Afternoon Practicals

You can choose to join one or both of two engaging sessions ahead of our gathering at Shankill Castle:

🌾 Tour of the new mill at Kells/The Little Mill with Rob Mosse

1pm - 2.30pm (Optional)

Bennettsbridge, Co. Kilkenny, R95 V070
Rob will lead a tour of his new milling operation, a project he has been building over the past two years to support the growth of Ireland’s grain infrastructure. Rob’s vision is to help grow a sustainable, local milling sector that enables Irish-grown grain to be milled, sold, and promoted across Ireland. This session offers a firsthand look at the facility and explores its role in strengthening Ireland’s food systems.

🌾 Farm Walk at Reuben Cope’s Organic Farm — Hosted by Grace Maher (PhD Researcher, SETU)          

3pm - 4.30pm (Optional)

Knocknagee, R93 V8R6                                       

Join PhD researcher Grace Maher for a walk through her on-farm research trials at Reuben Cope’s organic farm. Grace’s research at SETU explores varietal performance of heritage wheat, with the aim of improving sustainability and resilience in Irish cereal production.
This session will include

• The goals of Grace’s PhD trials and their relevance to Irish grain systems

• Key findings so far on agronomy, yields, and the management of weeds and diseases

• Assessing grain quality and its potential end uses

Evening Grain Social at Shankill Castle

Start 5pm (All attend)

After the afternoon practicals, we’ll come together at Shankill Castle for a relaxed evening of conversation and time to reconnect.

The evening will feature:

• Talks and discussions, hosted by John Geraghty, with contributions from growers, researchers, millers, bakers, with plenty of time for questions and sharing ideas

• Casual food and drinks served in the Castle’s historic surroundings - a simple, informal offering designed to allow lots of time for conversation and networking. 

This is a friendly, laid‑back opportunity to catch up with colleagues old and new, reflect on the day’s practicals, ongoing and future projects and look ahead to the future of Ireland’s grain sector.

This event is organised for farmers, millers, bakers, chefs, brewers and academics who are actively working with grain in Ireland.

Unfortunately due to very limited capacity at this event, there will be a maximum of 2 tickets available per business, and we will not be able to accommodate those not working within the above sectors.

Any tickets purchased outside this requirement will be cancelled and refunded. Thank you for your understanding.