The Dairy Edge (Teagasc)

Hazel Costigan from Teagasc Moorepark joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss heifer rearing and the targets associated with it.

 

Hazel references a study done 10 years ago by Laurence Shalloo which put the cost of rearing a heifer at €1,545. A further study by Donagh Berry has shown that it takes 1.63 lactations to cover this cost and this may have increased since then.

 

Hazel says that the only way to manage heifer performance is to weigh them relatively regularly and at a minimum at key times throughout their lifetime to identify stock that are not on target and react to bring them back in line the rest of the group.

 

Hazel highlights the importance of doing this due to the impact in 1st, 2nd and 3rd lactation performance of lighter heifers in a study she did of Moorepark records from 2003 – 2017.

 

Finally, Hazel suggests that farmers weigh both their calves and heifers and act now to address weight deficits sooner rather than later especially as we move towards housing when average daily gain will inevitably drop due to the lower quality of the diet offered relative to the grass diet currently being consumed.  

 

The calf weights excel mentioned is available at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/animals/dairy/CalfWeightReadyReckoner.xls

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available as a bonus podcast episode. In this webinar, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, discusses setting up your fertiliser spreader. He was joined by guest speaker Francis Quigley, Machinery Specialist at Kildalton College, Teagasc. They spoke about protected urea, how it spreads and problems with fertiliser spreaders. Francis also gave a demonstration on maintenance of the spreader and how to set it up correctly. To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to: https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/ For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

Dairy advisor, Grainne Hurley, joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s episode of The Dairy Edge to provide tips on balancing the competing objectives of feeding the freshly calved cow and hitting grazing targets during the first grazing rotation. Grainne recommends that all farmers complete a farm walk to quantify how much grass is available on farm right now. Based on farms she works with, average farm cover is 1,033 kg DM/ha (range 712-1,205). Knowing how much grass you have will inform how much area you can graze per day. Grainne explains that cows have a low intake after calving, eating approx. 11 kg dry matter/day, increasing by 0.5-1 kg per day until peak intake is reached at week 7 of lactation. Grainne quantifies the quality of spring grass (1.03 UFL, 21% crude protein) v 70 DMD silage (0.8 UFL, 13% crude protein) and given the superior feed quality, she recommends that farmers maximise the amount of grazed grass in the diet in early lactation. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Labour Specialist Martina Gormley joined Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast with insights into labour measures and efficiencies on six dairy farms across the spring and summer months of 2020. Martina checked in with the six farmers weekly to account for the hours worked; 57 hours in spring and 50 hours in summer. The common trends across the six farms that offer labour efficiency include the number of rows milked (milking infrastructure), compact calving, number of groups of stock and use of the contractor. Martina recommends, for any farmer who would like to assess their own labour efficiency, they should consider measuring the labour each week for a year. From this you can see where you are spending time and identify inefficiencies. Martina also explains that labour input on farms should be like the steps of a stairs, busiest in the spring and summer and least busy into the autumn and winter. For more information: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/labour/labour-efficiency-focus-farms/ For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast visit the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, discusses the factors that affect milk fat %. To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to: https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/ For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available as a bonus podcast episode. For this week’s webinar, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, discusses buffer zones in agriculture. With the opening of the slurry spreading period, Stuart gives an overview of what buffer zones are and how they're important, especially when it comes to water quality. To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to: https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/ For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

On this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures. 

 

Joseph also has a grazing update from featured farmer, Fergal Coughlan from Co. Cork, who has managed to graze 25% of his farm so far this spring. 

 

He discusses tips to get cows to grass and how to structure your daily workload so cows get out for a 2nd allocation of grass in the afternoon. 

 

He also discusses the PastureBase grazing calculator & early chemical Nitrogen.

 

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: 

https://bit.ly/Grass10-20thFeb

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Lameness experts, Ger Cusack and Ned Dunphy, join Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s episode of the Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the level of lameness that exists in grazing dairy cows and the proactive steps that farmers can take to reduce its incidence. Based on a recent on-farm study, up to 20% of cows within Irish dairy herds have some level of lameness and Ger explains that cows suffering from lameness are coping with pain which is a significant welfare concern. Ger recommends that cows with lameness are treated with an anti-inflammatory to combat pain, reduce swelling and promote healing. Ned explains that simple practices on farms such as allowing cows to walk at their own pace when droving from the paddock to the parlour for milkings, as well as a regular footbathing programme, looking after the surfaces of roadways and learning the skills to identify a lame cow and lift and treat cows, will go a long way towards minimising the level of lameness. Ned estimates that each incidence of lameness costs €350 owing to loss in production, reduced fertility performance, the cost of treatment and culling. Furthermore when considering farm sustainability, Ger explains that cows are culled because of lameness, they fail to reach maturity and this compromises cow lifetime productivity. For more information: https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/publications/2022/Reducing-Lameness-in-Irish-Dairy-Herds.pdf For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

International dairy consultant, David Beca, joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the fundamentals of cost control in grazing systems.

 

David discusses pasture harvest, as defined as grass utilised on the milk platform, and consequently, the proportion of pasture in the dairy cow diet, as the key driver of low cost, high profit grazing systems.

 

Furthermore, David compares the relative costs of feedstuffs in Ireland and international competitors. He explains that the relative cost of grazed grass and supplement is much greater than in countries such as USA owing to the ability of Irish farms to grow grass so cheaply. He costs grass at $60 v concentrates at $400, reinforcing the impact of imported feed on the cost structures

 

For more information go to:

https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/events/2023/David-Beca---Key-drivers-of-milk-production-costs-in-dairy-systems.pdf

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: 

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Sustainable Grassland Farmer of the Year, Patrick O’Neill, and Teagasc Grass10 Manager, John Maher, join James Dunne on this week’s Dairy edge podcast to discuss Patrick’s award-winning farming system.  

 

Patrick outlines the farm performance, how he deals with adversity that was the spring of 2024 and details the transition to grass clover swards. 

 

John also outlines what it takes to win the competition and highlights the areas where Patrick impressed the judging panel the most.

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available as a bonus podcast episode. For this week’s webinar, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, was joined by Siobhán Kavanagh, Signpost Programme Communications and Engagement Specialist, to discuss the Bord Bia report and knowing your carbon footprint. As part of the Bord Bia audit process, farmers must complete a Sustainability Survey, the data of which enables Bord Bia to assess the environmental performance of Quality Assured farms using a carbon footprint for the farm. To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to: https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/ For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week. 

