Today's Farm - May/June 2021

The May/June edition of our bi-monthly magazine is now available online. The main focus of this edition is on slurry storage, covering topics such as storage and usage; completing a storage assessment; & storage capacity and TAMS. It also has articles on blackgrass; contract rearing & more.

Today's Farm, the popular bi-monthly magazine has an excellent selection of articles covering a wide range of enterprises. Farmers from various parts of the country are profiled and all have interesting stories to tell.

View it here: Todays Farm - May June 2021 (PDF)

The main enterprises of dairy, beef, sheep and crops are covered. Also in this edition are interesting articles on: 

• Four years in: A review of the Grass10 Campaign 
  Teagasc launched a four-year Grass10 campaign (2017-2020) to promote sustainable grassland excellence on Irish dairy, beef and sheep farms. The primary objective of the Grass10 Campaign is to increase the number of Irish farmers utilising 10t of grass DM/ha/year using 10 grazings per paddock. A detailed review of the first four years of the programme is available here 
• Contract rearing male calves
  Establishing a relationship based on trust and a good contract will benefit both owner and calf rearer. Farming near Enniscrone, Co Sligo, Peter Gilmartin traditionally sold steers and heifers from his suckler herd as yearlings. In spring 2020, the Gilmartin's decided to start contract rearing male calves from dairy herds. They reduced the suckler herd and sourced 50 male calves from dairy farms in Munster.
• What’s the future for Irish beef farming?
  In December 2005, Pearse Kelly wrote an article entitled: “What Future for Irish Beef Farming?”. Ireland had nearly completed the first year under the new, decoupled system of direct payments, with the many different headage payments replaced by a Single Farm Payment on each hectare. In this article, Pearse reviews what actually happened and whether it can it help us predict the future for the sector.
• Slurry storage – have you enough? 
  The impact of dairy farming systems on the environment is of critical importance in gaining access to new markets, increasing market share in existing markets, while also maintaining access to premium dairy markets that will return a good milk price to the farmer.
• Novel nozzles reduce drift
  The Sustainable Use Directive (SUD) aims to reduce the risks to the environment, particularly waterbodies, associated with pesticide use. Compliance with buffer zones associated with pesticides is a fundamental part of protecting our water.
• Why a sunny day spells danger
  Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in Ireland, with over 13,000 cases of skin cancer diagnosed annually. You can do a lot to reduce the risk. CSO figures (2018) suggest that almost one in four (26.6%) of skin cancer deaths are related to the construction, outdoor and farming industries. One death every week in Ireland is at least partly due to sun exposure at work.