Episode 5: Tom Murray
episode 5 of our podcast series Siobhán Walsh talks to Tom Murray, an agronomist with O’Shea Farms in Co. Kilkenny.
A graduate of Waterford Institute of Technology Tom comes from Co. Offaly and made the move to Piltown a year after graduation. O’Shea Farms are one of Ireland’s largest producers of potatoes and carrots. Potatoes are sourced from growers in different parts of the country as well as the O’Shea’s farm in Piltown. In this podcast Tom tells about the exciting technology used on the farm from drones to robotic weeders.
As more and more chemicals are removed from use, Tom is advising farmers on how to stay ahead of the curve and has the advantage of trying new agronomy practices on the O’Shea’s farm before taking it to their suppliers.
Planning is a huge part of his job. No more so than now, as Brexit offers challenges around potato seed availability.
Tom is on top of his brief and this podcast will give you a greater appreciation of where your vegetables came from for Christmas Dinner. From GPS to irrigation, blight control to weed suppression, rotation planning and consumer demands the agronomist has a varied and difficult job to do which he clearly relishes.
The ASA would like to thank Tom for kindly giving his time during a particularly busy period, to record this podcast.
Our Partner
The ASA greatly acknowledge the sponsorship of Ulster Bank in supporting our current Podcast series