 

As growth rates are static and behind target for late June, Joseph also discusses grazing management and he has a grazing update from 2023 winner of the SGFOY Patrick O’Neill from Co. Longford.

 

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:

https://bit.ly/Grass10-25thJune

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Young Farmer of the Year Liam Hanrahan joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge to give an insight into his farming career, his research findings and future plans.

 

Liam farms in milking 180 dairy cows in partnership with his parents Willie and Catherine in Doonbeg, Co Clare. Liam describes the performance of the farm in 2019, producing 512 kg milk solids per cow, high fertility with an 82% 6 week calving rate and 14 tonne DM grass production.

 Despite growing a lot of grass, Liam explains that farming on heavy clay and peaty soil combined with high rainfall presents challenging grazing conditions, allowing for a shorter grazing season from mid-March to late October.

 

Notwithstanding this, Liam credits grassland management as the key driver of the production performance achieved and emphasise the importance of measurement. Liam completed 40 measurements in 2019, including 2 measurements per week during peak growth.

 

Liam also provides information on the dairy economics research he carried out during his time completing research at Moorepark. Liam identified grass utilisation as the key driver of profit, for every additional 1 tonne of grass utilised profit increases by €173 per hectare.

 

Looking to the future, Liam explains they have reached optimal cow numbers on their milking platform and they are striving to hit high efficiency across all key performance indicators metrics on the farm.

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
 https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ 

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week. 

 

Joseph also discusses autumn grazing targets as predicted growth rates start to drop and he has a grazing update from Jack Kearney, Rathcormac, Co. Cork.

 

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:

https://bit.ly/Grass10-10thSeptember

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

On this week’s episode of The Dairy Edge, advisor Adrian O’Callaghan and dairy farmer Diarmuid Hegarty join Emma-Louise Coffey to consider the potential feed saving that can be achieved by identifying problem cows and culling them from the herd early. Diarmuid explains he is milking 200 cows and running an overall milking platform stocking rate of 2.5 cows/ha that rises to 4-4.5 cows/ha across the mid-season. He had intended on keeping 10-20 extra cows in 2022 but gained discipline to calve and cull the additional cows because of forecasted high costs of production. Adrian details that costs of production were estimated at €1,840 in January but indications now expect they could rise to €2,400. Of 730 dairy farms that completed the Profit Monitor last year, Adrian said 25-30% are buying in the equivalent of 2 bales/cow or ½ tonne DM. He speculates that for some farms that means a portion of cows are fed totally from bought in supplement. If you identify 5 problem cows in the herd and cull them now, there is a potential saving of 125 tonne fresh weight of feed (two-fold difference: removing cows grass/silage demand and additional area for silage). Diarmuid is sticking to his normal silage conservation plan to ensure he has adequate winter feed reserves. He has however gotten his slurry tested and is spreading slurry and chemical fertiliser to complement the soil fertility status. For more information: https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/publications/2022/OutlookrevisedApril2022.pdf For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Maintaining farm productivity and profitability is always top of a farmer’s agenda but doing that in a reducing chemical N environment is challenging and requires the successful incorporation of clover within our grazed pastures. 

 

For this week’s Dairy Edge podcast, James Dunne is joined by Teagasc grassland researcher, Donal Patton, who outlines the current trial being carried out in Teagasc Ballyhaise which looks at transitioning to low chemical nitrogen perennial ryegrass white clover swards.

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: 

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

With the current Covid restrictions in place, Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available afterwards as a bonus podcast episode. On this webinar, Stuart Childs was joined by John Maher, Teagasc Grass10 Programme Manager to discuss managing grass and grass supply right now. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

With the current lockdown restrictions in place, Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available afterwards as a bonus podcast episode. On this webinar, Richard O'Brien, Teagasc was joined by Teagasc/Glanbia Future Farm participants Tom & David Fennelly from Co. Laois to discuss how they are farming in an environmentally friendly way. This was followed by a social media takeover by the Fennellys on Teagasc Twitter & Instagram. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available as a bonus podcast episode. In this webinar, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, is joined by Dan O'Riordan, ICBF who explains how to do the weekly fertility report correctly. The way to calculate the fertility report has thankfully changed since 2008 with the aid of the ICBF platform which gives a much more accurate result given that the figures inserted are correct. The two key things that you will need before calculating the weekly fertility report are: 1) Calving start date 2) Mating start date For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

On this week’s episode of the Dairy Edge, Mark Waters, Co-ordinator of the DNA Registration Project at ICBF joins Stuart Child to discuss the National Genotyping scheme that was launched recently by the Minister for Agriculture.

 

Mark starts by telling us exactly what genotyping is and what it has to offer both farmers and the industry as a whole. 

 

He says that it is hard to overstate the value of genotyping and that the big thing will be the rate of gain that will be achievable. This has the potential to allow for more palatable actions with regard to climate change targets compared to some of the actions that are currently being suggested, such as a large scale reduction in animal numbers .

 

Mark then explains how farmers can sign up for the scheme, what they have to do in 2023 and what is expected from 2024 onwards when the DNA registration process will start in earnest.

 

Finally, Mark highlights that the purpose of the scheme is to genotype the existing herd to allow for the DNA registration process to become a reality and that people are committing to this when signing up. 

 

It is imperative that people take samples and return them in a timely manner to facilitate preparation for the DNA registration next spring.    

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: 

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Grass10 advisor, Joseph Dunphy, joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to review the grassland situation on dairy farms and provides advice for the remainder of the grazing season.

 

Joseph explains that, depending on the level of rainfall during July and August, the average farm cover and consequently, grass availability, is completely variable; some farms are on a predominantly grass-based diet with low levels of concentrate supplement while others are feeding a silage and concentrate diet with a small proportion of grazed grass.

 

Joseph recommends that farmers monitor grass, set the farm up for a 30-day rotation and where farm cover remains below target, supplement to fill the deficit.

 

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For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: 

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com 

On the latest Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week. 

 

Joseph also discusses the ‘3 checks’ of managing pasture on your farm during March and has a grazing update from William Dennehy from Co. Kerry.

