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Teagasc (Agriculture and Food Development Authority) has launched a programme called “Grass 10” to promote the
widespread use of grass in cattle feed (milk, meat, and goats). The objectives of the programme are to help Irish farmers achieve 10 tonnes of utilised grass dry matter per hectare per year, and 10 pasture grazings per year .
Within the programme, a Grassland Farmer of the Year Competition is being held each year. The overall winner of the 2017 campaign was the O’Donnell Farm in Co. Tipperary.

To celebrate this victory, an Farm Open Day was held on the O’Donnell farm on Wednesday, April 18.

Grassland AGRO (TIMAC AGRO Ireland), a lead partner of the Grass 10 programme and specialists in pasture fertilisation, participated in this day by cofacilitating the fertiliser and soil fertility management workshop.

Dr. Stan LALOR, Head of Specialty Business of Grassland AGRO, spoke to the 800 farm visitors to explain good fertilisation practices and bring Grassland AGRO’s expertise to the forefront of successful and profitable fertilisation programs.

More information on the website Teagasc : https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/grassland/grass10/

In December 2017, TIMAC AGRO España has launched the solidarity initiative “Fertilizers against Hunger” in support of Action Against Hunger. This action aims to fight hunger by improving access and management of agricultural resources production and livestock production in the most disadvantaged areas.

1 Sharing = 1 KG of fertilizer

TIMAC AGRO España is committed to offer 1 kg of fertilizer for each sharing of the solidarity video created for this initiative. The video, available since December 12 on the YouTube channel of TIMAC AGRO España, aims to raise awareness and involve the company in this cause.

FAO warns about the progress of hunger in the world.

After nearly 10 years of progressive decline in global malnutrition, the FAO report, released in September 2017, reveals that 11% of the population suffers from hunger, which represent 815 million people, 38 million more than the previous year.

The positive contribution of fertilizers

According to the FAO, 50% of the world’s agricultural and livestock production is achieved through the appropriate use of fertilizers. Therefore, its promotion contributes directly to the fight against hunger.

More than 8,500 views in just 13 days

The video quickly became viral with more than 8,500 views in just 13 days. Various associations, media, companies of the sector, distributors, customers and collaborators of TIMAC AGRO didn’t hesitate to join the cause which in a few hours was shared through the different social networks.

A satisfying start for a video aimed at raising society’s awareness of the problems of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.

TIMAC AGRO España and Action Against Hunger

This action marks the beginning of a relationship between the two organizations in their attempt to contribute to the improvement of agricultural and livestock production in the most disadvantaged areas and, consequently, to the fight against hunger.

Find more information on http://www.timacagro.es/ and https://www.actioncontrelafaim.org/

Organised by Groupe Roullier and its Centre Mondial de l’Innovation, “the Innovation Awards Groupe Roullier 2018” will reward two researchers or research laboratories for the value of their dossiers in relation to the Group’s areas of expertise in Plant Nutrition. Each of the two Competition winners will be offered the opportunity to develop their research project over the course of a year in collaboration with Groupe Roullier with €60,000 of funding. Candidates can submit their projects on the dedicated website www.innovation-awards-roullier.com until 28 February 2018.

The competition is open to all researchers and laboratories across the world working in the following areas:

• Plant nutrition
• Natural plant and marine substances
• Soil life and soil science
• Biostimulation and Biocontrol
• Biotechnology and plant engineering

The aim of this Prize is to promote scientific collaboration and innovation, as well as to develop research activities in Plant Nutrition. The dossiers submitted on the dedicated website www.innovation-awards-roullier.com before 28/02/2018 will be examined by a jury of international experts. The winners will receive their awards at the prize-giving which will take place in Saint-Malo in June 2018.

The creation of this competition follows on from the opening of the Centre Mondial de l’Innovation Roullier at the end of 2015. A true driver of growth and a major player in the field of Plant and Animal Nutrition, it brings together around one hundred doctors and researchers from across the globe. Its opening also accelerated the number of international scientific partnerships, which increased from 70 to more than 100 in just a few months.

