TResearch
2025
0 Digitalising dairy Researchers in the Food Chemistry and Technology department at Teagasc Moorepark are examining how the Industrial Internet of Things can make dairy processes more efficient and streamlined. WAPS dashboard for energy monitoring of the spray dryer operations. Photo credit: Hanieh Amani. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) aims to provide […]
0 Re-Peat business Beyond Peat is a five-year DAFM-funded research project aiming to identify potential peat alternatives for Irish horticulture. To highlight the work being done to meet that challenge, we spoke to the core Beyond Peat Mushroom team: Senior Research Officer Helen Grogan, Technologist Brian McGuinness, Specialist Advisor Donal Gernon, and Research […]
0 The social side of sustainability Social sustainability is a measure of human welfare, with both internal dimensions, which relate to the individual, and external, which concern community-oriented issues around values and the demands of wider society. There is increasing momentum worldwide to adopt an integrated approach to food systems. Sustainable food systems […]
0 No more PET peeves? Recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) is a sustainable packaging alternative to support the circular economy using recycled materials and minimising waste. The team behind the Leaf No Waste project at Teagasc Ashtown is currently investigating and trialling the use of novel rPET for fresh produce packaging using an automatic […]
0 Pest in class Horticulture and Entomology Senior Research Officer Michael Gaffney is helping to lead a collaborative Teagasc project to automate pest control practices and tackle the ever-important issue of food security. Horticulture may be one of Teagasc’s smaller departments, but as any good entomologist will tell you; small things can have […]
0 The more the berrier At the forefront of Irish fruit production for nearly a century, Keelings remains committed to providing locally grown produce while facing the challenges of today. Located in North County Dublin, Keelings is a 100% Irish owned, third generation family business, with a story stretching back to 1926. Since […]
0 Is the grass always greener? The Moorepark St Gilles Grass Growth Model, or MoSt GG for short, enables farmers to access detailed data to more accurately predict grass growth and adequately prepare for periods of poor growth. Modelling of grass growth predictions across the country was initiated in response to the climatic […]
0 Bullish behaviour The sexed semen lab at Teagasc Moorepark is helping to increase the availability of sex-sorted semen from large teams of dairy bulls of a high genetic index. Sexed semen allows greater reliability when predetermining calf sex, which can help bolster the Irish beef and dairy sectors. The use of sex-sorted […]
0 Ripe for the picking Seeking to bolster the market for Irish apples, a new screening project will develop in-depth blueprints of customer preferences, allowing growers to focus on producing the most desirable varieties. The market is ripe for the development of Ireland’s dessert apple sector. Across the globe, demand is increasing for […]
0 Innovation drivers in horticulture Dermot Callaghan, Head of the Horticulture Department, examines some of the challenges and opportunities facing the horticulture sector. With a €521 million farm gate value, the horticulture sector is spread across two key sub-sectors: horticulture food (€417 million) and amenity horticulture (€104 million). The sector is diverse and […]