 

Link to this week’s newsletter: 

https://bit.ly/Grass10-12thMarch

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Tillage specialist, Mark Plunkett, joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast with advice on fertiliser strategies for silage ground, taking into account uncertainty around supply and the soaring cost of fertiliser. Mark explains that the recommended fertiliser application is 100 kg Nitrogen, 20 kg Phosphorus, 125 kg Potassium (35 kg of which after first cut) and 20 kg Sulphur to support a 5 tonne DM/ha yield. Furthermore, he acknowledges that the recommendation was previously 125 kg N, but given the cost and availability of fertiliser, this has reduced. The first 80 kg N will support 75% of the silage crop, the next 20 kg N will support the 20% of the crop so in order to achieve adequate first cut with winter feed reserves in mind and farmers should aim to spread 100 kg/ha. Mark encourages farmers to maximise the use of slurry on silage ground as 3,000 gallons of slurry/acre makes up the majority of P and K requirements as well as up to 30 kg N. For more information: https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/publications/2016/Teagasc-Quality-Grass-Silage-Guide.pdf For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

On this week’s episode of The Dairy Edge podcast, Clare Clabby joins Emma-Louise Coffey to discuss the research that has been carried out on selective dry cow therapy. Clare explains that the research focused on herds that completed at least 4 milk recordings per year and where all bulk tank readings remained under 200,000. In these herds, cows with SCC of less than 200,000 were selected and divided into two groups: Group 1 internal teat sealer only and Group 2 antibiotic plus internal teat sealer. In one herd, Clare noted a significant rise in the cows that had received a teat sealer only. Through further investigation, Clare noted that the herd, despite being under the limit set for the trial, had a rising SCC from mid lactation which indicated that there was a growing level of infection in the herd prior to dry off. Clare encourages all farmers to take the bulk tank trend into account as well as milk recording and incidence of mastitis records. Clare reiterates the importance of milk recording records to select appropriate cows for sealer only or sealer + antibiotic treatment and ensuring sufficient help and time is allocated to facilitate best practice in your dry cow procedure. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, does some checks and balances in relation to breeding. Stuart discusses the need to run a weekly fertility report to track progress and identify the cows not yet bred. It is also important to make sure that you AI for long enough before releasing bulls and use high DBI bulls to generate high quality beef. To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to: https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/ For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

Dr. Neil Chesterton, a New Zealand vet who has been investigating risk factors for lameness since the 1980s, and Ger Cusack, practicing veterinary surgeon with Comeragh Veterinary in Waterford, and who is well known for his work on prevention and control of lameness, join Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast.

 

Ger first explains the different levels of lameness while Neil explains the main issues on New Zealand farms and how they are quite similar to those we face here in Ireland.

 

They go on to discuss the importance of patience when moving stock and allowing the natural flow of cows into and out of the collecting yard and milking parlour and how this influences the level of lameness in herds.

 

They also discuss the importance of managing farm roadways to maintain the surfaces in optimum condition to encourage cows to want to walk on it. Neil is a strong advocate of a soft transition from the main road surface to the concrete of the collecting yard and that this should be used for 100-400 metres from the parlour yard entrance depending on the herd size to again encourage cows to walk on the surface but also to reduce the number of sole injuries associated with stones coming from the main surface to the concrete of the collecting yard.

 

Neil and Ger finish up by highlighting key things farmers can do to minimise lameness on their farms. 

 

More info is available on Neil Chesterton’s website at 

https://www.lamecow.co.nz/index.html 

 

And from the Animal Health Ireland article by Ger Cusack at: 

https://animalhealthireland.ie/assets/uploads/2024/08/AHI_Monthly_Newsletter_August_2024_FINAL.pdf?dl=1 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Waterford farmer, Steven Fitzgerald, joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the how he manages labour to minimise workload and reduce stress during the busy spring period. Steven explains that preparation ahead of the calving season and making a clear plan for who is responsible for each role at calving makes things easier and reduces duplication. Compact calving (90% calved in 6 weeks), OAD milking in February and getting cows out to grass from early February are key drivers of efficiency in spring. Steven prioritises feeding colostrum to calves as quickly as possible, as he believes it prevents sickness and ill thrift if calves don’t receive sufficient colostrum. Start and finish times are also important and Steven aims to finish each evening at 6 pm, regardless of the time of year. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast visit the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

To better inform farmers of the principal causes of lameness and more importantly of the steps that they can take in minimising the incidence of the condition, Teagasc, one of the participating members of the Resilience for Dairy programme is hosting three short farmer-friendly webinars. 

 

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, George Ramsbottom, Teagasc Dairy Specialist was joined by Paul Maher, a postgraduate student at Teagasc Moorepark, to discuss Paul’s area of study which focuses on the design and evaluation of cow roadways in Ireland. 

Paul discussed practical steps that farmers can take to improve the quality of their farm roadway network for their dairy herds.

 
To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to:

https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

Dairy advisor Mark O’Sullivan joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss the key mandatory practices for Nitrates Derogation farms. Mark explains that these practices allow farmers to farm more intensively while protecting the environment. He documents the key practices including a mandatory liming programme, use of low emission slurry spreading, inclusion of clover seed when reseeding, lower levels of crude protein and grassland management. For paddocks with a low soil pH, Mark recommends farmers front loading ground limestone at a rate of 2 tonne/ac at a time. Additionally, Mark recommends an application of 2 tonne/ac of lime for maintenance every 4-5 years. All slurry must be spread using low emission spreading equipment which reduces the emissions but also offers farmers flexibility in spreading in higher covers in the spring and increased nutrient value (N-P-K) from slurry. Mark explains that there are there are grants of 40% (60% for young trained farmers) to purchase new slurry tankers or retrofit old splash plate tankers. For dairy cow ration, farmers must feed a max of 15% crude protein rate from April to September. Mark explains that grazed grass contains 16-24% CP so ration containing 13-14% CP is sufficient during the main grazing season. For more information: https://www.teagasc.ie/publications/2020/derogation-review-changes---improving-environmental-outcomes.php For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast visit the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

Padraig O’Connor joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s episode of The Dairy Edge to consider why you should complete an early milk recording event to manage SCC and mastitis from early lactation. Padraig explains that there are several reasons: cows have been dried for a significant amount of time and therefore an early milk recording will establish the baseline SCC for the herd and identify any problem cows. Furthermore, it is an opportunity to assess the success of the dry period. Padraig recommends that farmers consider the role of persistently high SCC cows, particularly if they are older cows with multiple records of high SCC in previous lactations. He explains that these cows will likely continue to elevate bulk SCC and are at risk of spreading mastitis infection to low SCC cows in the herd. For more information: https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/publications/2022/Dairy-Newsletter---February-2022.pdf For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Dairy farmer and AI technician, Colm O’Connor, joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the early indications of the success of the 2022 breeding season.

 

On his farm Colm achieved an 80% 21 day submission rate, reaching 90% at 25/26 days and conception rate to first service of 65%. He explained that breeding performance was exceptional in his heifers, achieving a 100% 21 day submission rate and 89% conception rate to first service.

