Previous Future Beef Events

2025

Tax and Tams Webinars

Save Tax & Plan Smart Webinar for Drystock Farmers

A Save Tax & Plan Smart webinar for Drystock farmers took place on Monday, 22 September, which was chaired by Pearse Kelly, Head of Drystock KT, Teagasc and featured Kevin Connolly, Teagasc Farm Management Specialist. The webinar provided an overview as to how to reduce your tax bill and keep more of your hard-earned income! A questions and answers session took place at the end of the webinar, which was chaired by Martina Harrington, FutureBeef Programme Manager, Teagasc.

Watch webinar recording below

Topics covered included:

What counts as farm profit?
Repairs & maintenance – what’s fully claimable?
Accelerated capital allowances explained
Stock relief & paying family members
Pensions – avoid tax & retire comfortably
Income averaging & family succession tips

TAMS 3 Grants Webinar: Make the Most of Your Investment

A webinar titled TAMS 3 Grants: Make the Most of Your Investment took place on Thursday, 25 September, which was aimed at drystock farmers. The webinar provided expert guidance on applying, maximising your grant & avoiding common mistakes! Host Alan Dillon, DairyBeef 500 Programme Manager was joined by Seamus Nolan, Scheme Support Specialist.

Watch webinar recording below

Topics covered included:

Health & Safety, Slurry Storage, Solar, Animal Welfare & more
Who qualifies for 40% vs 60%?
Mobile vs fixed equipment eligibility
What documents you’ll need (planning permission, certs and receipts)
Top mistakes farmers make, and how to avoid them

A questions and answers session took place at the end of the webinar, which was facilitated by Fergal Maguire, DairyBeef 500 Advisor.

Getting Winter Ready Farm Walks

The Future Beef team organised a series of Getting Winter Ready events in October.

Topics discussed included:

Nutrition: Using silage quality to determine meal feeding levels
Animal Health: Correct use of anthelminthics & pneumonia vaccination programmes
Housing: Correct lying space and improving shed ventilation
Breeding: Choosing bulls for the autumn calving herd
Environment: Improving water quality on beef farms

View the booklet from the Newford Farm Walk: Getting Winter Ready – Newford Booklet (PDF)

National Farm Walks

Friday, 25 July | 6pm | Cork

A Future Beef Farm Walk took place on Friday, 25 July on the farm of programme participant Kay O’Sullivan, Mourneabbey, Mallow, Co. Cork, P51 Y62D.

Topics discussed included:

Financials
Breeding strategy and animal performance
Animal health strategies in an organic farming system
Using multispecies swards to improve performance and biodiversity
The role of red & white clover in an organic system
Composting of FYM demo

Wednesday, 3 September | 6pm | Mayo

Running a profitable weanling system in Mayo: Michael & Niall Biggins’ Farm

Topics discussed included:

How to make a weanling system profitable
Learn about AI, synchronisation & sexed semen
Maximising cheap weight gains with grass & red clover

Bonus insights: Water quality, soil health, demos for TAMS eligible equipment, biodiversity & more.

The booklet is available here: M&N Biggins – Farm Walk Booklet

The boards are available here: MN Biggins’ Boards (4×4)

A Farmers’ Guide to Suckler Breeding Webinar Series

The Future Beef team hosted a series of webinars, which focused on a farmers’ guide to suckler breeding, covering topics such as pre-breeding essentials, breeding the ideal cow, and the latest technologies & how to use them properly.

See details of the webinars below

Pre-Breeding Essentials Webinar

Tuesday, 18 March 2025 | 8pm

The first webinar in the series, which took place on Tuesday, 18 March, focused on pre-breeding essentials. The webinar, chaired by James Mullane, Teagasc FutureBeef Advisor, covered topics such as health & vaccinations, pre-breeding scans, heifer selection, heat detection & teaser bulls, bull management, and buying a bull & bull management.

