Beef
Profitability reduces on DairyBeef 500 Demonstration farms in 2022
The Teagasc DairyBeef 500 Demonstration farms will be having mixed emotions about their eProfit Monitor results for 2022. Alan Dillon, DairyBeef 500 Campaign Co-ordinator, explains why while outlining the financial performance for 2022 in this article.
15 March 2023
TAMS for Organic Farming
Joe Kelleher, Organic Specialist, tells us; the recent announcement that the opening of the TAMS 3 scheme is imminent has been greatly welcomed by organic farmers and it is great to see the list of eligible investment items that organic farmers can avail of has been greatly increased.
15 March 2023
Rumen and methane - Research Update
Paul Smith, Sinéad Waters and David Kenny of Teagasc Grange and Alan Kelly (UCD) report on the rumen microbiome and low methane- emitting beef cattle.
14 March 2023
Future Beef farm walk: How to save money on your farm this spring
A number of options available to beef farmers to save money on their farms this spring were discussed at the recent Teagasc Future Beef farm walk on John Barry’s farm, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary.
12 March 2023
Hitting your grass targets
Pearse Kelly, Head of Drystock, tells us how we can hit our grass targets in this months Teagasc Beef newsletter.
12 March 2023
A family affair in Kildalton College suckler herd
Visitors to the Teagasc stand at the National Ploughing Championships back in September may have met our special bovine guests.
10 March 2023
How to prevent and treat calf diseases
Martin Kavanagh, Vet and Business Development Manager with Muster Bovine, joins Catherine Egan on this week’s episode of the Beef Edge podcast to discuss how to prevent and treat calf diseases.
08 March 2023
Why test colostrum on suckler farms?
From the minute a calf is born it is in life-threatening danger, Martina Harrington, Future Beef Programme Manager, explains why.
08 March 2023
Implementing the correct steps for dairy-beef success
With dairy beef calves arriving on beef farms at the moment, purchasing from reliable suppliers and ensuring to purchase calves that are good weight for age is crucial to limiting calf mortality and morbidity. John Kilboyle, B&T Drystock Advisor, Teagasc, Galway/Clare, outlines more.
07 March 2023
Watch: Achieving compact calving with Future Beef Farmer Shane Keaveney
Shane Keaveney farms full time, with help from his wife Gráinne and three children, in Ballinlough, Co. Roscommon. He took over the farm in 2014 with five Saler in-calf heifers and has since grown the suckler herd to 37.
06 March 2023
Prevention is always better than cure for John Barry, Future Beef Farmer
Vaccinations are a crucial part of John Barry’s herd health plan. John is currently in the middle of the calving season, so the prevention of respiratory disease in the spring-born calves is the main focus. John vaccinates all spring-born calves against RSV, Pi3, Mannheimia haemolytica and IBR.
05 March 2023
Balancing the books on silage quantity and quality
Des Powell operates a sheep and beef farm just outside Templederry, Co. Tipperary, in conjunction with his parents George and Frieda. The farm is made up of 97ha of grassland, which is divided into two blocks but all situated within approximately 2km from the main farm.
05 March 2023
Newford Farm Update: 78 cows calved to date
In the latest Newford Farm Update, Donall Fahy, technician at Newford, gives an insight into calving and grassland management. He also provides an update on the performance of 2022-born progeny and the biodiversity initiatives being undertaken.
04 March 2023
Ger McSweeney - Make hay while the sun shines
17 yearling heifers were turned out to grass on 1st February this year, a record on Gers farm. They started grazing paddocks with lower covers beside the farmyard, this allowed them to settle and not walk grass into the ground and it also allowed Ger to keep a close eye on them.
03 March 2023
Watch: Housing for a part-time organic cattle enterprise
Fergus Hanly farms 30ha of free-draining land on the banks of the river Deel, just before it flows into the Shannon Estuary. He outlined his farming system and the adaptions he made to his housing as part of a recent Let’s Talk Organics webinar.
