Dairy Events
Teagasc Breeding Week 2024
Monday, 25th - Friday, 29th March
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, 25th - Friday, 29th March, 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 taking place throughout the week below
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday
Monday, 25th March
Podcast
The Dairy Edge Podcast
presented by Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist
The role of ICBF in Irish Breeding Progress and Future Direction
with Sean Coughlan, CEO of the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF)
Listen to the episode of The Dairy Edge Podcast below
Video
Developing a breeding plan for your farm
Teagasc Aurivo Joint Programme farmer, Michael Gordon from Crossmolina, Co. Mayo provides an overview of their breeding plan for the upcoming breeding season in the below clip.
Daily Article
Developing a breeding plan for your farm
The advent of sexed semen has created an opportunity for dairy farmers to become very selective about the cows that they breed to dairy AI to generate the next generation of replacements for their herd, writes Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist. Read the article here
Tuesday, 26th March
Video
Understanding the Maintenance Sub Index
Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist provides an overview of the Maintenance Sub Index in the EBI in the below clip. Maintenance accounts for 8% of the overall EBI figure. But what does maintenance mean and what do the values represent? The maintenance value gives an indication of the expected cost of growing a replacement and maintaining her as a cow in a dairy herd based on her genetic makeup.
Daily Article
Understanding the maintenance sub-index
The maintenance sub-index of the EBI represents 8% of the total euro value of the EBI, but what does the maintenance figure actually represent and what should it mean to you? Teagasc Dairy Specialist, Stuart Childs talks us through what the sub-index means and how it can be used to influence mature cow weight at farm level. Read the article here
Wednesday, 27th March
Developing an Efficient Breeding Strategy for your Farm - Webinar | 7:30pm
An Efficient Dairy Breeding webinar took place on Wednesday, 27 March as part of Teagasc Breeding Week. Host Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist was joined by Dr. Stephen Butler, Teagasc; Dr. Siobhan Ring, ICBF; and John Dwyer, Tipperary dairy farmer.
The panellists on the webinar discussed maximising the return from synchronisation, maximising beef without impacting the dairy herd, and the breeding plan for my farm.
Watch webinar recording below
Thursday, 28th March
Daily Article
Breeding Week 2024: A refresher on sexed semen
With approximately 300,000 sexed semen straws expected to be used on dairy farms this spring, Dr Stephen Butler of Teagasc Moorepark provided a refresher on this technology and outlined best practice for its use as part of the recent Efficient Dairy Breeding Webinar. Read the article here
Friday, 29th March
Daily Article
Maximising beef calf potential through sexed semen use
Farming in Ballytarsna, Co. Tipperary, John Dwyer has placed a firm focus on using sexed semen to not only ensure the production of high EBI dairy replacements but to also maximise the potential of the beef progeny being produced from his herd. Read the article here
Video
Breeding Week 2024: John Dwyer
In the clip below, John Dwyer outlines how sexed semen is used on his high EBI herd, from which 520kg of milk solids were produced per cow in 2023.