The panellists on the webinar included:

Olivia Hynes – Future Beef Farmer, Roscommon
Dr. Colin Byrne – Ruminant Nutritionist, Nutribio LTD
Donal Lynch – Vet at Tullamore Vet Clinic

Watch the recording below

What You’ll Learn

Health & Vaccinations – Why pre-breeding vaccinations are crucial for herd fertility
Pre-Breeding Scans – Are they necessary? Understanding their role in breeding success
Heifer Selection – Can heifers calve at two years old? Insights from Olivia Hynes and scientific analysis by Dr. Colin Byrne
Heat Detection & Teaser Bulls – What are teaser bulls, why use them, and their cost-effectiveness?
Bull Management – Key fertility testing strategies and selection tips for herd improvement
Buying a Bull & Bull Management – How to select, test fertility, and optimize bull management for maximum breeding success

Breeding the Ideal Cow

Tuesday, 25 March 2025 | 8pm

The second webinar in the FutureBeef Farmers’ Guide to Suckler Breeding Series took place on Tuesday, 25 March and focused on breeding the ideal cow. The webinar, which was chaired by Dr. Peter Doyle, Teagasc Grange, covered topics such as what is the ideal cow, bull selection, improving herd genetics, and understanding the role of myostatin genes in cattle breeding.

The panellists on the webinar included:

Dr. Cliona Ryan, Geneticist, Teagasc
Ger McSweeney, FutureBeef Farmer, Cork
Rose Goulding, Beef Programme Manager, NCBC
Chris Daly, Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF)

Watch the recording below

What You’ll Learn

What is the Ideal Cow? – How to use genetic traits to breed the perfect cow for your system
Bull Selection – What matters most for your farm: Milk production, carcass quality, or conformation?
Expert Discussion – Rose Goulding (NCBC), Chris Daly (ICBF), and Ger McSweeney (FutureBeef Farmer, Cork) share insights on improving herd genetics
Myostatin Genes – Understanding their role in cattle breeding:
- What are myostatin genes?
- How to identify them in your cows or bulls
- Using them to enhance herd performance while avoiding pitfalls
- Insights from Dr. Cliona Ryan, Geneticist, Teagasc

The Latest Technologies & How to Use Them Properly

Tuesday, 1 April 2025 | 8pm

The final webinar in the FutureBeef Farmers’ Guide to Suckler Breeding Series took place on Tuesday, 1 April and focused on the latest technologies and how to use them properly. The webinar, which was chaired by Aisling Molloy, Teagasc Future Beef Advisor, covered topics such as synchronization in cattle breeding, sexed semen, embryo transfer, and a real-world experience with AI & synchronization.

The panellists on the webinar included:

Professor David Kenny – Head of Animal & Bioscience Department, Teagasc
Daire Markham – Vet, Embryos Ireland
Billy Fraher – AI Technician, Teagasc Kildalton & Experienced Farmer

Watch the recording below

What You’ll Learn

Synchronization in Cattle Breeding – Why use synchronization? Learn about its benefits, animal selection, timing, procedures, costs, and success rates with expert insights from Professor David Kenny, Head of Animal & Bioscience Department, Teagasc
Sexed Semen – Should you reduce the number of heifers bred or maximize the number of bulls? Get the facts on optimizing your breeding strategy
Embryo Transfer – What is embryo transfer? Understand its pros, cons, pitfalls, and costs with expert Daire Markham from Embryos Ireland
Real-World Experience with AI & Synchronization – Billy Fraher, Teagasc Kildalton Technician, shares his 20+ years of experience in AI, synchronization, and sexed semen usage at Kildalton College and his own farm.

Calving Series

The Future Beef team hosted a series of webinars in January 2025, which focused on essential pre-calving preparations, calving the suckler cow, and post calving management of the suckler cow and calf.

