Missed the National Sheep Conference?
The Teagasc National Sheep Conference – held in two locations in 2023 – featured topics such as resistance to drenches, organics, greenhouse gas emissions and multi-species swards.
If you were unable to attend either event, recordings of the main speaker's presentations are available below.
Parasites of sheep and resistance to drenches
Dave Leathwick, AgResearch Grasslands, New Zealand, presented his research on parasites of sheep and resistance to drenches. Anthelmintic (drench) resistance in nematode parasites is an issue facing farmers of grazing livestock all over the world. It is unlikely that any country is immune to its advances. Resistance was first detected in the 1970s and 1980s, not long after new modern drenches became available. Initially regarded as a curiosity and of little importance, resistance has continued to grow in prevalence and severity ever since. Today, in many countries, drench resistance on farms has become the norm and it is now rare to find farms where all drenches work against all the common parasite species.
Organics
The Irish organic sector has experienced a large influx of new farmers in recent years, with over 4,000 farmers now farming organically - including just over 2,000 who entered conversion in January 2023. The number of organic sheep flocks in 2021 was approaching 700, with an estimated 66,000 breeding ewes, which will increase with the recent new entrants. Teagasc Organic Specialist, Elaine Leavy explained the factors farmers converting or considering converting need to be aware of as part of her presentation. Elaine was joined by Amy Jackson, who farms organically with her husband Ross in Lacka, north Tipperary. The farm comprises both an organic cereal and sheep enterprise. Prior to conversion to an organic system, it was a tillage farm with a number of crops being grown.
Greenhouse gas emissions from the Irish sheep sector
Jonathan Herron, Teagasc, discussed greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of sheep systems in Ireland. The Irish sheep sector is starting from a good position, where a typical lowland system has lower GHG intensity per kg live weight than the global average. The impact of available GHG mitigation practices independently and collectively on a typical sheep system has been calculated to reduce total GHG emissions and GHG intensity while improving the efficiency of the system. For the Irish agricultural sector to achieve the 25% GHG reduction target set by the national climate action plan, the sheep sector must be proactive in adopting available GHG mitigation strategies.
The addition of clover and herds to sheep grazed swards
Lisa McGrane presented research on the addition of clovers or herbs to a sheep-grazed perennial ryegrass sward, focusing on the effects on animal and sward performance.
In recent years, there has been growing interest in the use of diverse sward mixtures for grass-based ruminant production systems. Numerous studies have shown the benefits of a multi-species sward relative to a perennial ryegrass only sward. These include increased animal and sward performance, reduced requirement for artificial nitrogen applications and reduced need for anthelmintic drenches.