Beef

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

Key advice for sourcing dairy-beef calves this spring

Teagasc DairyBeef 500 advisor Tommy Cox is on this week’s Beef Edge podcast with key advice for sourcing dairy-beef calves this spring.
01 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

What you need to know about the nitrates regulations changes

Teagasc Environment specialist, Tim Hyde, is on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to outline the current changes to the nitrates regulations, what it means for farmers and the future changes coming down the line.
22 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

Young farmer incentives increasing

There is a renewed emphasis on encouraging young farmers into farming in the new CAP Strategic Plan, Kevin Sheehan, Teagasc Education Officer, outlines some of these changes.
11 February 2023

Tackling Soil Fertility on Your Farm

The last 18 months have brought around exponential increases in the costs of production for many farmers, it is critically important farmers try and ensure they are as efficient as possible when it comes to farm operations. Damien Gibbons, Walsh Scholar tells us how managing soil fertility can help.
10 February 2023

Presentations from the DairyBeef 500 Spring Conference

On this week’s episode of the Beef Edge podcast you’ll hear three of the presentations that were presented at the recent Teagasc DairyBeef 500 Spring Conference in Charleville.
08 February 2023

Avoiding future issues with cash flow planning

On most beef farms which include different systems from suckler to finishing or dairy calf to beef, the majority of income on farms is at the end of the year.
08 February 2023

Night or day? Timing of calving within the suckler herd

With 80% of the national suckler herd expected to calve in the springtime, a successful calving season – where both mortality and morbidity is minimised and health and safety is prioritised – is critical.
08 February 2023

Converting beef housing to organic standards focus of upcoming webinar

Teagasc will host host a series of ‘Let's Talk Organics’ webinars this spring. These webinars, featuring Teagasc organic specialists along with organic Farmers, will cover various technical aspects of organic farming.
07 February 2023

Calving facilities with Aonghusa Fahy, Future Beef farmer

Aonghusa Fahy farms with his wife Olivia and two young children in Ardrahan, Co. Galway. He is part-time farming and is working full-time off farm as a secondary school teacher.
05 February 2023

Looking for pastures NUE

Researchers from Teagasc, University College Cork and University College Dublin have come together to reduce the output of ammonia, nitrous oxide and nitrate emissions from grazing dairy cows.
05 February 2023

Laying the foundations for a successful calving season

We are fast approaching the start of the calving season on many suckler farms across the country. Stephen O'Callaghan, Walsh Scholar, Teagasc Galway/Clare, discusses how the actions taken now are the foundations for a successful calving season and year ahead.
05 February 2023

Newford Farm Update: Grazing season commences

The latest Newford Farm Update provides an insight on grassland and the plan for spring slurry and fertiliser management. Donal Fahy, Technician at Newford, also gives an update on calving, animal performance and the biodiversity initiatives being undertaken.
04 February 2023

Caution advised as soil fertility levels remain stable in 2022

A recent review of the 2022 soil test results show that for the second year running the number of soil samples taken across Ireland has increased. The largest increase in soil sample numbers was on drystock farms, which increased by 19% in 2022.
03 February 2023