A video series was also produced with John Donlon, Vet and Teagasc Beef Herd Health Researcher who provides some advice on the following aspects of calving: the calving process and when to intervene; managing a difficult calving; and the process of resuscitating a calf.

Click on the links below to find out more

Calving Webinar Series

Watch the webinar recordings below

Pre-Calving

Tuesday, 21 January

The first webinar in the series focused on a farmers’ guide to pre-calving. The webinar was chaired by Aisling Molloy, FutureBeef Programme Advisor and featured Professor David Kenny, Head of the Animal and Bioscience Research Department, Teagasc; Emma Sargent, Ruminant Veterinary Area Manager, MSD Animal Health; and Ed Curtin, FutureBeef Farmer.

Night one focused on essential pre-calving preparations. A live calf is an vital part of every successful suckler system. The webinar provided advice to achieve this pre-calving through:

Body condition scoring: Cows in good BCS at calving helps to reduce calving difficulty and also helps to get the cow back in calf quicker
Pre calving minerals: Important to produce lively calves at birth that are quick to stand and feed to get optimum immunity from colostrum
Pre-calving vaccines: Can reduce the incidence of scour & respiratory disease in the calf after birth which can reduce mortality and save money and time for suckler farmers.

Watch webinar recording below

Calving and Post-Calving Management

Thursday, 23 January

The second webinar in the series focused on calving and post-calving management. The webinar was chaired by James Mullane, FutureBeef Programme Advisor and featured Dr John Donlon, Beef Herd Health Research Officer, Teagasc; Dr Doreen Corridan, CEO of the National Cattle Breeding Centre (NCBC); and Michael Biggins, Future Beef Farmer.

The webinar focused on calving the suckler cow and post calving management of the suckler cow and calf, including if and when to intervene and how to manage the newborn calf. A key target in a profitable suckling enterprise is achieving a calf per cow per year and calving the herd compactly each year. The webinar focused on:

Calving the suckler cow: Knowing when and if to intervene during calving, what the signs of a difficult calving are, what do you need to have in the calving shed? If you have a hard calving – how do you treat the cow afterwards
Calf care: How can I reduce illness once my calf is born- scour, navel ill etc. If my calf does get sick – what can I do to minimise the effects – correct rehydration of using the correct products etc.
Getting the cow back in calf: The webinar looked at ways achieve a 365 day calving interval, through post calving nutrition, decisions around breeding and fertility and is synchronisation an option – Michael Biggins’ experience

Watch webinar recording below

Calving the Cow Series

In the below videos, John Donlon, Vet and Teagasc Beef Herd Health Researcher provides some advice on the following aspects of calving:

The calving process and when to intervene

John Donlon, Vet and Beef Herd Health Researcher in Teagasc, talks through the stages of calving and highlights when it is important to intervene to help a cow calving. John talks through the signs to look for through the calving process, explaining the different stages that follow. In stage one, we look for signs to show the calving process is commencing and the signs to indicate when a cow should be in a calving pen. A step-by-step of stage two of the calving process is demonstrated.

Watch the video below for more information

Managing a difficult calving

John Donlon, Vet and Beef Herd Health Researcher in Teagasc, discusses how to manage a difficult calving. Before beginning any calving process, ensure the appropriate calving attire and equipment are available to you, to protect both yourself, and the cow. John explains the step by step procedure, highlighting what to look for at each step, to aid a difficult calving process. He explains the importance of each step and when you may need assistance from your vet.

Watch the video below for more information

The process of resuscitating a calf

John Donlon, Vet and Beef Herd Health Researcher in Teagasc, explains how to resuscitate a calf after the calving process. John expresses potential affects of a difficult or hard calving, and highlights potential signs of respiratory acidosis in calves that may have experienced a hard calving. Knowing how and when to provide aid to get these calves breathing is crucial and John demonstrates ways to assist.

Watch the video below for more information

2024

Breeding Webinar Series

A Farmers’ Guide to Suckler Breeding

The Future Beef team hosted a series of webinars in March 2024, which focused on a farmers’ guide to suckler breeding.

