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The Tillage Podcast - scheme delays, Irish grain and filling AgNav

March 5, 2026·30 min·2 clips

David Kennedy explains why Irish grain can't be promoted globally without independent sustainability proof points.

Payments are where the room keeps landing. This live tillage workshop in Wexford brings Craig, David, John and Pat into a discussion shaped by wet weather, support schemes and the mood among farmers in the audience. Rain is not brushed off as another complaint. Pat opens by putting the local flooding in context, saying the hotel car park had been under water and the town had problems beyond the usual grumbling about bad weather. From there, the conversation moves to Irish grain. The panel asks why tillage farmers are not always aligned with other parts of Irish farming, especially when provenance matters so much for Irish meat and milk. One figure gives the discussion its edge. Pat says Ireland would need at least 20% of its land base in tillage to be self-sufficient in grain, while still having a low arable share by EU standards. The missing policy signal is the awkward part. He says nobody appears to have made full domestic grain supply a clear strategic target. The host pulls the talk back to what farmers can see on the ground. The 400,000 hectare target is treated as out of reach for now, and the promised funding is described as only half delivered, leaving tillage well short of the ambition being talked about. AgNav becomes the practical test. When the host asks who would fill out a scheme for an extra payment on grain, the audience appears ready to do it. That answer says plenty. The problem is not paperwork on its own. It is whether farmers believe the payment will arrive, especially while another scheme is still delayed. David is asked about timing and keeps his answer careful, because the meetings are not there and the scheme is not clear yet. The episode closes in the room, with thanks to the panel and audience and a pointer toward seed coverage, grain trends and more reports from the spring workshop.

As heard by us

Live tillage discussion from Wexford that stays focused on payments, schemes, flooding, and the practical questions farmers are still waiting on.

Recorded live in Wexford at the Irish Tillage and Land Use Society Spring Workshop, the episode stays fixed on the issues that matter most to the room: payments, schemes, support, flooding, and grain.

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Why you'd press play

Want the real talk on payments, schemes, and support, not the polished version?

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