 

Colm credits attention to ensure there are no issues such as held cleanings or infections after calving and cows are on a consistent plain of nutrition have helped him achieve such high performance during the breeding season.

 

Colm also discussed the trends he has observed among his farmer clients. As AI technician, he has noted a shift to beef AI from the outset of the breeding season for 10-25% of herds, owing to farmers’ increased awareness to add value to the surplus calf and the lower requirement for replacement heifers as farms have reached optimum cow numbers.

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: 

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

With the current lockdown restrictions in place, Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available afterwards as a bonus podcast episode.      This week’s webinar discusses milk recording with Don Crowley. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ 

Grass 10 champion, Colin Doherty, joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge to explain how he and his father have developed their dairy farm and built a repeatable grass-based system.

 

Colin says that, while the farm was in winter milk until 2005, grazed grass was always the core feed that drove their milk production. 

 

This has continued since they transitioned to spring milk production where they feed predominantly grazed grass with supplement input of ~500 kg and some silage during the lactation. 

 

Colin says the preference is to feed silage or zero grazed grass from the out-block where grass growth (and supply) are low, to support as much of the cow’s diet from home grown feed.

 

Colin explains that they previously strived to grow up to 17 tonnes of grass but in more recent years they have reduced the amount of chemical Nitrogen applied and therefore, 15 tonnes is a realistic number. 

 

In the future, they aim to spread 150 kg N in the form of Protected Urea while also continuing to incorporate LESS and increasing the level of white clover.

 

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For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: 

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

With the current Covid restrictions in place, Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available afterwards as a bonus podcast episode. On this webinar, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist outlines some derogation and farm management points that farmers need to be aware of. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

Teagasc's Chief Economist Kevin Hanrahan joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week's Dairy Edge to discuss how Covid-19 is impacting on the Irish Dairy Sector.

Kevin gives an insight into the effect of COVID-19 on the demand for dairy and the shift in the demand from dairy products to almost solely retail (supermarkets) with a decline in food service sector.

Kevin reassures us that milk co-ops and plcs are continuing to process milk during peak production, while maintaining social distancing and hygiene practices.

Looking to milk price outlook for 2020, Kevin acknowledges that milk price will be lower than predicted and this is primarily a result of COVID-19.

Market recovery and demand for higher value products will depend on how restrictions continue across the world and consumer income.

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ 

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses reviewing your AFC in early March and he has a grazing update from the O’Callaghan family in Cork.

 

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: 

https://bit.ly/Grass10-4thMarch

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Pat Moylan, Teagasc Dairy Advisor based in Kilkenny, joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge for an update on the current grazing and winter feed situation within his client base.

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Researcher James Humphreys joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge with practical steps to reduce emissions while maintaining milk output and profit. James outlines the emissions for dairy farms which are: 50% methane, 20% nitrous oxide (fertiliser), 20% ammonia (slurry, urine, faeces) and 10% carbon dioxide (electricity, diesel). At Solohead Research farm, a trial is being carried out to measure the reduction in nitrous oxide and ammonia emissions resulting for changes to farming practices. Switching to LESS and protected Urea reduces emissions by 9% which is readily achievable on farms with the resources available. LESS, protected Urea spread at half rate in combination with clover inclusion reduces emissions by 18%. LESS, white clover inclusion and no fertiliser use reduces emissions by 25%. Ceasing fertiliser use will reduce milk output by 5% but this is also associated with reduced costs. For more information: https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/publications/2020/Lowering-the-carbon-footprint-of-pasture-based-dairy-production.pdf For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast visit the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

With the cost of energy on Irish dairy farms on average €5 per 1,000 litres, ranging from €2.50-59, this week’s guest, research officer John Upton, joins Emma-Louise Coffey to give tips to save money on farm energy bills. John explains that the biggest consumers of energy include milk cooling (30%), water heating (23%) and machine/vacuum (20%) and gives tips on how to reduce consumption in each area by up to 60%. John advises that farmers should check for the most competitive energy provider annually on energy comparison websites like Bonkers.ie, explaining that farmers can make a 20% saving in unit rates by switching providers which can save up to €800 per year.   For more information here is a Dairy Energy Decision Support Tool to use:  https://messo.shinyapps.io/dairy/ For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast visit the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

Dairy farmer, Jim White, and grassland researcher, Mike Egan, join Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s episode of The Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the establishment and management of white clover through over-sowing. Mike recommends that dairy farmers make a plan to establish white clover for the grazing platform and can target up to 25% of the platform with a combination of a full reseed with perennial ryegrass + white clover and over-sowing white clover in existing grass swards. Jim established 16% (11 of 67 ha) of his milking platform with white clover through over-sowing in 2021. He explains that key to the success of establishment was grassland management, measuring the milking platform every 5 days during the peak grazing season and grazing at a cover of 1,100-1,200 kg DM/ha. Mike explains that there are 3 components that determine the success of over-sowing: nutrients (adequate soil fertiliser pre-sow), moisture (for up to 6 weeks post-sow) and light (to assist germination, establishment and persistence at the base of the sward). For more information: https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/publications/2021/Management-and-establishment-of-grass-white-clover-swards.pdf For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses managing the remaining grazing area on the 1st rotation and he has a grazing update from Shane Seymour, Co. Tipperary.

 

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:

https://bit.ly/Grass10-18thMarch

 

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, discusses on-off grazing.

 

On-off grazing is often associated with the springtime but it's also part of the grazing repertoire at this time of the year. If ground conditions are gone tricky, on-off grazing may be the solution.

To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to:

https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week. 

 

Joseph also discusses managing grass quality during July and he has a grazing update from Jack Spillane, farm manager in Ballyvadin Research Farm, Co. Tipperary.

 

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:

https://bit.ly/Grass10-9thJuly

 

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist was joined by Dr Emma-Louise Coffey, Teagasc and Brendan Ryan, Dairy Farmer to get an insight into the Teagasc Professional Diploma in Dairy Farm Management. Emma-Louise gives an overview of the course and outlines the benefits of studying the course while Brendan Ryan, dairy farmer, gives an insight into his background, his experience of participating on the course and the changes that he has made to his farming practices since the course. Find out more here: https://www.teagasc.ie/education/courses/agriculture/professional-diploma-in-dairy-farm-management/ To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to: https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/ For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, James Dunne, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, is joined by James O'Donoghue, Teagasc dairy advisor based in Monaghan, to give an update as to what has been happening in the Monaghan area over the last couple of weeks and the things to look out for.