Topics discussed:

Journey to profitability – farmer stories

Wednesday, 20 March, 2024 | 8pm

The first webinar in the FutureBeef Webinar series took place on Wednesday, 20 March and focused on journey to profitability – farmer stories.

The webinar, which was chaired by Martina Harrington, FutureBeef Programme Manager, featured Shane Keaveney, Ruairi Cummins & Ken Gill, FutureBeef Farmers. The panellists were interviewed by Gabriel Trayers, FutureBeef Programme Advisor.

Topics discussed included: Achieving key breeding targets; Practical management tips; Compact calving; Calf per cow per year; Replacement policy.

Watch webinar recording below

Getting your cow back in calf

Farmer guide to a successful breeding season

Monday, 25 March, 2024 | 8pm

The second webinar in the FutureBeef Webinar series took place on Monday, 25 March and focused on getting your cow back in calf.

The webinar, which was chaired by Martina Harrington, FutureBeef Programme Manager, featured John Dunne and Aonghusa Fahy, FutureBeef Farmers and Professor David Kenny, Head of the Teagasc Animal & Bioscience Department. The panellists were interviewed by Aisling Molloy, FutureBeef Programme Advisor.

Topics discussed include: Managing your cow; AI/heat detection technologies; and is your bull fit for purpose?.

Watch webinar recording below

Genetics for the Future

FutureBeef farmers breeding for profit

Wednesday, 27 March, 2024 | 8pm

The third and final webinar in the FutureBeef Webinar series focused on genetics for the future.

The webinar was chaired by Martina Harrington, Future Beef Programme Manager. It featured Wesley Browne & Trevor Boland, Future Beef Farmers. The panellists were interviewed by Chris Daly, ICBF.

Topics discussed: Breeding a more efficient cow; Meeting market specification; What about carbon footprint?

View the presentation: Genetics for the Future (PDF)

Watch webinar recording below

Autumn Farm Walks – ‘Getting Winter Ready’

Friday, 1st November | 11am | Kilkenny

Farm of Ruairi Cummins, Rossenarra, Kilomoganny, Co. Kilkenny.

The booklet is available here: Getting Winter Ready – RC Booklet

Topics discussed included:

Housing requirements
Winter nutrition
Animal health
Water quality

Friday, 27 September | 3pm | Galway

Farm of Aonghusa Fahy, Tullira, Ardrahan, Co. Galway.

The booklet is available here: Getting Winter Ready – AF Booklet (pdf)

View accessible version of Aonghusa Fahy Winter Housing Farm Walk Booklet (pdf)

Topics discussed included:

Housing requirements
Winter nutrition
Animal health
Water quality

National Farm Walks 2024

Wednesday, 11 September | 6pm | Roscommon

Farm of Shane & Grainne Keaveney, Ballybane, Ballinlough, Co. Roscommon.

The focus of the event was ‘Opportunities in Suckler Farming’.

The booklet is available here: Farm Walk Booklet – Shane K.

Topics discussed included:

Producing quality weanlings for the farm system
Red clover silage – meeting winter weight targets
The new EIP Island River Catchment scheme
- An opportunity for local farmers?
Physical & financial performance of the farm
Beef Market Outlook with
- Brendan Egan, Castlerea Livestock Mart
- Anthony O’Dowd, Dawn Meats

In the short clip below, Shane provides an overview of the farm and outlines topics that were discussed on the day.

Friday, 26 July | 3pm | Waterford

Eamon & Donnchadh McCarthy’s farm, Carrigeen, Glendine, Youghal, Co. Waterford

Profitable suckler beef farming

Topics covered on the day included:

Financials
Breeding strategy & Sensehub technology
Development of a paddock system
Actions to safeguard water quality
Bull beef system

View the booklet from the farm walk here: Eamon & Donnchadh McCarthy – Farm Walk Booklet – July 26th 2024

Friday, 12 July | 6:30pm | Offaly

Ken Gill’s farm, Clonbullogue, Edenderry, Co. Offaly. Eircode: R45 HT67.

