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InterTradeIreland has today launched the 2012 phase of its sales development programme, Elevate, which aims to help small businesses across Ireland develop sales opportunities through first time cross-border exports.

Organic farming is sometimes touted as a way to feed the world's burgeoning population without destroying the environment. But the evidence for that has been hotly debated.

IOFGA welcomes the clarification from the FSAI and DAFM concerning the labelling of organic eggs. Until recently all organic egg producers falsely believed that they could not apply the marketing standard “free range” to label organic eggs.

The spotted laurel, Aucuba japonica is not a suitable plant for general landscape use. It usually looks sad when planted in an open situation. It s leaves are stunted and disfigured with black markings. They get bleached by the sun and look wishy washy.

The recent careers fair at Loughry Campus highlighted the variety of jobs available in today’s fast moving food industry. Our biggest manufacturing sector was well represented and included exhibitors from Dunbia, Fane Valley, Genesis Breads, Norbev, Linden Foods, McColgan’s, Dale Farm, Moy Park, Coca-cola and Glanbia.

The Nilfisk CS7000 combination sweeper-scrubber is a new green class of industrial cleaning technology reducing the costs of operation, labour and maintenance, while effectively increasing fuel economy and runtime efficiency.

The annual National Bioenergy Conference, organised by Teagasc and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, (DAFM) took place recently in The Hodson Bay Hotel, Athlone.

Ireland’s ‘main event’ for the business of horticulture. Following the success of Ireland's new horticulture trade event earlier this year, GLAS returns to Citywest with a business-oriented one-day event.

Laura Irwin, Antrim, (centre), demonstrated some of her practical skills to her mother and Paul Mooney, Head of Horticulture Branch, at the recent Parents’ Evening. Laura is currently studying on the Level 2 Diploma in Horticulture at CAFRE’s Greenmount Campus near Antrim.

A Sino Irish Forum on building a 'Safe and Sustainable Future for Food' was held on Tuesday in the Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences (CAAS) as part of the week long trade mission to China led by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD.

I spend my days in front of a computer writing, tweeting and talking about landscaping and gardening. It's kind of strange because I'm using and following some of the latest technology on the planet yet I'm still working in an industry that's largely untouched by technological advances.

Ireland’s first MSc Energy & Environmental Finance course was launched by UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School in a bid to ensure Ireland has the skills needed to be at the centre of financing the future green economy.

Some miscanthus are monsters, but not this one. We’ve seen some excellent dwarf miscanthus in recent years, and they’re so much more useful than the tall and vigorous varieties that were previously more common and which tended to take over the garden.

To develop effective conservation strategies, identify genuine recording gaps, and monitor real changes in our flora we need to ensure that Irish plant data is collated and made centrally available. In 2012 the National Biodiversity Data Centre started an important new project to centralise vascular plant data in Ireland.

The wheels have come off of the Tesco steam roller after reporting a drop in profits for the first time in most people's memory. Shares in Tesco have fallen over 20% this year as it admitted taking its eye off the ball in the UK domestic market and concentrated too much on overseas development.

Fracking for oil and gas is 'safe', so says an independent report published recently. The controversial process of drilling for gas and oil has come under attack following the acknowledgment that it can cause mini-earthquakes or tremors but a government-commissioned report has given it a green light.

At a recent RTÉ Dragon’s Den show Morag Kelly and Michael Duggan, directors at Galway based company Greenieland Interactive Ltd used an innovative approach introducing their children's book and horticultural range of products on last week’s series. They did their pitch using their ‘Greenie’ prototyped puppet and entertained the judges before getting into their facts-and-figures based business proposal.

Louth based grass seeding contractor Fergie O’ Neill has purchased a Vredo Agri Seeder which is specifically designed for stitching grass into existing leys or burnt off ground.