 

 
To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to:

https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

On this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week. 

 

Joseph also discusses current grazing management with super grazing conditions and above-average growth rates, plus he has a grazing update from Michael Walsh, Co. Kilkenny.

 

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:

https://bit.ly/Grass10-5thNovember

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Following the Teagasc National Dairy Conference where attendees heard how pasture utilised was fundamental to our dairy systems, Teagasc Researcher Donal Patton joins James Dunne on the latest Dairy Edge podcast to explain how to make informed decisions regarding farm stocking rate.

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Micheál O’Leary from PastureBase Ireland joins Emma-Louise Coffey on the latest Dairy Edge podcast with advice on how to keep control of the grass on your farm, maintain quality and avoid feed waste as growth rates explode across the country. Currently, average farm cover is 790 kg DM/ha / 203 kg/cow, growth 70 kg/day, demand 56 kg/day and almost half of dairy farms have a pre-grazing cover of >1,600 kg DM/ha. Micheál recommends that dairy farmers take action to reduce the pre-grazing cover to 1,300-1,400 kg to hit paddocks at the 3-leaf stage to ensure good digestibility and quality to support high milk solids production. Where surplus grass is taken out in the form of bales, Micheál reminds us to replenish key nutrients (Phosphorus and Potassium) using 2,500 gallons of slurry where available on farm or alternatively, a compound such as 18-6-12. For more information: https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/grassland/grass10/grass10-newsletter/ For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available as a bonus podcast episode. In this webinar, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, discusses grass management. Some topics up for discussion in this episode are: the national growth grass curve, number of covers this year to date, current farm situations, maximising grass for quality and utilisation and improving grass quality. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available as a bonus podcast episode. In this webinar, Stuart Childs is joined by Marion Beecher where they discuss tips for night time calving including research that has been done to see does adjusting silage feeding alter calving time and calf rearing organisation. Marion also ran through tips to getting through the calving season in the current Covid situation. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

John Maher and John O’Loughlin from the Grass10 campaign join Emma-Louise Coffey on the latest Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the key learnings from farm visits for Grass10 competition applicants.
 
John Maher explains that these farms are good at basic grassland management as well as demonstrating excellence in nutrient management and biodiversity.
 
John O’Loughlin highlights the sources of nitrogen from mineralisation, organic fertilisers, chemical fertilisers and alternative pastures such as white clover.

The trend in use of chemical fertilisers is declining due to improved nutrient management and regulation.

John also explains that farmers need to continue to make better use of slurry and incorporate legumes into pasture swards to maintain grass productivity.

For more information on the Grass10 competition visit:
https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/grassland/grass10/grassland-farmer-of-the-year-/

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, was joined by Teagasc’s John McCabe and John Douglas, Teagasc Grass10 Advisor to get an update on the current grazing conditions as well as an insight into the latest advice for farmers.

 
To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to:

https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

Clarissa O’Nuallain, HR Services Manager with IFAC, joins Stuart Childs on the latest Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the legislation that affects employers and that is very important for farmers who are employing people to be aware of. 

 

Clarissa emphasised the importance of contracts being issued to staff and went on to outline the risks of not issuing these. 

 

She then discussed the probation period as well as the new minimum wage requirements and maximum hours in a week.

 

Clarissa also went on to talk about the new public holiday in February and how that impacts on employers and employees.

 

Finally, Clarissa reminded farmers that they need to review their employment legislation position and make sure that if they are not currently compliant that they make moves immediately to become compliant with the legislation and seek professional advice where necessary.

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: 

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Terry McElvaney, Veterinary Inspector at the Veterinary Medicines, Antimicrobial Resistance, Byproducts and TSE Division, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss residues in milk.

 

Terry first explains the role of the division in which he works and how it is important in facilitating trade.

 
Terry says that the division tests 15,000 samples annually and carries out 70,000 tests on these samples for many different types of residues in order to report to the EU on our compliance with the regulations around the use of veterinary products in animals that go into the food chain.

 

He says that while a miniscule percentage of samples test positive each year, this year there has been an increase in the positives associated with Ivermectin and Levamisole, active ingredients in wormers and flukicides.

 

Terry advises farmers to test before treating and to ensure the right product is used at the right rate at the right time. 

 

Observing withdrawals is important and people need to carefully record dates of administration to ensure those withdrawals are observed. Terry also warns people that stock will often calve ahead of time and when that does happen, the withdrawal period still needs to be observed.

 

He finishes by recommending people avoid unnecessary use of any veterinary medicinal products when possible and where they have to be used, to get good advice on the product to use.    

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: 

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, discusses maiden heifer weight targets to coincide with a new herd weight profile which has been launched recently by ICBF.

To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to:

https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, James Dunne, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, is joined by Emer Kennedy, Teagasc Researcher, to discuss milking 10 times a week in the second half of lactation. 

 

 
To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to:

https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, James Dunne, is joined by Patrick Gowing, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, to give an overview of costs, costs of production and managing cashflow for the remainder of 2023 and into early 2024.

 

 
To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to:

https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

Dr. Tomás Russell, Assistant Professor in Agricultural Extension and Innovation at the School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, joins James Dunne on the latest Dairy Edge to discuss the considerations people should take when it comes to farm succession.

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available as a bonus podcast episode. In this webinar, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, is joined by Joseph Dunphy who works with the Grass10 team along with John Maher, John Douglas and Michael O'Leary. Joseph gives an insight into how things are going in relation to the grass as well as the common pitfall or the risks people are facing due to the weather forecast being good for the next couple of days. The opportunities for farmers to get grass into their cows is discussed with Joseph highlighting the importance of a measured approach and sticking to the plan to reach the desired goal. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

John Maher, Manager of the Teagasc Grass10 Programme joins Stuart Childs to discuss the grass growing year of 2024 and what we can learn from it for 2025.

 

John discusses several elements that people can control to help drive grass growth on their farms.  Getting the basics right is what makes the difference. Soil fertility has always been important but it is more important still where nitrogen is reduced as has been the case in the last number of years.

 

Grazing infrastructure to get grass to cows but not damage ground, was a significant issue for farmers in 2024. This doesn’t have to be elaborate, it may just be a few extra gaps into paddocks.

 

John went on to say that a big challenge for farmers to address in 2025 is replenishing feed reserves. While the extended autumn in 2024 has helped, people need to plan to increase feed stocks in anticipation of the weather challenges that are becoming more frequent. 

 

This means farmers need to do a root and branch review of their farming system and establish how they will deal with one of these weather challenges when it comes again. This means looking at how to increase grass growth on the farm, is the stocking rate appropriate, a plan for quality silage etc.