Profitable organic suckler beef farming

Topics covered on the day included:

Beef profits & organic payments
Breeding strategy
Birth to finishing performance
Red clover management

View the booklet from the farm walk here: Ken Gill – Farm Walk Booklet – July 12th 2024 (pdf)

Stands at the farm walk included organic farming, water quality, biodiversity, forestry & more

Spring Walks 2024

Friday, 12 April | 5:30pm | Sligo

On the outfarm of Trevor Boland, Skreen, Co. Sligo.

Topics discussed included:

Bull choices & breeding plan
Making quality silage in 2024 to reduce costs
Getting the most from grass

See booklet from the day here: Feeding & Breeding Walk Booklet – Trevor Boland

Thursday, 21 March | 2pm | Clare

Feeding & Breeding Farm Walk

Farm of James Skehan, Ballynevin, O’Briensbridge, Co. Clare.

Topics discussed:

Bull choices & breeding plan 2024
Getting the most from grass
Making quality silage in 2024 to reduce costs

See booklet from the day here: JS Booklet Spring 2024.

2023

Teagasc/ AHI Autumn Beef Health Walks 2023

The Teagasc Beef Specialist and local Advisory team hosted a series of Autumn Beef Health Walks in association with Animal Health Ireland (AHI). Topics discussed included: Housing Requirements; Winter Nutrition; Animal Health; Farm Safety.

Proinnsias Creedon, Barrathanaknock, Clondrohid, Macroom, Co. Cork hosted a farm walk on Thursday, 2 November. View the booklet here: Getting Winter Ready Booklet PC (PDF).

National Farm Walks

Thursday 7th September | 2pm – Ger McSweeney, Tooreenbawn, Millstreet, Co. Cork.
See Ger McSweeney – Farm Walk Booklet.

Topics discussed included:

Breeding progress 2018-2023
Improving grass management
Financial performance
Future plans to reduce carbon footprint

Breeding Farm Walks

Topics discussed included:

Maximising suckler cow performance
Replacement strategies to improve your herds breeding performance
Meeting the requirements of the new Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP)
The role for synchronisation and sexed semen in suckler herds

Monday 3rd April | 2pm – Eamon & Donnchadh McCarthy, Youghal, Co. Waterford hosted a farm walk on Monday, 3rd April 2023. View the booklet here: E&D McCarthy Breeding Walk Booklet (PDF).

How to save money on your farm this spring

Wednesday, 1^st March | 2pm

Farm of John Barry, Mill Road, Newtown, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary. Eircode: E45 Y967.

Topics discussed included:

How to get more live weight gain on your cattle
How to save money on fertiliser
Demo: How to calibrate your fertiliser & slurry spreaders– Frances Quigley, Teagasc Kildalton
Beef outlook for 2023 & ABP Advantage Beef Programme

Read the booklet from this event: Beef Grass Walk: How to save more money on your farm this spring (PDF).

2022

Calving Heifers at 24 Months – Workshops

Calving heifers at two years of age significantly increases the net margin per suckler cow compared to calving at 30 to 36 months of age. Reducing the age at which heifers calve is also one of the most efficient ways to reduce carbon emissions from a suckler herd.

Teagasc and ICBF ran a series of workshops across the country in October and November 2022.

The topics covered at the workshops included: Why calve at 2 years of age; Busting the myths around earlier calving; Target weight gains and how they can be achieved; Heifer health management; Affordable synchronisation options for heifers; Selecting the right sires for use on heifers.

View the booklet from one of the workshops which took place in Teagasc Kildalton College on Friday, 11th November below:

Future Beef Programme Workshop Kildalton College – November 2022 (pdf)