Today's Farm - September/October 2021
The September/October edition of our bi-monthly magazine is now available online. The main focus of this edition is on Teagasc Moorepark research. It also has articles on autumn weed control in cereals; succession planning; finishing cattle earlier; Connemara/ Mayo Blackface sheep; and 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: Today's Farm - September/October 2021 (PDF)
The main enterprises of dairy, beef, sheep and crops are covered. Also in this edition are interesting articles on:
- Dairying need not be all work and no play
Research has shown that many dairy farmers work up to 70 hours per week – and that doesn’t include breaks! But a recent study has found that owners on the most labour effi cient farms work just 45 hours a week. So, what are they doing differently? We’ve spoken to two dairy farmers who prioritise work-life balance; Sean Moher in Cork and David Gannon in Galway. - Flock recording helping to protect Connemara/ Mayo Blackface
Father and son partnership Martin Joe and Martin Kerrigan are hill sheep farmers in the Glentrague valley near Clonbur in Co Galway. Their land is in the heart of ‘Joyce Country’ and overlooks the picturesque Lough Mask. The farm is home to 220 Connemara/Mayo Blackface ewes, 40 replacement ewe hoggets and six stock rams. - Staggering improvements in pig performance
Irish herds are bigger, and animals more productive, than ever before. Today, there are circa 290 “commercial” pig farms with an average herd size of over 700 sows on the farms with breeding stock. The national output of pigs totals 3.8m pigs each year and the Irish pig sector is regarded as highly efficient internationally. The value of pigmeat exports in 2020 reached almost €1bn. - Forests: helping us to re-connect with nature
Now more than ever, individuals and society are questioning “the meaning of life” and seeking answers. A new native woodland in Roscommon offers a re-connection with nature. - Creating an amenity hedge near a rural house
As the bareroot season approaches, hedgerow planting, aka boundary hedging around one’s dwelling, must be carefully planned and executed with good aftercare. Common pitfalls begin with cost, whether outsourcing the operation to a landscape contractor or, if it’s a DIY job, “cheaper is not always better.” The same goes when sourcing planting material – you will always have to pay for quality.