Clover: Ireland’s homegrown answer to rising fertiliser costs – RTE Interview

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Imported fertiliser is getting more expensive and harder to source. Clover is a homegrown answer.

This morning our Grass and Forage Development Manager, Dr Patrick Cashman, joined RTE’s David McCullagh Show to talk about the new clover varieties we are bringing to Irish farms and how they can reduce our reliance on imported chemical fertiliser.

Developed in partnership with @teagasc  through our Pasture Innovations programme, these varieties fix nitrogen naturally in the sward. The result is healthier animals, stronger grass growth and a more sustainable, lower-cost system.

With instability in the Middle East pushing fertiliser prices up and tightening supply, that matters for farm margins, for food prices and for Ireland’s food security. A simple, proven solution is already growing in our fields.

Listen back here: 👇

https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22622247/

LG Armada: The Highest Yielding Winter Oilseed Rape Variety on the DAFM 2027 Recommended List

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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has this week published its new Recommended List for Winter Oilseed Rape, covering varieties recommended for sowing in autumn 2026. For Irish growers and agronomists planning the season ahead, the list remains the single most trusted source of independent, reliable variety information tested under Irish growing conditions.

This year the news is particularly good. We are delighted to see LG Armada join the Recommended List with the highest yield rating of any variety on it, at 106%. That places it right at the top of the table for autumn 2026 planting.

A complete package, not just a yield figure

A high yield only counts if the crop reaches the trailer. What sets LG Armada apart is how that yield potential is underpinned by a comprehensive set of genetic traits, built to protect performance and reduce risk right across the season:

  • Resistance to Turnip Yellows Virus (TuYV), a widespread aphid-borne virus that can quietly erode yield before it is ever spotted
  • Pod shatter resistance, helping to hold seed in the pod and limit losses in the run-up to and during harvest
  • High resistance and tolerance to Sclerotinia through Scleroflex, one of the most damaging diseases in oilseed rape
  • N-Flex technology, allowing the crop to better tolerate a delayed spring nitrogen application, a real advantage in a difficult Irish spring
  • Excellent lodging resistance, rated 8
  • Excellent resistance to Light Leaf Spot, rated 8, the principal disease threat to the crop in Ireland

Yield potential and peace of mind, at no premium

For growers the combination is compelling. Winter oilseed rape is a high-value break crop and LG Armada offers leading yield potential alongside a genuinely strong risk-reducing trait package. Just as importantly it does so at no additional cost compared with competing varieties on the market.

Available for autumn 2026

LG Armada will be available to Irish growers for autumn 2026 planting, alongside its exciting new stablemate LG Avenger. Between them they give growers two strong new options to consider as they plan their oilseed rape ground for the season ahead.

John Dunne Goldcrop Article by John Dunne, Goldcrop Ltd.