Articles
UCC/Teagasc Agricultural Science students receive awards
The annual University College Cork (UCC) / Teagasc Agricultural Science Post Graduation Celebration and Awards Ceremony took place on the evening of Friday, December 6.
14 December 2024
Research Update: Safeguarding Ireland’s ash trees
Ricardo Pimenta, Postdoctoral Researcher, and Dheeraj Rathore, Tree Improvement Research Officer, discuss their work on the newly launched AshforFuture project.
13 December 2024
Pig farm energy costs - analysing your bills
While energy prices have gradually reduced in the last two years, Pig Development Officer at Teagasc, Emer McCrum explains why now is an opportune time to for pig farmers to review their individual situation and plan measures to reduce this cost.
13 December 2024
Enhancing biodiversity - Ken Gill’s approach
Operating an organic suckler system in Clonbullogue, Co. Offaly, Ken Gill was crowned the winner of the Enhancing Biodiversity category of the Teagasc FBD Environmental Sustainability Awards 2024.
13 December 2024
Calculating tillage incomes for 2024
Teagasc Economist, Dr. Fiona Thorne discusses the key findings from the recent Teagasc Outlook 2025 conference on this week’s Tillage Edge.
12 December 2024
Early insights point to reductions in river nitrogen concentrations
A new report published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has provided early insights into the nitrogen concentrations in 20 major rivers across Ireland from January to June 2024.
12 December 2024
Straw incorporation - its role in achieving net zero on tillage farms
Ciaran Collins, Crops Specialist at Teagasc, takes a closer look at straw incorporation and its important role in achieving net zero on tillage farms. This follows an announcement by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine that Straw Incorporation Measure payments had commenced.
12 December 2024
Strengthening equine futures at Kildalton College
At Kildalton College, the Equine Department is piloting a new fitness programme which runs alongside the riding module for Level 5 Equitation students.
12 December 2024
Contract heifer rearing - Liam Cassin’s experience
Kilkenny farmer, Liam Cassin is on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to discuss his contract heifer rearing system.
11 December 2024
Lightening the workload through infrastructure
In order to maximise labour efficiency, Future Beef farmer Cathal Irwin has made a number of strategic investments on his farm over the last year.
11 December 2024
Outlook for cattle farming in 2025
As part of the Teagasc Outlook 2025, Economic Prospects for Agriculture, Jason Loughrey and Kevin Hanrahan of the Agricultural Economics and Farm Surveys Department, Teagasc, forecast the expenditure for various input items and the beef price that is most likely to prevail in 2025.
11 December 2024
Positive signs for sheep sector in 2025
Agricultural economists at Teagasc, Anne Kinsella and Kevin Hanrahan examined the prospects for the Irish sheep farming sector in 2025 as part of the Teagasc Outlook 2025, Economic Prospects for Agriculture, noting that higher margins are expected.
10 December 2024
Listen: Grazing management of forage brassicas
Dr Frank Campion joins Ciaran Lynch on this episode of the OviCast podcast to discuss grazing management of forage brassica crops.
10 December 2024
Sustain Sheep: Breeding for lower-emitting animals
A new international project creating knowledge and infrastructure to incorporate genetic merit for low environmental impact traits into national breeding schemes for sheep is being led by Teagasc, with the support of Sheep Ireland.
10 December 2024
Listen: The key messages from the Dairy Conference workshops
The coverage of the Teagasc National Dairy Conference in Limerick continues of this week’s episode of the Dairy Edge podcast.
09 December 2024
10 Things to Know About… Plastic
On tonight’s episode, Monday, 9 December, of the television series 10 Things to Know About… Teagasc scientist Dr Shivani Pathania features in an episode on ‘Plastic’.
09 December 2024
Start now for good calf immunity
Calves are born without their own immunity and rely on the colostrum received from their dams to gain it. However, this process is fraught with risk. Dairy Specialist at Teagasc, Stuart Childs takes a closer looks at these risks and highlights actions farmers can take to avoid them.