 

Finally, John outlines the fertiliser plan for early 2025 and how it is important to get nitrogen out in the form of either slurry or chemical nitrogen early to get growth going. It’s only a low rate application and it should only be spread in appropriate conditions but it needs to be spread if the weather is right to stimulate growth.

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

The need for enough quality silage in our dairy systems is often underestimated. 

 

With silage stocks reducing and average quality on a lot of farms there is a need for farmers to put a silage plan in place for 2024. 

 

Dairy advisor William Byrne, and dairy farmer, Michael Lally, join James Dunne on the latest Dairy Edge podcast to discuss some of the key aspects of making quality silage whilst also ensuring good yields.

 

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: 

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For the latest Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week. 

 

As December 1st approaches, Joseph also discusses current grazing management and he has a grazing update from John Casey, Co. Kerry.

 

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: 

https://bit.ly/Grass10-19thNovember

 

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

To better inform farmers of the principal causes of lameness and more importantly of the steps that they can take in minimising the incidence of the condition, Teagasc, one of the participating members of the Resilience for Dairy programme is hosting three short farmer-friendly webinars. 

 

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, George Ramsbottom, Teagasc Dairy Specialist was joined by Ned Dunphy from Waterford Farm Relief Service. 

 

Ned outlined the principal types of lameness in grazing dairy cows and the steps that should be taken to minimise the risks.

To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to:

https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist discusses nitrogen fertiliser for silage ground. To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to: https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/ For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, is joined by Liam McCabe, dairy specialist with Bord Bia, to discuss sustainability around Irish dairy farming.

 

To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to:

https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, George Ramsbottom, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, was joined by James Dunne to review the key messages from the Winter Milk events that took place across the country recently with a focus on costs, feed and yield, and breeding fertility. 

 
To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to:

https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

Germinal Technical Director, Mary McEvoy, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the future of the grass seed industry.

 

Mary explains how the Pasture Profit Index (PPI) has changed the way farmers look at seed varieties and how the PPI, from a seed industry perspective, validated the breeding programmes that were in place.

 

Mary then spoke about the timeframe involved in bringing a seed to market and the hurdles that have to be cleared to get to that point. She explains how breeding is looking at other species to see what they might offer in a changing climate but that it is early days for many and the most reliable mix currently is going to be perennial ryegrass (PRG) and white clover and red clover with good PRG varieties for part of the silage block.

 

Mary says that there is no red clover recommended list in Ireland but that work has begun on it with the first of the red clover varieties being sown in 2024 for evaluation for the first time in 2025. 

 

She also outlines the challenge the industry faces in sourcing seed given the 1200% increase in red clover seed demand in recent years!   

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available as a bonus podcast episode. In this webinar, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, discusses the proposed nitrate excretion bands for dairy cows and the implications that they may have for farmers To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to: https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/ For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

Michael O’Donovan joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge to give tips and advice to improve the quality of grazing swards. Michael explains that farmers should maintain pre-grazing herbage mass of 1,300-1,600 kg DM/ha to maximise the leaf content and achieve good graze out with any cover that exceeds that should be removed in the form of surplus bales. If the farm is not in surplus and there is a build-up of stem and seed heads, Michael recommends such paddocks can be topped. Michael recognises protected Urea as an appropriate Nitrogen fertiliser product at a rate of 25-30 units. Considering autumn reseeding, he acknowledges August is a suitable month to reseed and has top tips for reseeding include establishing a fine firm seed bed, using a post emergence spray and grazing at a low cover of 600-800 kg DM/ha.   For more information: https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/grassland/grass10/grass10-newsletter/ For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week. 

 

As growth rates suffer on Irish dairy farms, Joseph also discusses grazing management and he has a grazing update from Enda Armstrong from Co. Galway.

 

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:

https://bit.ly/Grass10-11thJune

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Grass 10 advisor Joseph Dunphy joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s episode of The Dairy Edge to remind us of the important targets to maximise grass utilisation and minimise costs during the main grazing season. Joseph acknowledges the difficult grazing conditions experienced in recent weeks, particularly for farms in heavy rainfall areas and on heavier soils where on/off grazing techniques have been a feature of grazing management. He explains that growth rates have increased to an average of 66 kg DM/ha and this is projected to increase further in the coming week as temperatures rise. Joseph recommends that farmers maintain a pre-grazing cover of 1,400 kg and farm cover of 160-180 kg/cow. He explains that there is approximately 0.5 units of background Nitrogen available to support grass growth and therefore, farmers should follow the cows with a further 20 units of protected Urea with sulphur during June and July to support high grass growth. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Cathal Buckley, Researcher at the Rural Economy Unit in Teagasc Athenry, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the results from the sustainability report of 2022 that was published in October of this year.

 

Cathal first outlines the number of dairy farms involved in the survey and some of the figures associated with them such as the average dairy cow number of 92.

 

Cathal discusses the reasons for the reduction in the per hectare emissions on dairy farms in 2022. The main reason being the reduction in chemical fertiliser applied but also due to the change in the fertiliser type with the switch from CAN to straight urea and protected urea. 

 

However, he explains, due to the switch to straight urea over protected urea, there was an increase in ammonia emissions. The change to urea based fertiliser has been a positive but it needs to change to protected urea to have maximum impact on ammonia.

 

Cathal says that efficiency gains have been good but have been eroded by the increase in the national herd so we need to continue to adopt the technologies to drive down the overall emissions and then the greenshoots of research in relation to methane emissions from rumination can potentially have a significant impact when they do eventually come to the market.

 

Cathal finishes by recommending that farmers look to rapidly embrace clover and multispecies which are looking promising in their early research to reduce the reliance on chemical fertiliser which is subject to fluctuation due to the ongoing geo-political climate.  

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: 

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist discusses pre-breeding management to try and improve the six week calving rate. The target is to have 90% calved within six weeks. To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to: https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/ For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available as a bonus podcast episode. In this webinar, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, discusses how to cut for the highest quality of silage. In the farming community, the trend seems to be that we forget about the time leading up to cutting silage and only emphasise the time when we are using it. As a result of this, we strategically plan for cutting silage but at the moment it’s not of much benefit to us. What we can control at the moment is the cutting date and the influence this can have on silage quality. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available afterwards as a bonus podcast episode. In this webinar, for the first of the 2021, Let's Talk Dairy Time and People Management Series, in conjunction with Macra Skillnet. Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist is joined by Nollaig Heffernan, Independent Management Consultant to offer some insight and practical tips around using a year planner guide to organise your year in an effective and efficient way to make better farm management decisions. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall and soil temperatures for the week.

