Cork West Advisory Region
On behalf of Teagasc, you are welcome to the Cork West Section of the Teagasc website. This section gives you up to date information on our Region; including our staff, our Advisory Programmes and Services, and our Advisory and Educational courses. It also has links to other sites within Teagasc.
Download the Cork West (pdf) 2021 regional review
Farming in the Region
The Cork West Region is a diverse geographic region; lowlands and mixed farming systems dominate the eastern half of the Region, while hills, mountains, peninsulas and islands are common landscape features in the west of the Region. It is renowned for its excellent food production. Cattle, sheep and mixed farming are the predominant enterprises with over 3,860 farmers involved. West Cork is well known for its excellent dairy farming with almost 1,900 dairy farmers supplying Bandon, Barryroe, Drinagh, Lisavaird and Dairygold co-ops. The region in general including the peninsulas and Islands to the west is home to diverse communities, where tourism, fishing and service industries combine to subsidise the income of many part-time drystock farms. Tillage farming is also a significant enterprise in the greater Bandon/Kinsale areas.
Sustainable Farming
Sustainable farming practices in terms of reducing our carbon footprint and impact on the environment are a major focus of our advisory programme. Food quality assurance is also high on the agenda of our programmes to help farmers to produce the best quality food demanded by the marketplace. Through our major programmes: Business and Technology; Environment; Rural Development; and Adult Education and Training, we provide a comprehensive range of advisory and education services. We are committed to developing technically efficient and sustainable farm enterprises for all farmers in the region and we believe there is something to enhance every farmer’s business in our programme, regardless of enterprise, scale, age or gender. Our Business and Technology (B&T) Advisors cater for Dairy, Cattle, Sheep and Tillage farmers. We also have a forestry and horticulture advisor available to farmers in the region.
Client Services
Services to contracted clients are delivered through unlimited office/phone consultations, farm visits, farm walks, open days, discussion groups, Today’s Farm magazine, seminars, conferences and a range of other events. TResearch is Teagasc’s research and innovation magazine and is available to Teagasc clients in your local office with updates on current research projects taking place in our various research centres. Our competitive advisory and service fees are published annually with no hidden charges.
Monthly Newsletters
Our technical newsletters are sent to all our clients on a monthly basis. These cover forestry, farm management, rural development and the environment. Newsletters are written by our expert specialist core to provide you with excellent advice, taking account of the up-to-date research, conditions and latest events. Successful commercial farms in the future will increasingly depend on implementing and adapting cutting-edge technology to remain competitive.
Local Media
Listen to our expert local advisors on Saturday mornings on C103 FM farming programme and also read our monthly article in the farming pages of the Southern Star. Follow us on Facebook Teagasc Cork West.
Events
All farmers in the region are encouraged to and are very welcome to attend our public events such as seminars, farm walks and open days across all enterprises during the year. These events are advertised in local papers, radio and social media.
Discussion Groups
We encourage all farmers in the region to join our excellent discussion groups in dairy, beef, sheep and Tillage. These groups are a social and fun way to learn from your advisors and other farmers on a monthly basis.
Dairy Programme
Our dairy team consists of 7 high calibre dairy advisors based across our three offices in West Cork. One of these advisors coordinate the joint programmes with Carbery. The dairy team provides advisory support to over 1,000 dairy clients and also facilitates in excess of 22 discussion groups. Activities include consultations, farm visits, monthly discussion group meetings, farm walks, public events on monitor farms and milk quality promotion and events.
The Cork West unit has a major joint programme with locally based Carbery Milk Products and strong links with its four constituent Co-ops. There are currently 11 monitor farmers in the programme. Public events are targeted at all dairy farmers in the region.
The Teagasc/Dairygold joint programme in West Cork consists of 2 Demonstration Farms and 8 discussion groups for Dairygold suppliers facilitated by our dairy team.
