Ballyhaise’22 Dairy Open Day

13 July 2022 13 July 2022 Futureproofing Irish Dairying

We are delighted to invite all dairy farmers and dairy industry stakeholders to Ballyhaise’22, on Wednesday 13 July at Ballyhaise Agricultural College, Ballyhaise, Co. Cavan.

In the clip below, hear from John Kelly, College Principal, Teagasc Ballyhaise Agricultural College; Niamh Lynch, Teagasc Dairy Advisor and Donal Patton, Teagasc Researcher as they bring us through what you can expect to see on the day!

The theme of this year’s event is, ‘Futureproofing Irish Dairying’. Irish Dairy farmers have expanded significantly since the abolition of milk quotas in 2015 and this has made a very significant addition to family farm income in rural communities throughout Ireland, and in particular, in the Border Midlands and Western region. Future development of the dairy industry will require a close alignment with EU and national policy objectives, with a particular focus on reduced carbon emissions and improved water and air quality and biodiversity.

Ballyhaise’22 will highlight the various technologies and practices available to farmers to underpin future farm profitability and sustainability.

Ballyhaise’22 is an ideal opportunity to see, at first-hand, the results of the comprehensive research programme undertaken by Teagasc, and to meet research, advisory and education staff.  Financial support for our research programme from state grants and Dairy Levy Research Funds is gratefully acknowledged.

Futureproofing Irish Dairy Systems

The main technical stands will cover the following topics:

Profitable Milk Production Systems

• Key technical efficiency drivers
• Sustainable production system
• Making dairy farming an attractive career

New Frontier in Breeding Technology

• Are high EBI cows more carbon efficient?
• Increasing the quality of beef from the dairy herd
• Role of new technologies: sexed semen

Adapting to Clover-based Low Nitrogen Systems

• Benefits of clover in dairy swards
• Establishment techniques
• Grazing management

Benchmarking Farm Performance

• Budgeting for improved financial performance in 2022
• Cost control options during periods of inflationary costs
• Cash flow management options

Technology Village and Demonstrations

Grazing Practice

• Clover establishment and management
• PastureBase Ireland
• Importance of soil fertility

Signpost Programme

• KPI’s for dairy farms
• Key drivers of farm sustainability
• Profitable pasture based systems of milk production

Improving Nutrient Use and Retention On-Farm

• Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP)
• Benefits of Protected Urea Fertilisers
• Heavy soils programme

Breeding and Reproduction

• DairyBeef 500
• Breeding for lower GHG emissions
• Advancements in reproductive technologies

People Farming Smarter

• Increasing labour efficiency on dairy farms
• Training the next generation of dairy farmers
• Succession planning- engaging the next generation

Highlights

Special Forum: Farmers Meeting the Challenges – From Research to Practice

There will be a panel discussions facilitated by Emma-Louise Coffey from Teagasc. The panel of farmers will discuss their own experiences of adopting various technologies such as clover incorporation in their grazing swards, improved animal breeding and succession planning on farm.

• Ger Pardy, Co. Offaly will detail his experience of incorporating clover on his farm
• Killian Brennan, Co. Cavan will outline how he has improved his herd genetics dramatically over the past four years
• David and Laura Hannon will discuss succession on their farm in Co. Meath.

The panel will also include Professsor Laurence Shalloo, Head of the Animal and Grassland Programme at Teagasc and Dr. Joe Patton, Head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer Department.

Live Displays, Demonstrations and Workshops

Demonstrations on grazing management, reseeding, white clover swards, farm infrastructure, high EBI genetics and replacement rearing enterprises will take place throughout the day. 

Research to adoption: Extension methods

A wide range of extension methodologies are employed to facilitate best practice adoption on dairy farms. These include discussion groups, farm walks, seminars, newsletters and short courses on financial management, breeding and grassland. Information on how to avail of these programs will be available on the day.

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Videos on incorporating clover into grass swards

In the clip below, Donal Patton, Teagasc gives an insight into a new research trial which is looking at incorporating Clover into grass swards in Teagasc Ballyhaise. The trial is currently on year two of a five year programme where they are looking at transitioning from high nitrogen systems or 250 kilos of N on grass swards to incorporating clover.

In the below clip, Donal Patton, Teagasc discusses the method of establishing clover in Teagasc Ballyhaise. Donal gives an overview of part of the farm that has been reseeded this year as a full reseed. Both last year and this year, quite a percentage of the area, 25% reseeding each year and about 20% oversowing to try and accelerate the process of getting clover in.

In the below clip, Donal Patton, Teagasc discusses the management of grass clover swards in Teagasc Ballyhaise. The main thing is to keep grazing the paddocks fairly regularly, so usually between 12 and 14 days rotation to try and get them cleaned off as quick as they can. Grass swards will be getting nitrogen applications as normal and grass-clover swards will be getting no nitrogen from now until the end of the year.