Dairy

Setting the scene for Moorepark ‘23
Crowds were welcomed back to Moorepark today, July 4th, to see the research being conducted and to meet the Teagasc teams and industry stakeholders present.
04 July 2023

White clover is a second-half player
July 1st is the half time whistle in the grazing calendar. The Grass10 blueprint to grow 14t DM/ha and achieve 10 grazings per paddock is now at the half way mark, John Douglas, Grass10 Advisor, tells us more.
03 July 2023

Silage out as growth recovers on Teagasc/Tirlán Future Farms
After a prolonged dry spell, recent rainfall and mild temperatures have resulted in a recovery in the grass growth rates being recorded on the Teagasc/Tirlán Future Farms.
03 July 2023
Predicting intramammary infection in late-lactation cows
Over-use of antibiotics is linked with the development of antimicrobial resistance. To reduce this risk, the EU introduced a regulation that means dry cow antibiotics can only being used on cows that demonstrably have an intramammary infection, Clare Clabby tells us more.
03 July 2023

Watch: What to expect at Moorepark ‘23
Final preparations are underway for the Teagasc Moorepark Open day, which takes place tomorrow, July 4th. The theme of this year’s event is ‘Securing a Sustainable Future’.
03 July 2023

Let's Talk Dairy: Dairygold Programme - a farmer's perspective
On this episode of Let's Talk Dairy, Martina Gormley, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, is joined by Raymond Goggin, Bandon dairy farmer and Teagasc/Dairygold Joint Programme participant to get an update on what's been happening on the farm.
02 July 2023

Where to next for grasslands?
Grasslands are a key pillar of Irish dairy production and the composition of Irish grasslands have changed over recent years, increasing in complexity from single-species grass swards to multi-species swards, Ciarán Hearn and Tomás Tubritt tell us more.
02 July 2023

Sexed semen in the Irish dairy industry
With twice as much sexed semen available for the 2023 breeding season as in 2022, highlighting the rapid increase in uptake on dairy farms, Stephen Butler, Principal Research Officer in Reproductive Physiology, highlights some of the research work ongoing in sexed semen in Teagasc Moorepark.
01 July 2023

Labour saving benefits from ten-in-seven milking
Flexible milking systems may help to alleviate the problem of labour shortage on dairy farms, Dr. Emer Kennedy, Teagasc Research Officer, tells us more.
30 June 2023
Enteric methane - facts and solutions
At present, methane emissions from Irish dairy cows are predicted using international default emission factors. Here, Hazel Costigan and Ben Lahart explain how research in Teagasc Moorepark has found this figure to be substantially lower in grazing dairy cows.
29 June 2023

Maximising potential from renewables
Current levels of solar photovoltaic (PV) deployment on farms are relatively low. However, as John Upton explains, to encourage the uptake of renewable energy generation by farmers some considerable developments have recently occurred.
28 June 2023
Approaches to reduce farm labour demand
Conor Hogan and Marion Beecher outline how improved time use can reduce labour demand and improve work-life balance, resulting in more attractive workplaces. There are three main approaches: work organisation; facilities; and work practices and technologies.
27 June 2023

Ballyhaise’s road to clover incorporation
Commencing in 2021, Ballyhaise College is currently in its third year of clover incorporation. Prior to that, the farm was behind the curve in terms of clover compared to other farms like Moorepark, which had already demonstrated positive outcomes from clover inclusion.
27 June 2023

Sexed semen use in the Irish dairy industry
The recent developments regarding the availability and uptake of sex-sorted semen in Ireland have been remarkable.
27 June 2023

Laurence Shalloo on the challenges & opportunities facing the dairy industry
Laurence Shalloo, Head of the Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Programme at Teagasc Moorepark, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the dairy industry in the forthcoming years.
26 June 2023

Your ACRES Plan
Many of the 46,000 farmers who applied for ACRES last November had their applications approved in late March. Once you were approved you were effectively a scheme participant since the 1st of January and the contracted period will run for 5 years until the 31st of December 2027.
26 June 2023

Let's Talk Dairy - milking 10 times a week in the second half of lactation
On this episode of Let's Talk Dairy, James Dunne, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, was joined by Teagasc Research Officer Emer Kennedy to discuss milking 10 times a week in the second half of lactation.
26 June 2023

Be vigilant of lungworm
After a sustained dry period, recent rainfall may have created the perfect conditions for lungworm to develop.
26 June 2023

Optimum grazing stocking rate in mid-season
Best practice grazing management over the summer months is to maintain pre-grazing herbage mass between 1,300 and 1,500kg dry matter (DM)/ha (8 and 10cm), and target a post-grazing sward height of 4-4.5cm.
25 June 2023

Watch: Calf Health and Welfare
Marie and Anna are working on calf health research at Moorepark. Gathering this research data involves recording the calves’ health status on a daily basis along with more in-depth twice weekly health scoring.
23 June 2023

New National Genotyping Programme will unleash the power of genetics
The National Genotyping Programme is seen as one of the significant actions that can help farmers to reduce their carbon footprint through the identification of the best genetics for production, fertility as well as methane emissions.
22 June 2023

Watch: Multispecies Swards and Methane Emissions on Curtin's Farm
Charlie Dwan and Alann Jezequel tell us about their research on Curtin's Farm, they will be at Moorepark Open Day on July 4th with more information.
20 June 2023

Let's Talk Dairy - Incorporating Clover into grass swards in Teagasc Ballyhaise
On this episode of Let's Talk Dairy, James Dunne, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, was joined by Donal Patton to give an update on a new research trial which is looking at incorporating clover into grass swards in Teagasc Ballyhaise.
18 June 2023

Early life health of breeding bulls
Across both beef and dairy sectors, genomic selection has increased the rate at which we can select young bulls that have superior genetics. High demand from farmers, for these high genetic merit, first-season bulls means that there is a high demand for their semen at a young age.
17 June 2023

Watch: Body Condition Scoring at Moorepark
Here John Paul Murphy, Moorepark farm manager, and Kieran McCarthy, assistant farm manager, are body condition scoring and weighing cows after milking.
16 June 2023

Foot bath design and use to help with lameness
There are higher incidences of lameness after the spring due to the bad weather, with roadways and paddock access in unsatisfactory conditions. Foot baths can help with lameness issues.
15 June 2023

Watch: Higher milk and solids yields from grass-white clover swards at Moorepark
Aine Murray's research is looking at the herbage and milk performance of three different groups of cows, comparing grass-only swards to grass/clover swards at different nitrogen rates.
13 June 2023

Technology solutions to feature at Moorepark Dairy Open Day
Teagasc, Enterprise Ireland and AgTech Ireland have agreed to provide a platform for AgTech Ireland member companies at the Teagasc Dairy Open Day in Moorepark on Tuesday, July 4th.
13 June 2023

The role and importance of multispecies swards
Brendan Horan, Farm Systems Researcher at Teagasc Moorepark, is on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss multispecies swards (MSS) and the reason he and his team are researching them in the multi-milk systems trials at Curtin’s Farm.
12 June 2023

Tips on managing through dry June conditions
Despite a very dry start to June, average grass growth rates had been 60kg DM per day and farm covers had been holding well in most regions
12 June 2023