 

Joseph also discusses current grazing management and encourages farmers to focus on spring grass availability. Plus he has a grazing update from Eugene and Eoin Lawler, Co. Kildare.

 

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-12thNovember

 
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Just when is the appropriate time to remove the bull? On this week’s episode of the Dairy Edge, advisor John McCabe joins Emma-Louise Coffey with advice and information for farmers. John documents the calving pattern over the last 2 years, explaining that 27% of cows in the category of late calvers in spring calving dairy herds in the months of April, May and June differs from the target of 10% calvings in April and no calvings in May and June. He recommends that farmers reach a 12-week breeding season this week and that farmers should consider removing the bull if they want to avoid May or June calvers. John also explains that consequences of late calvers include lower milk production, higher costs, risk of higher SCC and lower labour efficiency.   For more information: https://www.teagasc.ie/publications/2020/decisions-around-ending-the-breeding-season.php For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast visit the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available as a bonus podcast episode. In this webinar, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, discusses the fact that we are coming to the end of the breeding season. It's now time to assess what has happened in the time gone by and also to plan for the rest of the year. Stuart also takes us through silage pits and also touches on the issue of how to reduce nutrient and sediment run off into the water. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

Ciaran Collins, Teagasc Tillage Specialist, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the new herbicide for use in white clover swards and reseeds - ProClova XL.

 

Ciaran explains that this is new chemistry that has been in development with a number of years. It is the only product that is licenced for use in white clovers leys and reseeds replacing the emergency licence use of 2,4-DB products for white clover with the 2,4-DB still available for red clover swards in their first year as Proclova XL not suitable for red clover swards until they have over wintered.

 

Ciaran went on to explain that it is a broad spectrum herbicide covering most weeds of concern with the exception of thistles. It requires the use of an adjuvant which will be something new for most grassland farmers as this will have to be added along with the chemical. This is to increase the contact time of the spray to maximise its efficacy.

 

There are a few terms and conditions people need to be aware of before using ProClova XL:

1.       Must use at least 75% drift reducing nozzles when applying

2.       Don’t apply where there is an interesting watercourse

3.       Maintain a 3 metre buffer to all other watercourses

 

Ciaran also highlights a label change with 360 glyphosate products which are now reduced to 4l/ha max from the previous 6l/ha rates. This will apply to newly purchased products with old label products having a use up date out into 2025. There is also a 3m buffer required to be adhered to when using these products.

 

Finally Ciaran says that it is in the best interests if people stick to the recommendations when applying all herbicides as the long term availability of them will be dependent on these recommendations being followed and ensuring that pesticides and herbicides stay out of water sources.

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: 

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Emma Behan from Progressive Genetics joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the process of milk recording, differentiating between DIY and manual milk recording events. Emma quantifies the rise of milk recording by 23% in the Progressive Genetic geographic area, given the greater emphasis on selective use of antibiotics at dry off. She explains that the last two weeks of March is the busiest time for milk recording and farmers should consider recording in early March in order to get maximum value from the results. Emma acknowledges that farmers generally wait until all cows have calved to complete the first recording, but says that farmers should instead go when 60-70% of cows are calved, with all subsequent calvers picked up later in the year, in the second or third recording. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Department of Agriculture vets Damien Barrett and Caroline Garvan join Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s episode of The Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the correlation between good animal health and farm productivity. Damien highlights the importance of optimal animal health from birth, explaining that an incidence of pneumonia can increase calving interval in later life by up to 12% and an incidence of scour is linked to lower milk production. Furthermore, Damien recommends that farmers weigh young stock regularly to ensure heifers reach weight targets in order to calve timely at 24 months of age. Caroline focuses on the ‘one health’ concept referring to the critical issue of antimicrobial resistance among animal and human populations. Caroline explains the cyclical effect of antibiotic usage, where an animal is treated with an antibiotic, 60% is excreted into the environment which gives rise antibiotic exposure to more animals driving the development of resistance. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses getting grazing allocations correct and he has a grazing update from Lauren Kinsella, Co. Carlow.

 

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:

https://bit.ly/Grass10-11thFeb

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, with the challenging weather, Joseph Dunphy discusses getting one grazing per day and he has a grazing update from John Finucane, Co. Limerick.

 

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:

https://bit.ly/Grass10-18thFeb

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Superintendent veterinary inspector, Philip Breslin, from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the incidence of TB in dairy herds in Ireland. Philip explains that the skin test remains the best method for diagnosis of TB in cattle, offering the most accurate number of positive incidents of TB with low levels of false positives (1 in 5,000). To reduce the risk of TB to your herd, farmers should aim to maintain a closed herd, consider culling older stock that may have been exposed to TB outbreak previously, ensure all boundary are fenced well and being vigilant to wildlife activity on your farm. Philip encourages farmers to be proactive in engaging and consulting with the Department of Agriculture where wildlife such as badgers are identified in order to vaccinate or remove the badger populations near to your herd. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Padraig McCormack, Dairy Advisor in Teagasc Moorepark, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s episode of The Dairy edge podcast to speak about the nitrates compliance issues for farmers both derogation and non-derogation before the end of 2022 and in advance of 2023.

 

Padraig reminds farmers of their requirements to complete twenty grass covers for the year where necessary and also to get any outstanding lime requirement dealt with as soon as the weather allows before year end.

 

He also highlights that there are changes coming for those farming under 170kg N/ha that will require them to have soil samples available next year and beyond and how LESS application is becoming a mandatory requirement for farmers under 170 kg N/ha on a phased basis over the next few years.

 

Finally Padraig encourages farmers to sit down over the next few weeks and months and try and gather what info they can for derogation records for 2022. 

 

This might also afford people the opportunity to organised their paperwork for other aspects of farm management such as profit monitor completion and compiling of info for completing tax accounts for 2022 early in 2023.  

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week. 

 

Joseph also discusses the 300th Grass10 newsletter, stagnant growth rates and has a grazing update from Joe Murphy, Co. Kilkenny.

