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Food chemistry at the National Ploughing Championships


Irish dairy is famous worldwide for its grass-based production system which, as Teagasc research has recently shown is more nutritious, while also having environmental advantages over other milk production systems.

An important factor of the grass-based production system is seasonality and how the composition of milk changes over the seasons and throughout lactation. The composition of milk solids is critically important for dairy processors and in the production of the many products and ingredients that are produced for our supermarket shelves and for export.

In the Food Chemistry and Technology Department at Teagasc Moorepark, research focuses on dairy chemistry and how cow-level factors (such as diet, genetics and seasonality) impact on the functional, nutritional and processing characteristics of milk. The vast majority of Irish milk is exported in the form of products and ingredients such as cheese, butter and specialised nutritional powders. Researchers at Teagasc are leading experts in dairy chemistry and processing, including milk protein digestion, novel drying technologies and energy reduction, the development of innovative cheese products for export and digital analytical tools such as robotics and sensors. This research is supported by the onsite pilot plant at Moorepark, Moorepark Technology Ltd.

To learn more about Teagasc’s work in this field and to meet some of our Food Chemistry researchers, visit us inside the Teagasc stand at Ploughing 2023.

Irish grass-fed milk contains more beneficial nutrients than milk from conventional indoor-feeding practices. Researchers from Teagasc and Food for Health Ireland (FHI) discovered that dairy cows who operate on an Irish grass-fed system, produced milk with higher percentages of omega-3 and conjugated linoleic (CLA) fatty acids compared to cows fed medium and low proportions of grass.
Read more about how Irish Grass-fed Cows produce more Nutritious Milk

Teagasc at the Ploughing

Over the course of the National Ploughing Championships, some of the key highlights have been featured on Teagasc Daily. Check these out below:

Teagasc at the National Ploughing Championships

5-star ewes deliver for productivity and profitability

Factors influencing contaminant losses to water

New and exciting opportunities for forestry creation on farms

Selecting the appropriate actions to reduce gaseous emissions on tillage farms

Using digital tools to support Teagasc advisory services

Eddy’s role in monitoring soil carbon