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Glas awards and photos, SEAI Support Scheme for Renewable heat, Brexit preparations, Oak Processionary Moth trader notice, New Eucalyptus pest reported, Upcoming events

Teagasc Advisory - Nursery Stock & Ornamentals Newsletter July 2019

July has seen sales staying strong and businesses have seen a bounce since Glas. August is one of the quieter months for many parts of our industry. This could be an ideal time to make some preparations made for  potential challenges for business with Brexit - see details below.
Key action points from BDO customs and internal trade are:
  • Use the next few months wisely
  • Apply in time for Customs Authorisations.
  • Do not leave planning and preparation to the last minute
Glas took place at City West on July 18th. The trade show was very impressive with growers and suppliers making a great effort for the event. Tim Schrams' observation bee hive wasn't the only buzz about the place as attendance was good throughput the day and most growers were very pleased with the event. The award winners at the event were :
  • Best Product Award - JF McKenna Transparent Green PET Trays
  • Best In Show Horticulture - Doran's Nurseries
  • Best In Show Trade Supplier - Lemonfield Pottery
  • New Plant Award - Delphinium "Highlander Flamenco" by Schram Plants. 
Images from Glas 2019, clockwise from top; Kelly's Nursery busy with visitors, Doran Nurseries celebrate 40 years in business, Gerry Daly, Stephen McKenna and Rachel Doyle have some fun with the award winning trays, O'Connors Nursery display inspired by sunrise, Wiet Rentes, Minister for Horticulture Andrew Doyle and Carol Marks in conversation.
Brexit Preparations
With an increasing likelihood of a no deal or accidental crash out, advise is coming from Government and State agencies for businesses to prepare for the worst.
Carol Lynch from BDO Customs and International Trade "we are again strongly urging businesses to ensure they have put in place all necessary steps to prepare for a hard Brexit on 31st October". The company have a straight forward 9 step plan for preparing you business for Brexit (pdf) which is a good place to start reviewing your preparations.

Department of Agriculture Food and Marine 
Plant traders including growers, wholesalers and landscapers  are urged to take the following actions with out delay.
  1. Register
    1. All plant traders with DAFM 
    2. UK Import/Export Corporate Client System (CCS) customer registration
  2. Get to know the specific requirements for trading in plants
  3. Review you supply chains and  look at ways to minimise delays Advice for Importers and Exporters
The Dept have a very useful FAQ on plant health and trade  

Bord Bia 
The Brexit barometer has been running for some time and has been useful in preparing companies over the last 2 years or so. 
Some events are being planned for the coming months looking at : sanitary and phytosanitary training programme, supply chain optimization workshop, Customer readiness training 2019.
SEAI Support Scheme For Renewable Heat (SSRH) 
Report by Donal Gernon Teagasc Mushroom Specialised Adviser
Phase 2 of the Support Scheme for Renewable Heat was officially opened for applications on June 4th. The long awaited scheme was announced by Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton. Phase 2 of the scheme will provide operational support for biomass boilers and anaerobic digestion heating systems. This scheme is of huge interest to the horticulture and mushroom sector as there are large heating requirements for protected crops. Unfortunately, this scheme will not apply for all enterprises as the scheme only applies to businesses converting from oil/gas to biomass. Many farms are already heating with biomass and will not qualify for the scheme which is very unfortunate as there is no grandfathering. Growers who are expanding or growers who are using oil in combination with biomass will be considered for the scheme as there is the opportunity to displace the use of oil.
 
The objective of the scheme is to replace fossil fuel heating systems with renewable heating technologies to contribute to meeting Ireland’s 2020 renewable energy targets whilst also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Phase 1 of the scheme was launched in September 2018 which was an installation grant for heat pumps of 30%. Phase 2 of the scheme is of particular interest as it encourages farms/growers to install renewable heat technologies with tariff payments made based on heat output. See the table below which is used to calculate the tariff payment for each business which is accepted into the scheme:
Tier Lower Limit (kWhr/yr) Upper Limit (kWhr/yr) Tariff (c/kWhr)
1 0 300,000 5.66
2 300,000 1,000,000 3.02
3 & 4 1,000,000 10,000,000 0.50
5 10,000,000 50,000,000 0.37
6 50,000,000 N/A 0.00
 
 
For many mushroom growers, applying for the scheme and converting to renewable technologies is an easy decision given the significant saving to be made on both fuel and the SSRH operational payment. For example, a typical mushroom unit using 90,000 litres of Kerosene per annum has the potential to save €16,512 each year on fuel costs by switching to biomass wood pellets. The farm would also be entitled to an SSRH operational payment of €32,556 per annum based on heat output for the farm of 815,760 Kwh. In total the farm would save €49,068 per annum by switching from an oil boiler to biomass heating boiler as can be seen below:
Investing in a biomass boiler would result in a relatively short return on investment which makes the scheme a no brainer for many mushroom growers. In terms of carbon footprint, businesses will significantly reduce CO₂ emissions. For the mushroom unit displacing 90,000 litres of kerosene per year, this reduces CO₂ emissions produced by 210 tonnes. Actions like this will substantiate your farms sustainable credentials.
 
Carbon tax is expected to rise in this year’s budget as Ireland aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20%. The Climate Change Advisory Council, has strongly recommended Ireland incrementally increase the carbon tax to €80 per tonne by 2030 to make a meaningful reduction in rising carbon emissions. An increase in carbon tax which currently is €20 per tonne of carbon will lead to a further increase the price of fossil fuels. For the example above using 90,000 litres of kerosene per year, they are currently paying €4,200 per annum in carbon tax and if carbon tax does eventually rise to €80 per tonne this will result in the farm paying €16,800 per annum. All these factors make the SSRH scheme more attractive and sensible from a commercial point of view.
 