 

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: 

https://bit.ly/Grass10-16thJuly

 

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

With the current Covid restrictions in place, Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available afterwards as a bonus podcast episode.      On this webinar, host Stuart Childs was joined by Dr. Orla Keane, Teagasc researcher to discuss anthelmintic resistance in gut worms of cattle. Orla gave an insight into the background of gut worms in cattle, discussed anthelmintic resistance in Ireland and the risk factors associated with the development of anthelmintic resistance. Finally, Orla gave advice on sustainable worm control. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ 

Johnstown Castle farm manager, Aidan Lawless, joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the performance of the Winter Milk Herd. Aidan quantifies the production performance of the winter milk herd at 630 kg MS from 7,000 litres, which is driven by a right calving season of 10 weeks, high EBI genetics and high quality base winter forage in the form of grass silage. Aidan explains that MS have increased by approximately 10 kg year on year owing predominantly to improved genetics as grassland management and fertility performance is relatively consistent. In relation to winter feed, the winter milk cow is generally fed 1/3 grass silage, 1/3 maize and 1/3 concentrates. Grass silage quality is fundamental to maintaining high performance at moderate concentrate input and preventing stomach upset in cows such as acidosis. To achieve 74-75 DMD silage, Aidan explains they need to cut silage in mid-May. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Pallaskenry Farm Manager Brendan Ryan joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the use of selective dry cow therapy (DCT). Brendan gives his insight and experience where they have practiced selective DCT for 4 years. Brendan explains that in Year 1, cows considered for selective DCT required a SCC of <50 (from milk recording) and quarter sampled each quarter to ensure all quarters are low which accounted for 10% of the cows in the herd. In 2019 in Year 4 of selective DCT, 86% of the herd were dried off using a sealer only and did not receive an antibiotic tube. Key learnings from the use of selective DCT in Pallaskenry include the importance of sufficient winter housing facilities, a number of milk recordings across the lactation (one per month) and plenty of time and help on the day of dry off. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast visit the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, James Dunne, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, is joined by Dr George Ramsbottom, Teagasc Signpost Advisory Programme, to provide an overview of what's involved in the climate advisory programme for dairy farmers.

 

 
To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to:

https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

Coming off the back of the highs of 2022, the production year of 2023 has seen a sharp market correction in milk price. 

 

Plenty of farmers are budgeting forward and one question which is always asked is what’s the market outlook for the current year? 

 

On this week’s Dairy Edge, James Dunne is joined by Bord Bia Dairy Ingredients Sector Manager, Margaret Butler, to give some insights into the current market outlook.

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: 

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Joe Patton, Head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer in Teagasc, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to outline the factors that will make dairy more robust in the future in advance of the Teagasc National Dairy Conference entitled ‘Robust dairy farming for future challenges’, which is taking place at Limerick Racecourse on Wednesday November 27th.

 

Joe discusses the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that will make dairy farming robust, namely: grass utilised, understanding financials and cost control, excellent breeding, healthy cows, working efficiently and environmental sustainability. 

 

Joe outlines the significance of grass utilised as an indicator of profitability on farms and challenges farmers to look at this for their own farm. 

 

He then explains that cost control is another significant factor and encourages farmers to take a few days over the next while to take a look at the cost of running their businesses.

 

With an internationally-regarded breeding programme already in place, Joe recommends that people trust the science in terms of breeding in terms of milk production, fertility, maintenance and health.

 

 A less clear cut area but important nonetheless, is labour and work efficiency with Joe challenging people to look at taking more time off from the farm.

 

He finishes by outlining that all of what he has discussed will lend itself to delivering on the final KPI: environmental sustainability.

 

For further info on the Teagasc National Dairy Conference go to: 

www.teagasc.ie/dairycon24

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Emer Kennedy and Kieran McCarthy from Teagasc Moorepark join Stuart Childs on the latest Dairy Edge to discuss the reduced milking frequency work that is ongoing there.

 

Emer first outlines the reduction in yield that farmers would be likely to see if they implement reduced milking frequencies. The milk solid percentages increase which helps to compensate for the reduced volume.

 

Emer then spoke about SCC and how it changes when the reduced frequencies are being done. 

 

Kieran explains how they manage these groups on the farm and while it is slightly different to a normal commercial farm going onto reduced frequency milking, they still have the same issues to handle when transitioning as commercial farms.

 

Emer and Kieran also highlight what people could do to ease the transition with Emer suggesting that the mindset of the person may be a bigger issue than the mindset of the cow.

 

Finally, Kieran says that this is something all farmers could consider but that they will need to manage their SCC well from the start of lactation.

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

 

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Grass 10 advisor John Douglas joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast with advice on getting your grazing back on track during the month of March. John assesses the current situation on dairy farms across the country, explaining that some farmers have achieved a significant level of grazing during February (drier farms that received lower levels of rainfall) while some farmers achieved little to no grazing (heavier farms and in higher rainfall areas). He recommends that farmers take advantage of the dry, mild weather to get cows out and graze medium grass covers to increase the % of the milking platform grazed. John also explains that where cows are at grass full-time, low levels of supplementation are required: 2-3 kg concentrate and no silage. For more information: https://www.teagasc.ie/publications/2021/grass10-newsletter---2-march-2021.php For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, George Ramsbottom, Teagasc Dairy Specialist is joined by Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist to discuss roadway surfaces. 

 

They also give an overview of a large scale survey of dairy farm roadways from all around the country by Paul Maher, a Masters student working in Teagasc.  Poor quality roadways are a major risk factor for lameness.

To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to:

https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, George Ramsbottom, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, was joined by Patrick Gowing, Teagasc Dairy Specialist to discuss housing guidelines for young calves. 

 

The webinar was run in conjunction with the series of Animal Health Ireland (AHI) and Teagasc CalfCare events which are taking place this January on farms across the country.

To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to:

https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

With the current Covid restrictions in place, Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available afterwards as a bonus podcast episode. On this week’s show, Stuart Childs, was joined by John Trant, 2019 Young Grassland Farmer of the Year in order to get an insight into his career path to date. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

Soil scientist David Wall joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss the potential of Protected Urea to reduce emissions whilst maintaining grass production. David explains that comprehensive research has been carried out to test Protected Urea as a nitrogen fertiliser product that can be used as a direct replacement for Urea or CAN and spread all year round. Protected Urea reduces ammonia emissions by up to 75% compared with Urea or reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 78% compared with CAN. David explains a switch to Protected Urea is a simple change that has the ability to significantly reduce the environmental impact of fertiliser use at a comparative cost to traditional methods. For more information: https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/crops/soil-and-soil-fertility/Protected-Urea-List--Jan-28,-2021.pdf For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast visit the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, George Ramsbottom, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, is joined by Joe Patton, Teagasc Head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer, to provide an overview of the key messages from the National Dairy Conference which took place on 6th & 8th December.

 
To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to:

https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/

 

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

For this week’s podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, outlines the steps to make quality silage. To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to: https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/ For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/