Dairy
Transitioning to low chemical nitrogen perennial ryegrass white clover swards
Maintaining farm productivity and profitability is always top of a farmer’s agenda but doing that in a reducing chemical nitrogen environment is challenging and requires the successful incorporation of clover within our grazed pastures.
15 July 2024
The importance of changing teat liners
The milking machine is the most important machine on a dairy farm and its maintenance is vital for safe and efficient milking. As part of this maintenance, the teat liners need to be changed regularly, Padraig O’Connor tells us more.
15 July 2024
Livestock an important part of our overall food system – Teagasc Director
The benefits of livestock inclusion in the overall food system were outlined by Professor Frank O Mara, Director of Teagasc, on the recent Signpost Series webinar titled: ‘Cultivating a sustainable future for Irish agriculture’.
15 July 2024
Calf health and welfare research funding announced
Announced as part of the 2023 DAFM Thematic Research Call, funding has been provided to WELCalf – a research project with the overall objective of improving the health and welfare of calves born on dairy farms.
14 July 2024
Top five tips for dairy farmers this July
Joe Patton, Head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer, gives his top five tips for dairy farmers this July.
13 July 2024
Solohead aims to develop low emissions blueprint for fragmented dairy farms
Solohead has garnered huge farmer interest in recent years. Implementing a zero nitrogen input strategy on grass-clover swards, Teagasc researchers have shown that the carbon and ammonia footprints of milk production can be lowered substantially (25%) without impacting on economic competitiveness.
13 July 2024
Grazing update from Ballyvadin Research Farm
Joseph Dunphy discusses managing grass quality during July and he has a grazing update from Jack Spillane, farm manager in Ballyvadin Research Farm, Co. Tipperary.
11 July 2024
First open day at Tipperary Dairy Calf to Beef Demonstration Farm
Demonstrating the best technologies for profitable and sustainable production of beef calves from the dairy herd, the Tipperary Dairy Calf to Beef Demonstration Farm opened its gates, today, July 10, to all farmers to visit and see the progress that has been made since its establishment.
10 July 2024
Book straw supply as soon as possible
Shay Phelan, Crops Specialist at Teagasc, provided the reconvened meeting of the National Fodder and Food Security Committee on July 8 with a tillage update, where he shared key details on crop performance, potential yields and straw availability.
10 July 2024
Budget and take action to secure fodder stocks
The results and key advisory messages arising from the Teagasc June Fodder Survey were presented to the National Fodder and Food Security Committee (NFFSC) on Monday, July 8.
09 July 2024
A new herbicide for use in white clover swards and reseeds
Ciaran Collins, Teagasc Tillage Specialist, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the new herbicide for use in white clover swards and reseeds - ProClova XL.
08 July 2024
All roads lead to the Tipperary Dairy Calf to Beef Demonstration Farm
Located in Ballyvadin, Fethard, Co. Tipperary, the Tipperary Dairy Calf to Beef Demonstration Farm aims to demonstrate best practice in breeding, rearing and finishing dairy-beef animals, and will host its first open day on Wednesday, July 10.
08 July 2024
Labour savings showcased at Teagasc/Aurivo Joint Programme walk
Farmers who attended the recent Teagasc/Aurivo Joint Programme walk on the farm of David Gannon, Kilconieron, Co. Galway, heard of his dairy farming story, the avenues used to secure labour and some of the labour saving techniques being used successfully on the farm.
07 July 2024
The opportunities for dairy farmers to improve their environmental footprint
There has always been opportunities and challenges within the dairy sector, and one of those immediate challenges is to continue to improve the environmental credentials of our dairy farms.
01 July 2024
Dairy advice: Dealing with the current low in grass growth rates
Grass growth continues to be stubbornly slow on many farms this year, writes Mark Treacy, Dairy Specialist at Teagasc, who looks at the three important areas of dairy cow intake, maintaining average farm cover and fodder budgeting for the winter ahead.
01 July 2024
Grazing update from 2023 winner of the Sustainable Grassland Farmer of the Year
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.
28 June 2024
Safety during Busy Times on the Farm
The summer is some of the busiest times on Irish farms with many essential activities taking place. Children are on holidays from school and may be out and about on farms. Martina Donnelly discusses ways to stay safe during this busy time.
27 June 2024
Finish your breeding season on a high
As the breeding season for spring-calving herds heads into its final month, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, Stuart Childs explains why it is important that dairy farmers keep up the momentum and capture as many repeats to minimise empty rates at the end of a defined breeding season.
24 June 2024
Bull choices for the latter stages of breeding
Alan Dillon, DairyBeef 500 Campaign Co-Ordinator, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss late breeding season bull choice.
24 June 2024
Michael and Alex McCarthy - Signpost Farmer Update
Michael & Alex McCarthy, Signpost Dairy Farmers, give us their farm update for June.
22 June 2024
Shedding light on dairy cow weight and the beef potential of progeny
The lack of knowledge on how selecting solely for smaller dairy cows impacts upon the beef merit of their resulting progeny has been narrowed through the publication of a recent paper in the Journal of Dairy Science.
20 June 2024
Managing variable grass growth rates on the Teagasc/Tirlán Future farms
Farmers in the Teagasc/Tirlán Future Farm Programme are employing different strategies to counteract the effects of variable grass growth rates witnessed over recent weeks.
19 June 2024
Farm and field specific plans needed to improve water quality
The recently published ‘Water Quality in 2023: An indicators Report’ by the EPA has shown no significant change in any of the water quality indicators for Ireland’s rivers, lakes, estuaries and groundwaters in 2023.
18 June 2024
Managing cash flow to make better financial decisions – a farmer’s perspective
Given the significant increase in input costs on dairy farms since 2021, along with the increased feed budget costs this spring due to poor weather, good cash flow management has never been more important to ensure the efficient running of the farm business.
17 June 2024
Milk residues and how to avoid them
Terry McElvaney, Veterinary Inspector at the Veterinary Medicines, Antimicrobial Resistance, By-products and TSE Division, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss residues in milk.
11 June 2024
Cashflow planning after a difficult spring
To say dairy farmers have endured a tough period on cashflow is an understatement. The last few months have been about doing the best we could with the conditions in front of us and generally this meant increased feeding with lower milk yield than expected.
10 June 2024
Assessing roadway condition and associated cow flow
Irish dairy farming can maintain its global competitive edge by prioritising low-cost grass- based milk production and continuing with compact spring-calving systems.
10 June 2024
Cow-calf contact systems in Irish dairying
Alison Sinnott, Sarah McPherson, and Emer Kennedy recently undertook an experiment comparing two differing Cow-calf contact (CCC) systems to a more conventional Irish calf rearing system.
10 June 2024
Getting the best return from second-cut silage
Ensuring that there are adequate fodder reserves in place for next winter is something each individual farmer needs to focus on throughout 2024 rather than being reliant on purchasing feed next winter to fill a deficit.
09 June 2024
Feeding 3-NOP in Irish dairy systems
Hazel Costigan, Laurence Shalloo and Ben Lahart tell us about research at Teagasc Moorepark which shows that the inhibitor 3-NOP can reduce enteric methane emissions by up to 22% in dairy cows.
08 June 2024