Sheep Newsletter - August 2024

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In this month's edition:

• Grassland management
  Prioritise the best grass available on the farm to lambs and thinner ewes where body condition score (BCS) needs to be improved before breeding. It is also important to focus on building grass reserves for the autumn/winter grazing period.
• DAFM reminder
  The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) wishes to remind farmers that there are strict legal requirements when importing germinal products of sheep (semen, oocytes or embryos) into the Republic of Ireland.
• Purchasing SIS-eligible rams
  Check if 2024 is a year you need to purchase a qualifying ram under the Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS). Ensure that the ram is SIS eligible on the day of purchase using the Sheep Ireland ram search facility or the sale catalogue.
  
  • Ram sale 2024
    The Sheep Ireland LambPlus Elite Multi-Breed €uroStar annual ram sale takes place on Saturday, August 24, in Tullamore Mart, Co. Offaly. Over 500 rams are expected to be on offer and all entries will be five star on the replacement and/or terminal index. They will also be genotyped, SIS eligible and have DNA parentage verified.
• Research Update - Weaning lamb performance
  Edel O’Connor and Anne Biggins, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Teagasc, Athenry, Co. Galway, report on INZAC and breeding flocks at Athenry. All lambs in the INZAC flock were weaned on June 11 at approximately 96 days of age. Average weaning weights for the four groups were 36.0kg (New Zealand), 34.0kg (High Irish), 31.8kg (Low Irish), and 35.4kg (NZ x High Irish).
• Biosecurity for bought-in stock
  The risk of buying in animals carrying infectious diseases or resistant parasites should not be underestimated. Typically, August is a month when rams, hoggets and store lambs come on to the farm.
• BETTER Farm Update - Keeping a close eye on parasites
  Frank Campion of the Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre reports on testing lambs and weaning on
  the BETTER sheep farms. Internal parasite burdens have been monitored across the flocks since early June, with farms submitting faecal egg samples from lambs every two to three weeks. Lambs are then dosed based on the faecal egg counts and the results of previous drench resistance tests.