TResearch Articles 2023
The Signpost Programme dairy demonstration farmers are making progress in adopting the 12 Steps to Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
Carbon sequestration — the capture of carbon into soil — can be an effective tool to combat climate change.
The new digital sustainability platform, AgNav, developed in partnership by Teagasc, Bord Bia and ICBF aims to create a centralised solution for farm sustainability assessments.
Use of smart technology on dairy farms allows more precise management decisions for tasks such as grass allocation, milk yield monitoring and slurry application.
Teagasc’s Climate Centre takes an interdisciplinary approach, bringing together staff from across the organisation to work on some of the biggest climate and biodiversity challenges facing us. Research Officers Lorraine Balaine (REDP), Rachael Murphy (CELUP) and Paul Smith (AGRIP) and Technologist Simon Leach (CELUP) tell us more about the crucial research happening within the centre.
As part of international efforts to safeguard soil health and biodiversity, Teagasc researchers have been assessing practical farm-scale measures to enhance soil biodiversity in intensively managed grasslands.
The Research Leaders 2025 project PIGSMELL is investigating how pigs communicate using their senses and how their positive interactions can ultimately support social stability and improve their health.
By supporting researchers in entrepreneurship, commercialisation and technology transfer, Engage@Teagasc helps foster innovation, sustainability and economic growth. Here, we look at three new research projects getting a financial boost from Teagasc’s START Fund scheme.
Teagasc’s Marginal Abatement Cost Curve seeks to inform and steer agricultural policy toward hitting targets on emissions mitigation. Here, one of its chief architects, Gary Lanigan, gives us a breakdown.
Grass and other plant biomass may represent an innovative new protein source for use in food and beverages.
Use of nitrogen-based fertilisers contributes heavily to greenhouse gas emissions. Research is underway at Teagasc Johnstown Castle to quantify the effect of alternative fertiliser formulations on nitrous oxide emissions.
Teagasc and lead coordinator University of Galway join a range of partners across the EU to bolster female-led innovation in rural areas.
Innovations in plant variety testing in Europe are laying the foundation for more sustainable agriculture. breeding better crop varieties is an essential component in the development of sustainable agricultural production systems.
The Johnstown Castle dairy herd was established in 2003 to provide a base for winter-milk research within Teagasc.
An important focus for methane mitigation efforts is to develop strategies to accurately measure and reduce methane emissions in grazing dairy, beef and sheep, explain AGRIC Principal Research Officer Sinead Waters, Walsh Scholar Emily Roskam, and Research Officer Ben Lahart.
Vijaya Bhaskar is Teagasc’s first integrated weed management Research Officer, based in Oak Park. Here, he explains the challenges of his role.
The Agricultural and Land-Use sector is facing an unprecedented challenge to reduce greenhouse emissions and increase carbon removal activities to meet national and international climate targets.
Teagasc’s researchers attend many events throughout the year, sharing the findings from their research with national and international audiences.
In Ireland, cows generally graze upon ryegrass monocultures.
Teagasc researchers are leading a project to create and demonstrate improved supply chain opportunities for the European plant protein industry.
Research Officer Ciara Beausang tells us about the exciting work happening in her specialised field of anaerobic digestion, and the directions in which it’s moving.
Research at Teagasc is aiming to identify and provide recommendations to farmers on using teat sealant alone at dry-off in uninfected cows. This will help reduce antibiotic use in dairy farms without negative impact on udder health.
Researchers at Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown, are investigating how effectively optical sensors and machine learning can be used to monitor the quality of processed meats and meat alternatives.
The Agricultural Catchments Programme is in a unique position to assess and inform policy. Here, Research Officers Bridget Lynch, Michele McCormack and Ognjen Zurovec and Programme Advisor Mark Boland tell us about the programme’s vital, multidisciplinary work.
At Teagasc Athenry, researchers have been investigating the use of mixed swards in pasture-based sheep production systems. The results suggest increased diversity may be beneficial for animal performance.
As head of water quality research for the ACP, Senior Research Officer Per-Erik Mellander is advancing vital knowledge in how water quality is impacted by agriculture and a changing climate.
Data collected by the Teagasc National Farm Survey examines the prevalence of farm accidents in Ireland. Consistent data collection helps provide realistic estimates, which further helps inform the most relevant safety practices.
Understanding labour time-use on dairy farms is key to identifying strategies to reduce labour demand and establishing sustainable workloads.
The BurrenLIFE project, which ran between 2005 and 2010, developed a new model for the sustainable agricultural management of the priority habitats of the Burren region. It is a project regarded by many as an emblematic ‘LIFE’ nature project.
A multi-institute consortium, led by Teagasc, has sought to understand the behaviour of Listeria monocytogenes in foods by studying a collection of isolates from foods and food processing environments in Ireland. The research team found that not all isolates are created equal, raising the question: should they be treated differently in terms of food safety management?
Research is ongoing to identify healthy eating guidelines for sustainable diets that are beneficial for both personal and planetary health.
Granted EU geographical indicator status in 2016, Irish Whiskey is an increasingly sought-after product globally. To help safeguard its status, researchers at Teagasc & Technological University Dublin are seeking to map its unique properties.
Compostable packaging is a potential option to combat waste from single-use plastic. However, not all compostable packaging is suitable for home composting. Researchers at Teagasc Ashtown are examining further alternatives for a more circular economy.
The ACP has a longstanding partnership with the Land Sciences department at South East Technological University, Waterford. Here, two SETU lecturers reflect on the ongoing value the ACP has for their students.
Teagasc’s researchers attend many events throughout the year, sharing the findings from their research with national and international audiences. Here, we capture the take-home messages – key pieces of information that our researchers want people to remember – from recent events.