09 December 2024
Exploring Farm Diversification: Events
Barry Caslin, Energy & Rural Development Specialist, discusses how hosting events on farms, such as tours, workshops, and festivals, can be a profitable diversification strategy for farmers.
09 December 2024
Watch: Finishing cattle with Future Beef farmer James Skehan
Historically a weanling producer, a TB outbreak led James Skehan, a participant in the Teagasc Future Beef Programme, to start finishing steers and heifers off farm in the last two years.
08 December 2024
Plantain Power: Reducing Nitrate Leaching in Pasture Systems
A recent study from Teagasc has found that the incorporation of ribwort plantain into pasture can reduce nitrate leaching across a range of Irish soils.
08 December 2024
Scheme payments roll
Announcements regarding the commencement of payments under a number of important farming schemes were made this week by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
07 December 2024
Dairy Farm Management class of 2024 graduate
The 2024 graduates of the Teagasc/UCD level 7 Professional Diploma in Dairy Farm Management were presented with their diplomas at an awards ceremony at Teagasc Moorepark on Tuesday, 3 December.
07 December 2024
Mountbellew Agricultural College’s Sports Teams Resemble ‘The Invincibles’
After a period of drought, Mountbellew Agricultural College’s sports teams have returned to GAA’s top table by winning all competitions available to them in the academic year - a feat never before achieved by an agricultural college, writes Christopher Scally, Distance Education Course Coordinator.
06 December 2024
Measures to reduce risk of avian influenza come into effect
Following the detection of H5N1 avian influenza virus in a buzzard in Co. Galway this week, flock keepers are now required to apply particular biosecurity measures as a precautionary measure to help prevent outbreaks.
06 December 2024
Pig Edge: Reviewing the 2024 pig and feed prices and the outlook for 2025
Michael McKeon, Specialist Pig Advisor at Teagasc Moorepark, joins Ciarán Carroll for the latest episode of The Pig Edge with a review of pig and feed prices for 2024 and the outlook for 2025.
06 December 2024
Assessing your tillage performance as winter approaches
Michael Hennessy, Head of Crops Knowledge Transfer in Teagasc, shares advice on protecting crops over the winter, benchmarking your yields to help pinpoint strengths and weaknesses in your crop management and, most importantly, assessing your farm’s performance.
06 December 2024
Teagasc research economist, Anne Kinsella scoops AgriGuild 2024 Award
The great and good of the Irish agri media gathered for the AgriGuild Awards 2024 in Dublin on Thursday, November 28, 2024. Representing Teagasc in the coveted ‘Best Technical Article’ category was Anne Kinsella, a Senior Research Economist at Teagasc’s Rural Economy and Development Programme.
05 December 2024
Leading the Way in Sustainable Tillage: Tom Barry’s Journey – Part 2
For this week’s Tillage Edge podcast, Michael Hennessy re-joins Tom Barry, a tillage farmer from North Cork, who shares how he’s implementing sustainable farming practices, using organic manures and reducing fertiliser use to enhancing biodiversity.
05 December 2024
2024’s final grassland challenge
With cows returning indoors and the dust settling on the 2024 grazing year, the unforgiving nature of the year that’s been could have one final grassland management challenge to give – lower grass availability next February.
05 December 2024
New Appointment to Teagasc Authority
John Paul Fenlon has been appointed to the Teagasc Authority for a five-year term by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue TD.
04 December 2024
Controlling liver fluke this winter
A year of weather-related challenges has heightened the risk of liver fluke infection on some farms. Tommy Cox, DairyBeef 500 Advisor, shares key advice on the most appropriate treatment programmes to follow.
04 December 2024
Fluke: Why is it such a problem this year?
Dr. Natascha Meunier, Beef HealthCheck Programme Manager, is on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to discuss how to control liver fluke effectively and understand it better.
04 December 2024
Practice change required to improve water quality
All sectors of Irish agriculture will have to implement practice change to achieve the desired improvements in Ireland’s water quality status, Director of Research in Teagasc, Professor Pat Dillon told a packed house at the Teagasc National Dairy Conference in Limerick on November 27.
