Beef
A guide on winter dosing products
With numerous products, brands and classes of anthelmintic available, Catherine Egan, Teagasc Beef Specialist, touches on the importance of winter dosing, while highlighting a useful guide from Animal Health Ireland for use when selecting the correct dosing products to use on your farm.
19 November 2023
Happening at Ballyvadin
Chloe Millar, Teagasc Officer, and Jack Spillane, Farm Manager, update us on the happenings on the Tipperary Dairy Calf to Beef Demonstration Farm in Ballyvadin, this includes an update on animal performance.
19 November 2023
Focusing on animal health and performance on Co. Waterford Future Beef Farm
Eamon and his son Donnchadh farm in Carrigeen, Glendine, Youghal, Co. Waterford. In this update, they focus on animal health, breeding, nutrition and performance.
18 November 2023
Explainer: Changes to the Terminal and Replacement Indexes - why are they required?
From November 28, suckler farmers may notice a re-ranking of their animals on the Terminal and Replacement Indexes.
16 November 2023
Why early budgeting is key when managing fodder supplies
2023 has been an annus horribilis for many beef farmers when it comes to grazing and silage. Martina Harrington, Manager of the Teagasc Future Beef Programme, tells us more on the importance of fodder budgeting after a challenging year.
15 November 2023
DairyBeef 500 update and winter management on your farm
Alan Dillon, DairyBeef 500 Manager, and Fergal Maguire, DairyBeef 500 Advisor, are on this week's Beef Edge podcast to give an update on the campaign. They also discuss winter management on farms.
15 November 2023
Chasing cost reductions through breeding - the role of the updated Replacement Index
An updated Replacement Index will be published on November 28. Within the improved breeding tool, there is a strong focus placed on reducing the costs associated with the keeping of suckler cows and the carbon emissions from both the cow and her resulting progeny.
15 November 2023
Vigilance required as liver fluke prevalent across many areas
Livestock owners have been urged to be vigilant for liver fluke infestations of cattle and sheep following the publication of this year’s Liver Fluke Forecast by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
14 November 2023
Date change for ICBF Terminal and Replacement Index publication
Changes to both the Terminal and Replacement Index, which were set to be published next Tuesday, November 21st, have now been rescheduled to go live on Tuesday, November 28th.
14 November 2023
Outlining the changes to the breeding indexes
Teagasc and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) held an online webinar to explain the upcoming improvements that are being made to both the Terminal and the Replacement beef indexes.
14 November 2023
'Where are the women?'
During the opening and closing of her address to the recent conference on Irish Agriculture and the EU 50 years on, a journey through 50 years of Ireland’s EU membership, EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness posed the question 'where are the women?'
12 November 2023
The Terminal and the Replacement Beef Index changes explained
To explain the upcoming improvements that are being made to both the Terminal and the Replacement beef indexes, Teagasc Beef Enterprise Leader Paul Crosson, in Teagasc Grange, and Dr Margaret Kelleher from ICBF, are on this week’s episode of the Beef Edge.
10 November 2023
Teagasc Dairy Calf to Beef Course
A new advanced dairy calf to beef course will commence in December. The course is designed for new and existing dairy calf to beef farmers who wish to upskill and learn what it takes to run an economically and environmentally sustainable dairy calf to beef system.
10 November 2023
Changing calving period with Cathal Irwin, beef farmer, Co. Mayo
Cathal Irwin farms at Mountgordon, Westport Road, Castlebar, Co. Mayo. He is farming 27.7ha, which is fragmented. There are heavy clay/peaty type soils on the farm, which are typical of the area.
09 November 2023
Changes in multi-species swards
Sarah Burke, Mark McGee, Paul Crosson and Edward O’Riordan examined multi-species swards: annual changes in botanical composition under rotational grazing at Teagasc Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Grange, Co. Meath.
09 November 2023
Teagasc Beef Conference focuses on improving the Sectors Green Credentials
The theme of this year’s Teagasc National Beef Conference is ‘Improving our Beef Sectors Green Credentials’ to reflect the changing environmental landscape in which farmers play a key role.