Edward Burgess, Specialist in the Agricultural Catchments Programme, provides an overview of the ACP, and the continuing importance of its research.
An innovative approach to sustainable food packaging saw Teagasc’s Shivani Pathania receive recognition at this year’s UCC SPRINT Awards, with commercialisation for her concept next on the agenda.
Equipped with a PhD in Soil Science, Luis Lopez-Sangil has swapped warmer Barcelona for wetter Wexford but maintains a sunny disposition through his work at Teagasc. Here, we find out more about his work as a Soil Health Research Technologist.
Researchers in the Food Chemistry and Technology department at Teagasc Moorepark are examining how the Industrial Internet of Things can make dairy processes more efficient and streamlined.
Beyond Peat is a five-year DAFM-funded research project aiming to identify potential peat alternatives for Irish horticulture. To highlight the work being done to meet that challenge, we spoke to the core Beyond Peat Mushroom team: Senior Research Officer Helen Grogan, Technologist Brian McGuinness, Specialist Advisor Donal Gernon, and Research Officer Eoghan Corbett.
Social sustainability is a measure of human welfare, with both internal dimensions, which relate to the individual, and external, which concern community-oriented issues around values and the demands of wider society.
A collaboration between Teagasc and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute is aiming to better understand viral-bacterial interaction in the poultry gut and its effect on food safety.
Teagasc’s Rural Economy and Development Programme (REDP) strives to make an impact on the agri-food sector by bringing together several streams of work at different disciplinary, strategic and temporal scales. As part of its latest peer review process, the REDP team selected six case studies that realised the programme’s objectives.
Recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) is a sustainable packaging alternative to support the circular economy using recycled materials and minimising waste. The team behind the Leaf No Waste project at Teagasc Ashtown is currently investigating and trialling the use of novel rPET for fresh produce packaging using an automatic thermoformer and tray sealer.
Horticulture and Entomology Senior Research Officer Michael Gaffney is helping to lead a collaborative Teagasc project to automate pest control practices and tackle the ever-important issue of food security.
At the forefront of Irish fruit production for nearly a century, Keelings remains committed to providing locally grown produce while facing the challenges of today.
The Moorepark St Gilles Grass Growth Model, or MoSt GG for short, enables farmers to access detailed data to more accurately predict grass growth and adequately prepare for periods of poor growth.
The sexed semen lab at Teagasc Moorepark is helping to increase the availability of sex-sorted semen from large teams of dairy bulls of a high genetic index. Sexed semen allows greater reliability when predetermining calf sex, which can help bolster the Irish beef and dairy sectors.
Seeking to bolster the market for Irish apples, a new screening project will develop in-depth blueprints of customer preferences, allowing growers to focus on producing the most desirable varieties.
Dermot Callaghan, Head of the Horticulture Department, examines some of the challenges and opportunities facing the horticulture sector.
Teagasc’s researchers attend many events throughout the year, sharing the findings from their research with national and international audiences. Here, we capture the take-home messages – key pieces of information that our researchers want people to remember – from recent events.
The SeaHealth Project aims to provide new insight and technical know-how for the seaweed processing sector to develop high-value functional prebiotic ingredients from raw biomass.
Pillar I Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) support represents a significant proportion of income for certain cohorts of the farming population. Researchers at Teagasc set out to examine what the changes to how the support is distributed mean.
Here, Pat Dillon, Director of Research at Teagasc, explains how Teagasc’s Climate Action Strategy 2022-2030 is focused on reducing GHG emissions from agriculture.
The infant formula market is of huge importance to the Irish dairy industry. Maintaining our excellent reputation is key to the economy, and this includes responding to increased chlorate residue levels in milk, which has health concerns for infants. Teagasc has been key to establishing world-class testing facilities in Ireland.
Teagasc’s understanding of the science behind the presence of oligosaccharides in milk can lead to improved dairy products.
As part of the GenESIS project, Teagasc is using genomic and phenotypic data to understand the nature of adaption and evolution in the North American Sitka spruce tree. This knowledge can then be implemented through the GenESIS research when breeding new and improved trees in Ireland.
A resurgence of interest in Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) comes at a time when Europe is seeking to provide more sustainable and healthier diets for its population.
Teagasc’s genetics team plays a crucial role in both the environmental and economic success of dairy, beef and sheep herds.
Norina Coppinger graduated with a BA in European Studies, Social Research & Spanish from the University of Limerick in 1993, and is now a Campus Administrator at Teagasc Athenry. Here, Norina talks about her career highlights and her love for travelling.
Work carried out at Teagasc Moorepark suggests that once-a-day milking does not impact Cheddar cheese composition and can improve cheese yield and some sensory and nutritional attributes.
Experts at Teagasc have been using life cycle assessment, an internationally recognised methodology, to calculate the environmental performance of average sheep systems in Ireland and to determine the effect of recommended practices.
The sheep industry is facing challenging times, with increased input costs, resistance to parasitic infection treatments and pressures to meet greenhouse gas targets. While genetics are not the silver bullet, they are a proven solution.
Researchers at Teagasc are looking at the basics of dendrochronology in forestry research – using tree ring analysis to explore the impact of climatic stress on tree growth performance and physiological responses.
Climate change, the energy crisis and the drive for agricultural sustainability have moved anaerobic digestion centre stage. Teagasc researchers are investigating and eliminating bacterial, viral and parasitic pathogens in feed stock and digestate.
Teagasc’s researchers attend many events throughout the year, sharing the findings from their research with national and international audiences. Here, we capture the take-home messages – key pieces of information that our researchers want people to remember – from recent events.