Drystock Programme
Our drystock team is made up of 6 excellent beef and sheep advisors. Our drystock team focus on increasing the kgs of beef and lamb sold from the farm by improving technical efficiency and management. The team also focus on maximising the contribution of the farm asset to the household income through improved efficiency, scheme participation and the development of new and alternative income sources such as artisan food and agri-tourism enterprises. The team facilitates 14 beef discussion groups, 2 specialist sheep groups, a contract heifer rearing group and Dairy Calf to Beef group in the region.
Water Quality
Water quality is a key focus of our programme in West Cork and we have one dedicated advisor to the ASSAP programme to work with all farmers in the 15 designated catchments in the region. This is done in collaboration with industry stakeholders such as local co-operatives and LAWPRO.
As part of the Better Farming for Water Campaign the Bandon/Ilen/Lee Catchment Co-ordinators Oisin Coakley is collaborating with all relevant stakeholders by putting in place a comprehensive plan to improve water quality. This is multi-actor approach to improve water quality in eight of Ireland’s most important rivers. Stakeholders include farmers, Teagasc, private agricultural consultants, industry representatives, the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), local authorities, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) and community groups.
Crops
We have one tillage advisor who is available to provide key technical advice on cereals, root and forage crops to the 40 specialist tillage farmers and numerous mixed tillage enterprise farms in the region. He also facilitates a tillage discussion group in the region.
Economic viability and sustainability of farms is one of our key priorities. Farm financial management is a clear focus of all events and with discussion groups. The Teagasc eProfit Monitor is available to all Teagasc clients and we encourage all farmers to complete an annual profit monitor. It gives and in-depth analysis of farm performance that cannot otherwise be got from farm tax accounts. It does this by linking the technical performance on the farm with the financial performance. It is promoted widely among clients and specific advice is tailored to the clients’ situation, following the annual analysis.
Milk, Beef and Lamb that is produced from grazed grass is our main competitive advantage and is what consumers are willing to pay higher prices for. PastureBase is an online grassland management tool to help farmers to maximise the use of grazed grass in their system. Our advisors are available to support any farmer who wishes to get up and running using PastureBase.
Climate Change Advisory
Teagasc Climate and Sustainability Advisors are a network of specialists operating across Ireland as part of the Signpost Advisory Programme to support farmers in reducing emissions and improving environmental, social, and economic sustainability. There are 2 Climate and Sustainability advisors in Cork West assisting farmers with creating, implementing, and tracking on-farm sustainability plans. The overall aim of the programme is to empower farm families to adopt technologies and production systems that will allow agriculture to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030 while maintaining farm profitability.
Education
In conjunction with Clonakilty Agricultural College, Agricultural Education is one of our major activities within the Teagasc Region of Cork West. Our Education Officers deliver part-time QQI Level 5 and 6 courses from our training centres in Macroom, Skibbereen and Clonakilty Agricultural College. We offer a well-structured part-time option to students who work full-time. Our Education staff are also qualified Health and Safety trainers for TAMS 3 and provide short courses to meet the scheme requirements.
Scheme Support
We have 3 Specialised Scheme Support Advisors who along with all enterprise advisors provide schemes and services support to farmers applying for BISS, ANC, ACRES, Sheep Welfare Scheme, Nitrates Derogation, TAMS3 , SCEP and any other schemes that arise. We also assist farm families through the process of forming a successful registered farm partnership and succession farm partnerships.
Working with other professional bodies in the region such as co-operatives, marts, solicitors, accountants, banks and other service providers is critical to enable engagement with all farmers in the region.
On behalf of the Teagasc Staff in Cork West, I encourage all farmers to strive for efficiency in their chosen enterprises. Ensure the food coming from your farms is of the highest quality and keep food safety and traceability to the fore continuously. Farming must deliver incomes for the farm family and farming must continue to contribute to the local community.
For a full list of all the Services which Teagasc Advisory provides, please see this site or contact us for our Advisory Services brochure.
Farmers in Cork West can avail of these programmes by contacting me or any of my colleagues.