08 November 2023
Diary date: What to expect at the Teagasc National Beef Conference
This year's Teagasc National Beef Conference will take place on Tuesday, November 21, in the Shearwater Hotel, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway. Commencing at 5pm, the theme of this year’s conference is ‘Improving our Beef Sector’s Green Credentials’.
08 November 2023
Best practice for animal health and performance over the winter
Teagasc in conjunction with Animal Health Ireland recently held a farm walk on the farm of Future beef farmer, Oliver O'Hara. Gabriel Trayers tells us the topics for the walk centred around the best practice for animal health and animal performance over the winter period.
08 November 2023
Making use of ICBF reports on suckler farms
Mícheál Kelly, B&T Drystock Advisor, Teagasc Galway/Clare, discusses the use of ICBF reports on suckler farms and how they may be of use when identifying the best and worst performing cows in your herd.
07 November 2023
Watch: Clipping an important winter management task on this Future Beef farm
Oliver O’Hara farms full time with help from his children Shane and Karen in Gortnaskeagh, Leckaun, Co. Leitrim. Farming 43ha of owned and leased land, plus mountain commonage, his soil type is typically heavy clay with some peaty areas adjacent to the mountain.
05 November 2023
Winter arrives on Newford Farm as cows and finishing stock move indoors
Stephen Frend, Farm Manager of the Newford herd, tells us what’s happened on the Newford Farm over the month of October and how heavy rain has seen animals moved indoors.
04 November 2023
Preparation for the winter months
Due to the weather, many farmers have already had to house some livestock, so it is important to keep a close eye on the supply of fodder. Ciara Collins, Drystock Advisor, tells us how to prepare for the winter.
04 November 2023
Improving heart health for farmers - tips and advice from Croí
With farmers seven times more likely to have cardiovascular disease, on this week’s Beef Edge podcast, Catherine Egan is joined by Croí’s, Annie Costelloe, Head of Patient & Community Engagement and Community Nurse, Caroline Dermody, to discuss tips and advice relating to farmer health.
01 November 2023
Creating a unique advantage with beef and tillage in east Cork
Located just outside Castlemartyr, Co. Cork, Pat Collins operates a sizeable calf to beef and tillage enterprise, which centres on the use of home-grown feeds - whether grazed or ensiled grass or tillage crops – to create a resilient and profitable farming business.
29 October 2023
Balancing silage quality and concentrate feeding on calf to beef farms
Grass silage is an important winter feed in calf to beef systems. Balancing this forage with the correct quantity/quality of concentrate is key to achieving the desired winter weight gains.
28 October 2023
What steps can I take to protect my farm?
On this week's Beef Edge podcast, An Garda Síochána Crime Prevention Officer, Sergeant John Fitzpatrick discusses top tips and the steps you can take to reduce the possibility of theft on your farm.
25 October 2023
Animal performance, red clover silage and finishing with DairyBeef 500 farmer Aidan Maguire
Like the rest of the country, ground conditions have deteriorated rapidly since the middle of October on Aidan Maguire’s farm in Navan, Co. Meath. In this article, Fergal Maguire, DairyBeef 500 Advisor to the farm, provides an update on grassland management, animal performance and silage quality.
25 October 2023
Teagasc Fodder Survey Update October 2023
National situation stable, but 10% to 15% of farms require corrective action.
25 October 2023
Maximise all beef and suckler scheme payments this year
There was a number of new beef schemes introduced in 2023, namely the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP), the National Beef Welfare Scheme (NBWS) and the National Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme.
25 October 2023
Selecting AI sires for autumn breeding on Future Beef farms
A number of farmers enrolled in Teagasc’s Future Beef Programme operate either entirely autumn-calving or a combination of spring and autumn-calving herds. In this article, Aisling Molloy, Future Beef Programme Advisor, looks at sire selection on a number of the farms enrolled.
24 October 2023