04 December 2024
Listen: Robust dairy farming for future challenges
This week’s Dairy Edge brings you some of the main insights from this year’s Teagasc National Dairy Conference.
03 December 2024
Farm incomes forecast to rise in 2025
Published today, December 3 as part of the Outlook 2025 Conference held in Teagasc Ashtown, the Teagasc Outlook 2025, Economic Prospects for Agriculture Report, looks ahead to future prospects by forecasting farm incomes in 2025.
03 December 2024
Farm incomes move up in 2024
A new report, by economists at Teagasc, provides the latest estimates of average incomes for various farm types in 2024 and looks ahead to future prospects by forecasting farm incomes in 2025.
03 December 2024
Managing rams post mating
Rams are a sizable investment for any flock. Sheep Specialist at Teagasc, Ciaran Lynch takes a closer look at post-mating management to ensure your rams’ longevity and wellbeing is prioritised.
03 December 2024
Weathering the storm
Farming can be a uniquely stressful occupation, with farmers often feeling subjected to changes outside their control. Joint research from Teagasc and Dublin City University seeks to understand these sources of stress.
03 December 2024
Preliminary findings point to more slurry and soiled water storage needs
Preliminary findings from year one of the Teagasc National Slurry Storage Monitoring Programme were shared with the gathered masses at the Teagasc National Dairy Conference on November 27.
02 December 2024
Next generation considerations a catalyst for climate action on Signpost farms
The climate knowledge, mind-set, attitudes and beliefs of Signpost Farmers toward climate action technologies and climate change were recently assessed. The results of this survey generated some interesting results.
02 December 2024
Are your Standard Operating Procedures fit for purpose?
The next number of weeks might be a good time to review your Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on farm or even creating some new ones ahead of the new production year, explains Padraig O’Connor.
02 December 2024
Popular farming webinar series makes a return
The Teagasc Roscommon/Longford Advisory service is running a new series of its very popular farming webinars, B&T Advisor in Teagasc Longford, Seán Doorley previews these events.
01 December 2024
Let's Talk Organics - Markets for Organics
Join Teagasc Organic Specialists on Wednesday, December 4th, at 7:30 PM for a Let's Talk Organics webinar on market opportunities for Irish organic produce, featuring Emmet Doyle of Bord Bia and Anne Maher of The Urban Co-op.
01 December 2024
Listen: Grass10 Update with Michael Carroll, Co. Limerick
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week.
01 December 2024
Breeding for a good score
Sarah Burke, Edward O’Riordan, Paul Crosson and Mark Mcgee of the Teagasc Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Grange, Co. Meath, report on exploiting genetic divergence for carcass fat score.
30 November 2024
Tillage emissions stable
Despite profitability and weather related challenges, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Irish tillage farms remained stable over 2023, the recently released Teagasc National Farm Survey (NFS) Sustainability Report 2023 has indicated.
30 November 2024
Hedgerows and carbon storage
From a carbon storage perspective, the removal of hedgerows is one of the worst actions farmers can undertake on their farms.
30 November 2024
EuroTier 2024: Latest Innovations
Pig Development Department staff recently attended EuroTier, the world's leading trade fair for animal farming and livestock management Eurotier which took place from 12th to 15th November in Hannover Germany.
29 November 2024
Part two: Thinning of high-yielding Sitka spruce - Results from second and subsequent thinning
Dr. Niall Farrelly's two-part series on thinning high-yielding Sitka spruce in Frenchpark, Co. Roscommon, highlights the benefits of timely and progressive thinning operations, with research showing that managed thinning significantly improves tree growth, quality, and financial returns.
29 November 2024
Grazing year winding down on Teagasc/Tirlán Future Farms
A year blighted by grassland management challenges, stretching from saturated soils in the first quarter to reduced grass growth rates over the summer months, has ended on a positive note on the Teagasc/Tirlán Future Farms. Sandra Hayes, Co-ordinator of the programme, tells us more.
29 November 2024