Pigs & Poultry
July Organic Farm Walks
Teagasc, Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine and organic organisations invite all farmers and members of the public to see organic farming in practice and to meet and speak with the producers and sector’s experts. Do this by attending one of the three final Organic Summer Farm walks in July
02 July 2022
Organic farming with Fergal Byrne
On Wednesday, 8th June 2022, Organic Sheep, Cereals and Beef Finishing farmer Fergal Byrne, Calverstown Little, Dunlavin, Co. Kildare hosted a Teagasc Organic Farm Walk. Fergal shares details about his organic farm here, which is very informative for anyone considering converting to organic farming
24 June 2022
Show Jessy your Farm Safety ideas and win!
Calling 4-12 year olds! Jessy the Sheep Dog, our Teagasc Farm Safety mascot, loves to help keep everyone safe on the farm so she wants to give 4 lucky winners a prize. Find out about the ‘Stay Safe with Jessy' art competition, how to enter and what you can win. Closing date for entries is 22 July
19 June 2022
New Teagasc Regional Reviews Published
Teagasc has published Reviews for each of the 12 Teagasc Advisory Regions. The reviews give an overview of the range of the agricultural and farming sectors in each region. The supporting advisory activities and education courses provided by Teagasc are also highlighted and available in the reviews.
19 June 2022
Improving young pig welfare on-farm: PDD Review paper
This review paper, ‘Improving young pig welfare on-farm: The Five Domains Model’ authored by Keelin O’Driscoll, Teagasc Research Officer, Anna K Johnson, Jean-Loup Rault, Jeremy N Marchant and Emma M Baxter was recently published. It considers welfare through the neonatal and nursery pig perspective
17 June 2022
Heart health – changes are needed
Farmers aged 17 to 64 are seven times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than salaried employees. Simple steps can reduce your risk. John McNamara Teagasc Health and Safety specialist & Diana van Doorn Teagasc Walsh Scholar discuss this recent major study on improving cardiovascular health
12 June 2022
Teagasc Pig Research Update - BM Farm
This BM-Farm project is a collaboration between Teagasc & University College Dublin. It is aimed at developing markers of animal health in commercial pig farms. Mario Ornelas is the PhD student working on the BM-FARM project. He is supervised by Edgar Garcia Manzanilla, Teagasc and Nola Leonard, UCD
10 June 2022
The importance of having a nutrient plan on your farm in 2022
Now more than ever the efficient use of all organic and chemical fertilisers is vital to supply fertiliser requirements and control costs on farm. Tom Deane, Teagasc Advisor, Enniscorthy looks at importing slurry to minimise fertiliser cost but advises on completing a Nutrient Management Plan first
09 June 2022
Planning for Succession & Inheritance
Planning for succession is a vital process to engage in, for all farm families. It is through this process that that the next generation of farmers or farm owners are brought into farming or the ownership of land. Thomas Curran, Regional Manager of Teagasc Cork West has worthwhile advice here
07 June 2022
National Pig Herd Performance Report 2021
The National Pig Herd Performance Report 2021, produced by the Teagasc Pig Development Department is the detailed analysis of the performance of the pig farms that participated in the Teagasc e-Profit Monitor (ePM) recording system in 2021.
03 June 2022
TResearch Summer 2022
TResearch is an official science publication of Teagasc. It aims to disseminate the results of the organisation’s research to a broad audience. Picture of health - Researchers are leading work to improve the health and happiness of animals on farms, as public interest in animal welfare increases
31 May 2022
The Signpost Series - Ireland's 5th Nitrates Action Programme and beyond
On this episode of The Signpost Series which took place on Friday, 13th May, Pat Murphy, Head of Environment KT, Teagasc was joined by Ted Massey & Leanne Roache, Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine (DAFM) Nitrates Division to discuss Ireland's 5th Nitrates Action Programme and beyond.
28 May 2022
Pig Herd Performance 2021 Infographic
The Pig Herd Performance 2021 infographic summarises some of the main results from the 2021 National Pig Herd Performance Report. This report is the detailed analysis of the performance of the pig farms that participated in the Teagasc Profit Monitor (PM) recording system in 2021.
