Teagasc Event to focus on Feeding for Profit

Input costs for forage production have increased significantly in the last 12 months, while concentrate prices have increased by €80 – 100 per tonne compared to traditional levels. These changes in feeding costs will be addressed at the Teagasc National Fodder and Feed Event on Thursday, 13 November at Kildalton College, Piltown, Co. Kilkenny.

Now is the ideal time to examine your farming system with a view to optimizing your feed costs for the future. Teagasc recognizes that farmers are facing into a long and expensive winter feeding period and planning at this stage will help contain feed costs over the winter.

The Teagasc National Fodder and Feed event will include a morning conference and a series of feed advice demonstrations on the Kildalton College farm in the afternoon. The afternoon session will provide an opportunity to meet and discuss various aspects of winter feeding with Teagasc advisers, teachers, specialists and research staff.

David Hickey from R&H Hall will outline the challenges facing the animal feed sector over the coming years while Des Cronin from Inform Nutrition will deal with the role of minerals in feeding systems. Teagasc researchers and specialists will speak on the cost and relative value of forages and concentrates, as well as optimizing fertilizer utilization for grass and silage.

The outdoor demonstrations will address issues such as a feeding strategy for finishing cattle, setting up the farm for early grass, typhon for sheep, the on-farm storage of grain as well as equine nutrition. Joe Patton from Teagasc Moorepark Research Centre will outline the latest research on dry cow feeding while college staff and advisers will demonstrate body condition scoring and feeding regimes for dry cows. The practicalities of feeding brassica crops in situ will also feature at the event.

This is an ideal opportunity for dairy and drystock farmers to discuss developments in animal nutrition and assess options for future feeding strategies.