For those interested in applying for the scheme, you can start the application process by submitting an online application form at the following link on the SEAI website. I have compiled a factsheet in relation to heat energy requirement on mushroom farms in Ireland. This factsheet provides an industry heat energy benchmark for a typical mushroom farm. Each applicant to the scheme must provide evidence of efficiency of the heat use proposed through submission of the industry Benchmark. This document is required by SEAI as part of the Technical Submission form. You can find this document on the Teagasc mushroom webpage at the following link.
Energy in Agriculture August 20th 
Gurteen College will host the 4th Energy in Agriculture event this August. This is a great chance to meet technology suppliers and see demonstrations of wind, solar and biomass systems. There will be numerous presentations and discussions throughout the day looking at:
Pest, disease and plant protection product updates.
Keep up-to-date with the latest pesticides new by visiting the Teagasc pesticide blog. You can see the latest Teagasc Pest updates here.
Department of Agriculture surveillance for Oak Processionary Moth. 
The Department of Agriculture issued a trader notice recently regarding the status of the pest Oak Processionary Moth (OPM). Ireland is the only European country where the pest has not established or been detected.

OPM has been seen in the UK, in the London, area for a number of years. This summer it has been found in over 60 sites, outside the London area. This has been established and recently imported Quercus from Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. There were over ten nurseries supplying these young plants so it can be assumed to be a widespread pest. I had heard rumours that some nurseries on mainland Europe have been using vacuum machines as a precaution to remove caterpillars from trees before shipment. 

OPM is a harmful pest to humans. The fine hairs on the caterpillar can cause adverse reactions such as rashes, asthma and conjunctivitis. 
Ireland has a protected zone status for this pest and it is beneficial to the public and trade to keep this pest out of the country. 
Read details of the trader notice here.

The caterpillars generally hatch in late spring and are 1cm long and dark in colour. from 3rd instar on wards they have toxic spines/hair which are reported to look white and very brittle. The adult male moth are highly mobile. See images above of some larval stages and adult moth. Detailed descriptions available on the CABI web site.
Teagasc cut foliage advisor, Andy Whelton, reports on a new Eucalyptus pest. 
A case of Eucalyptus gall wasp has been confirmed on Eucalyptus. This is a new pest but possibly has been in Ireland for some time. The symptoms can be sometimes confused with Oedema. The BICEP leaflet will give you some background information and guidance of what the symptoms of damage are.
Could I ask Eucalyptus growers to look out for these symptoms and put a few leaves in a plastic bag. If it is the gall wasp causing the lesions on the leaves, the tiny wasps will quickly hatch out in the bag. Please let me know if you suspect infection or damage.  
The species cinerea, gunnii and pulverulenta are known to be susceptible but other species are also at risk.
Teagasc Event - Developing best practice for minimising human pathogens in horticultural crop production 
A meeting of the COST Action HuPlant, organised by Dr Kaye Burgess (Ashtown) and Dr Fiona Brenna (Johnstown Castle), is being hosted on Sept 2nd and 3rd at Ashtown. The focus of the meeting is developing best practice for minimising human pathogens in horticultural crop production. The 2 day event also includes a grower focused workshop, where a synopsis of the 2 day event will be presented, along with an opportunity for Irish growers to interact with researchers and practioners from around Europe on this important topic.
Growers planning to attend the 2 hour workshop can register at Eventbrite or to attend the full event email me
Teagasc, Cut foliage event Kildalton College August 15th 
A focused event on Eucalyptus is planned for Kildalton college on 15 August from 1.30-5.00 pm.
Dr. Farhana Alfrose Teagasc Ashtown and David Wallace Teagasc Kildalton will highlight some of the interesting and exciting results emerging from the ‘New Leaves’ project on propagation and breeding of Eucalyptus species which will have merit for the cut foliage industry in the future.
Dr. Dorothy Hayden Teagasc Botanic Gardens will present on 4 years work on Eucalyptus pests where she has focused on bio-control options for Eucalyptus Beetle and Psyllid.
Other Agronomy issues such as weed control and pruning management will also feature and there will be an opportunity to view the species on trial at the college.
Dates For Your Diary

August 15th Teagasc Cut foliage event, Kildalton College, Co. Kilkenny
August 20th Energy in Agriculture Gurteen College, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary
August 21-23 Plantarium Netherlands
August 29th- 30th - Baumschuletechnik Nursery Machinery Show, Germany
September 2nd-3rd - Developing best practice for minimising human pathogens in horticultural crop production, Ashtown Dublin  
September 3rd-4th Four Oaks Trade Show UK
October 23rd Teagasc Nursery stock Seminar Ashtown Dublin

Contact

Please get in touch if you would like further information, if you have any issues you would like to discuss or topics you would like to hear more about. Feel free to forward the bulletin to friends or suppliers; they can subscribe or view past bulletins from the Teagasc web site.  Please seek permission before reproduction of any part of the bulletin.

Dónall Flanagan Nursery Stock - Ornamentals Specialised Adviser - Teagasc,- Ashtown Food Research Centre - Dunsinea Lane - Ashtown - Dublin 15 - D15 KN3K.
Mob.087 7035823 - Tel. 0761114021 Email donall.flanagan@teagasc.ie 

*All recommendations are made in good faith. As plant protection products recommendations can change please read the product label fully and check the PCS web site.
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Teagasc · Ashtown Food Research Centre · Dunsinea Lane · Ashtown, Dublin Dublin 15 · Ireland

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