy said.

"The Food Vision Tillage Report seeks to increase the use of organic manures in the tillage sector. DAFM has to keep this to the forefront when designing future legislation," he added.

The Food Vision Tillage Group was established by the then Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, in May 2023, to set a roadmap for growth and development for the sector.

It is widely anticipated that the group’s final report will be submitted to the agriculture minister during the first half of March.

The meeting also discussed the role that cover crops can play in reducing nutrient losses from tillage soils. The IFA stressed the need for additional funding if the goal is to increase the area planted in future.

IFA is also asking the department to review the timings around the shallow cultivation requirement following harvesting of spring cereal crops.

The delegation also highlighted the importance of continued access to calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) granular fertiliser and unprotected urea for foliar use for the tillage sector.