27 February 2023
‘Once you look after the heifer, calving at two years of age will work’
Michael Biggins and his son Niall farm near Glencorrib in south Mayo. Michael works full-time on the farm, combining the farming work with his busy role as IFA Rural Development Chair. Niall works off-farm as a carpenter, but is also heavily involved in the farm.
26 February 2023
Seeking higher profits from dairy beef in Co. Cavan
Charlie Smyth joined Teagasc’s DairyBeef 500 Campaign in 2022 and is on a journey to improve the profitability of his beef system through a combined focus on animal sourcing, animal performance, grassland management and livestock output. His DairyBeef 500 advisor Fergal Maguire explains more.
24 February 2023
Nutrition of the dairy-beef calf during the milk feeding stage
February and March mark the traditional months for calf rearing on the majority of dairy-beef farms nationally. Feeding the calf correctly from arrival to weaning is critical to achieve the desired levels of liveweight gain and to ensure a successful calf rearing period.
22 February 2023
LESS gives more for James Skehan, Future Beef Farmer
James Skehan, a participant in Teagasc’s Future Beef Programme, began spreading slurry with a dribble bar instead of a splash plate for the first time in 2022.
21 February 2023
Watch: Updating buildings for organic conversion in Co. Clare
Father and daughter partnership, Tadhg and Claire Halpin farm 70ha of free-draining land in Tulla, east Clare. In November 2022, they submitted an application to join the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) - one of the over 2,000 applicants to do so.
19 February 2023
Converting beef housing to meet organic standards
On this episode of Let's Talk Organics, Elaine Leavy, Joe Kelleher and Martin Bourke, Teagasc Organic Specialists, discussed converting beef housing to meet organic standards.
17 February 2023
Multi-species swards for beef production
Edward O’Riordan, Sarah Burke, Paul Crossan and Mark McGee of Teagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Grange report on the results of multi-species sward research.
17 February 2023
New technologies and animal performance to the fore in west Cork
James O’Sullivan farms 31ha near the villages of Leap and Union Hall in scenic west Cork. Some of his land drops steeply to the sea and faces directly due south.
17 February 2023
Grass 10 Featured Farmer: Aidan and Luke Maguire, Navan, Co. Meath
Aidan and Luke Maguire operate a calf to beef enterprise on free-draining land in Navan, Co. Meath. They provided an update on their grazing management in this week’s edition of the Grass 10 newsletter.
15 February 2023
Galway farmer, Aonghusa Fahy on preparing for calving, calving the cow and caring for the newborn calf
Future Beef farmer Aonghusa Fahy from county Galway discusses preparing for calving, calving the cow and caring for the newborn calf on the latest Beef Edge podcast.
15 February 2023
Beef farming and its challenges in Ireland
Beef farming is a very important agricultural activity in Ireland contributing to over 25% of total agricultural output. There are almost 140,000 farms in Ireland, of which almost 100,000 have some form of a beef enterprise.
15 February 2023
Teagasc Grange suckler research herd management notes February 2023
The suckler beef research herd at Teagasc Grange comprises of 170 spring-calving cows made up of 2 cow breed types; Simmental x Limousin and Limousin x Holstein-Friesian (½ beef, ½ dairy).
15 February 2023
Why use Protected Urea in 2023?
Mícheál Kelly, Teagasc Advisor, Galway/Clare, tells us protected Urea use increased by 59% in 2022, while ordinary Urea use increased by 28% in 2022.
15 February 2023
Contract Heifer Rearing
Marie Kearney, Teagasc Business & Technology Advisor tells us contract heifer rearing has increased in popularity over the past number of years due to a number of different reasons;
14 February 2023
Reducing the impact of high fertiliser prices through slurry
With fertiliser prices remaining at all-time highs in early 2023, Mark Plunkett, Teagasc Soils and Plant Nutrition Specialist, explains why cattle slurry will be a key resource on farm to reduce the impact of high nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) prices.
12 February 2023