Breeding Week 2026
Monday, 30th March – Friday, 3rd April
The breeding season on Irish dairy farms has become increasingly concentrated in the late April to June period. The purpose of Breeding Week, which takes place from Monday, 30th March – Friday, 3rd April, is to provide timely reminders to farmers on important genetic and technical issues underpinning a successful dairy breeding season.
Get more information on breeding and genetics here
See details of the events which are taking place throughout the week below
Monday, 30th March
The Dairy Edge Podcast
presented by Stuart Childs and James Dunne, Teagasc Dairy Specialists
Professor Donagh Berry, Quantitative Geneticist at Teagasc Moorepark, joins Stuart Childs on this episode of The Dairy Edge to discuss the future of Irish Dairy Breeding Programmes.
Donagh first explains that breeding is all about numbers. With the uptake in use of sexed semen, the pool of dairy bull calves being born has shrunk and while this was part of the objective of using it in the first place, there is a side effect which has the potential to slow genetic gain in Irish dairy.
He outlines the type of numbers of calves that need to be born each year in order to maintain the genetic growth that Irish farmers have enjoyed since the late 2000s when genomics arrived.
Listen in to the podcast below
Subscribe to the podcast here
Tuesday, 31st March
Video
Maximising Breeding Performance in Replacement Heifers
As we approach the breeding season, attention must be given to the management of heifers. Analysis has shown in herds in the border, midlands and west region that heifers are calving down at an average of 27.5 months, which is costing the average 90 cow farmer €6,000 approximately.
Owen McPartland, Teagasc Dairy Advisor caught up with Kieran and Brendan Brady, Cavan dairy farmers to gain an insight into how they’re achieving success with their heifer management through this breeding season.
Watch the clip below
Wednesday, 1st April
Video
Identifying Problem Cows and Acting Early to Maximise Early Season In-Calf Rate
Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist caught up with David Hally, Tipperary dairy farmer to find out more about his pre breeding activity and the work that he does in advance of his breeding season. David has excellent fertility figures, facing up on 90% calved in sixed weeks the last few weeks.
Elsewhere in the video, Stuart caught up with Dennis Howard, Technical Manager, Munster Bovine to provide some advice on dealing with problem cows in the lead up to the breading season.
Watch the video below
Countdown to Breeding 2026 Webinar | 8pm
Maximising the Success of your Breeding Season
A Countdown to Breeding webinar took place on Wednesday, 1 April which focused on maximising the success of your breeding season.
Webinar host, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist was joined in studio by Dr Stephen Butler, Teagasc; Dr Doreen Corridan, National Cattle Breeding Centre (NCBC) CEO; and Kieran Condon, Dairy Farmer from Kells, Co. Kilkenny.
Watch back the webinar recording below
Thursday, 2nd April
Video
Maximising Synchronisation Success
Dr Stephen Butler, Teagasc Researcher spoke to Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist to provide an insight into how to maximise the success of a synchronisation programme.
Stephen outlines the benefits of synchronisation programmes for farmers who are thinking of doing it. The big benefit is to concentrate the breeding time period. There are three synchronisation programmes – prostaglandin, timed AI for heifers and timed AI for heifers. Stephen provides an overview of the protocols for each programme.
Watch the video below
Friday, 3rd April
Video
Sire Advice, Adequate Replacements and Maximising Your Beef Calf Crop
Previous Events
National Dairy Conference 2025
Pathways to Progress
The National Dairy Conference 2025 took place on Wednesday, 26 November in Tipperary and on Thursday, 27 November in Cavan. The theme of this year’s event is ‘Pathways to Progress’.
View the conference proceedings and presentations
Wednesday, 26 November | Tipperary
Talbot Hotel Clonmel, Cahir Road, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. Eircode: E91 X0N7.
Thursday, 27 November | Cavan
Kilmore Hotel, Dublin Road, Co. Cavan. Eircode: H12 F6Y7.
Conference Programme
Session 1 | Milk markets and key farm performance priorities for next year
Chair: Joe Tobin, Dairygold (Clonmel) | Andrew McHugh, Lakeland Dairies (Cavan)
What’s happening in international milk markets- prospects for 2026
Chris Walkland, Dairy Market Analyst
Key Performance Indicators – what lessons can we learn from real-farm data?
Joe Patton and Laurence Shalloo, Teagasc Moorepark
Using benchmarking to help drive my farm performance
Tony and Stephen Kenny, Clonmel | Oisin Gallen, Cavan
Session 2 | Models for succession and progression in dairy farming
Chair: Martina Gormley, Teagasc Dairy Specialist
Partnerships, profit sharing, leasing farming – which option is right for me?
Ruth Fennell, Teagasc Collaborative Farming specialist and Conor Hogan, Teagasc Researcher
Farmers experience of collaborative dairy farming- making it work for both parties
Michael Dunphy and John Gilvarry (Clonmel)
Conor Wynne and Tony McCormack (Cavan)
Session 3 | Driving further progress in Irish dairy breeding
Chair: Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist
Reviewing EBI after 25 years- a lot done and more to do?
Donagh Berry, Teagasc Moorepark Researcher specialising in animal genetics
Interactive audience discussion on future breeding priorities
Session 4 | Bite-size research updates
Chair: Donal Mullane, Teagasc Regional Manager, Tipperary | James O’Donoghue, Teagasc Dairy Advisor, Westmeath, Cavan, Monaghan
- Practical steps to protecting water quality on dairy farms
Cathal Somers, Teagasc ASSAP Programme
- Controlling dairy production costs in 2026
Owen McPartland and Michael Freaney, Teagasc Dairy Advisors
- Update on the Pasture Profit and Clover Indexes
Sarah Walsh, Teagasc Moorepark
- Using the MOST grass prediction model for precision grazing management
Elodie Ruelle and Michael O’Donovan, Teagasc Moorepark