20 May 2022
PDD Recently Published paper on Chronic Stress in Sows
The Pig Development Dept introduces it's recently published paper, a literature review on the risk factors for chronic stress in group-housed gestating sows, and the associated prenatal stress consequences for piglets, from Martyna Ewa Lagoda, Joanna Marchewka, Keelin O'Driscoll & Laura Ann Boyle
13 May 2022
Direct selling from Castlemine Farm
The Allen family has been farming Castlemine Farm for five generations. The 250ac farm, located at Four Mile House in Co Roscommon produces pasture fed beef, lamb and free-range pork. Anne Kinsella, Teagasc Rural Economy Development Programme, Athenry visited the farm and farm shop to learn more
10 May 2022
27% of farmers in Ireland report their wellbeing was ‘poor’ or ‘below average’
A recent Irish study shows that 27% of farmers reported their wellbeing was ‘poor’ or ‘below average’ whilst a further study found that the most common sources of work related stress are weather, workload and money. Other issues causing stress include policy changes, regulation and farm succession.
10 May 2022
Managing stress
The most valuable assets that any person has is their health and safety. With pig farmers facing into increasingly difficult times – be it financial, personal or professional – the one thing that shouldn’t be neglected is your mental health and well-being.
06 May 2022
Kildalton College takes top prize at Macra Challenge Day
The 2022 Macra Na Feirme Challenges day ran in Gurteen Agricultural College, Ballingarry, Co. Tipperary on Wednesday, 27 April 2022. The overall winners this year were Kildalton College.
28 April 2022
From costs to the weather, how stressed out are farmers?
Analysis: farmers and farm workers have been found to experience high levels of stress and relatively low levels of wellbeing.
This article by Mary Brennan, Emma Dillon and David Meredith, Teagasc and Thia Hennessy, UCC, was first published on RTÉ Brainstorm recently
28 April 2022
The Signpost Series - Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Cattle & Pig Manure
On this episode of the Signpost Series which took place on Friday, 8th April, Mark Gibson, Head of Teagasc Outreach & Innovation Department was joined by Dr. Stephen Nolan, PIGergy Project & Mr. Shaun Connolly, GEBTech Project to discuss Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Cattle & Pig Manure.
23 April 2022
Teagasc /FBD Student of the Year Awards 2021
Dave Moloney from County Cork is the 2021 Teagasc/FBD Student of the Year. The awards were presented by Charlie McConalogue TD, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in Dublin today Thursday, 21 April 2022.
22 April 2022
Roberta Maria D’Alessio PhD Student Pig Development Department
One in the series of videos from our PhD students in the Pig Development Department. Roberta Maria D’Alessio study is focussed on the animal welfare issue of tail biting. In the video below Roberta describes the process she is going through for her research project.
15 April 2022
Longer days, more work, greater danger
Spring is here, and with it peak workload. Reduce your risk of injury or even death with some simple precautions. Francis Bligh and John McNamara Teagasc Health and Safety specialists have suggestions for keeping safe at calving time, when handling slurry and around machinery here
10 April 2022
Managing Roadside Trees
The Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine has published guidance on managing roadside trees. Written by a panel of experts convened by the Tree Council, it presents a simple six-step process for landowners to follow. Co-author Eileen Woodbyrne summarises the advice and guidance in the booklet
09 April 2022
Pauline Lichou, PhD Student Pig Development Department
In this video, Postgraduate student Pauline Lichou, Teagasc Pig Development Department discusses her project, part of MonoGutHealth, researching nutritional and management strategies for healthy porcine offspring: improve the health, growth and efficiency of piglets born into large litters.
08 April 2022
Nip in the bud
Pigs’ tails are commonly docked to prevent tail biting, but a crackdown on this problematic practice means alternative solutions are needed. Teagasc Research Officer Keelin O’Driscoll has been leading projects in this area, to find a sustainable solution to the tail biting challenge.
03 April 2022
Molly Harrison, PhD Student Pig Development Department
In this one of 11 PDD student videos, Postgraduate student Molly Harrison, Teagasc Pig Development Department discusses her Masters project researching the potential to diversify the Irish pig produce market. She will investigate the feasibility of a high-welfare pig farm assurance scheme in Ireland
01 April 2022
Analyses of the organic value chain in Ireland
Dan Clavin & Dr Yan Jin, Teagasc led this research in which a value chain mapping approach was undertaken using organic administrative data to understand the structure of the organic value chain, examining the distribution of organic farms in relation to their production systems
01 April 2022
Raising awareness of data on the farm
The AgriDISCRETE project is raising farmers’ awareness of data by co-designing communication materials that explain what data on the farm is and how it’s shared. Researchers Claire Brown and Áine Regan, Agrifood Business and Spatial Analysis, Teagasc, Athenry provide more insight here
23 March 2022
Improving Water Quality on World Water Day
On World Water Day 2022, Improving water quality and supporting the production of high-quality food are what Teagasc are targeting through various water quality initiatives that we are involved in. Learn about the work of Teagasc ACP and ASSAP staff including groundwater sampling here
22 March 2022