TIMAC AGRO France, leading supplier of phosphate fertilisers in France, launched last June a tool dedicated for tablets and smartphones, filling a gap in the market. Designed for phosphate fertilisation, this free tool is available to all and has as its goal to create awareness, help in decision making and take part in a commercial relay.

“We started from a rather alarming realisation, that there was an overall impoverishment of soils in phosphorus. In the past years, a lot of farmers have been leaving aside the fertilisation of phosphate without realising the risks they were taking to their crops.  And in the field, there was no advising tool that was up-to-date.” recalls Mickaël Laune, Operational Marketing and Communication Manager at TIMAC AGRO France about the Phosph’or app developed in 2017 by the Group.

Available on smartphones and tablets, the app was developed for direct use by farmers. It consists of two modules: a teaching module on the interest of phosphate fertilisation and another dedicated to the individualised diagnosis of phosphorus fertilisation.

With the latter, the farmer is asked to provide information for the plot he wishes to diagnose, the results of his soil tests, the details of his last phosphorus intake, soil type, pH, location, and its performance objective among a choice of forty different cultures.

In less than a minute, the app presents a recommendation.  If the farmer does not have a soil analysis, he can locate – manually or by the integrated GPS function – the parcel that he wishes to diagnose and obtain advice according to the cantonal databases of INRA (1). The recommendations are based on the Comifer method (French committee for the study and development of rational fertilisation), recognised and proven by profession.

Two months after the launch, on June 1st, 2017, and approximately twenty articles published in the agricultural press, the app had recorded 1,700 downloads in Google and Apple-store.

A commercial relay

“It took us four months to develop this app. We were able to do it so quickly because we had already developed the know-how,” says Mickaël Laune. Historically, the Agro supplies Direction Normandie-Centre de TIMAC AGRO France had already constructed their own tool. It is a ruler, still in field service, which offers the same diagnostic and recommendation features as the current application. The app is largely inspired by this ruler and was also thought of as a commercial tool. In fact, following its diagnosis, it can offer farmers the most appropriate amendments from TIMAC AGRO France’s range. A contact form available on the app then allows the users to get in touch with a commercial team of TIMAC AGRO France. In the field, the TSAs/ATCs (Technical Sales Agents) can also use Phosph’or as a tool to sensitise their customers on the lack of phosphorus in their soil. They realise in a few moments a first diagnosis with the farmer. TIMAC AGRO France also hopes to gather data on soil fertility. In the long run, this data could, after analysis of their reliability, help refining the soil mapping of INRA.

In the end, the app would become even more relevant in the diagnosis of phosphorus needs and the recommendation of customised solutions.

(1)    National Institute of Agricultural Research (France)

The Group’s history in Brazil began in the late 1990s. “Mr Roullier wanted to invest in Brazil. In 1997, he sent a farmer employee who knew the Latin American business world to find a fertilizer factory that would allow him to begin operating in Brazil.” Recalls Philippe Vignon. This led to the 1997 joint venture with the Centralsul cooperative, which operated a fertilizer factory in Rio Grande in southern Brazil. Three years later, our Group took on full ownership of this manufacturing operation.

In just two decades, Brazil has risen to become a leading pioneer within Groupe Roullier. Today, the country is home to our largest commercial team anywhere in the world, with over 600 Technical Sales Assistants (ATCs). More solid fertilisers are sold in Brazil than in any other country. It is also home to two high-performance model factories. Rio Grande and Cadeias, the former of which has the largest production capacity of any facility in the Group.

“We had to learn to understand this complex country and transfer the values of Groupe Roullier to Industrial sites which were already in operation. At this time, the Group’s only business activities in Portugal were commercial, and so we didn’t have any industrial managers who could speak Portuguese. Slowly but surely, we came to understand Brazil. It is a complex country, especially in terms of its financial sector, and. One which regularly endures severe economic crises like the one we are currently experiencing. Fortunately, our affiliate boosts the ability to count on high-quality commercial terms, both industrial and administrative, which have allowed us to navigate these last two decades with only a few blips and huge amounts of success. TIMAC AGRO Brasil is ready to ensure scure development over the next 20 years period.”

Phillipe Vignon, Agrosupply General Manager for TIMAC AGRO Brasil