Dairy
Steps to improve the likelihood of success with sexed semen
Steps to improve the likelihood of success with sexed semen Sexed semen provides many potential advantages to dairy farmers. The most obvious reason to use sexed semen is the sex bias induced in the calf crop, with 90% of the pregnancies resulting in a heifer birth and only 10% male dairy calves. […]
22 April 2024
Reducing TB risk
Reducing TB risk The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) provided guidelines on reducing the risk of TB in your herd. The advice on reducing herd-wildlife contact is particularly important, but other steps are: Only buy animals from low-risk herds, that is herds that have not had an outbreak of […]
20 April 2024
Signpost farmer update: All set for breeding and trialling plantain
Signpost farmer update: All set for breeding and trialling plantain Seán Moher, a dairy farmer Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, is a participant in the Teagasc Signpost Programme and Teagasc/Dairygold Joint Programme. In this update, he outlines his plans for breeding and explains why he’s including plantain in his grassland swards. The final preparations […]
20 April 2024
Extension to Nitrates Derogation application and Dairy Banding deadline
Extension to Nitrates Derogation application and Dairy Banding deadline Extensions to the deadlines to submit Nitrates Derogation applications for 2024 and for dairy farmers to confirm their 2024 dairy excretion rate band were today announced by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D. Originally scheduled to close on […]
17 April 2024
Weigh heifers before opting for sexed semen
Weigh heifers before opting for sexed semen Earlier housing and a delayed turnout may mean that some dairy replacement heifers are behind target for breeding. Joining James Dunne on a recent episode of the Dairy Edge podcast, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, Stuart Childs touched on the ramifications this may have for the fast-approaching […]
17 April 2024
Watch: Preparing for breeding on Teagasc/Tirlán Future Farms
Watch: Preparing for breeding on Teagasc/Tirlán Future Farms Sandra Hayes, Teagasc/Tirlán Future Farm Programme Co-ordinator, visited a number of demonstration farmers recently to highlight how they are preparing for the upcoming breeding season. David Fennelly Sandra visited David Fennelly from near Portarlington, Co. Laois in early April. At the time of the […]
15 April 2024
Ensuring breeding success with maiden heifers
Ensuring breeding success with maiden heifers With the difficult conditions at farm level, much of the conversation over the last number of weeks has centred on ensuring the milking herd are properly fed. These conditions have also meant that maiden heifers have remained housed on a lot of farms for longer than […]
15 April 2024
10 things to consider before breeding season starts
10 things to consider before breeding season starts With the breeding season fast approaching on dairy farms, Dr Joe Patton, Head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer at Teagasc, outlines 10 things to consider before the breeding season starts. 1. Breeding start date What is your optimal start date for breeding? On early farms […]
15 April 2024
Cleaning without chlorine
Cleaning without chlorine Chlorate residues in milk are a no-no for processors. Farmers, in turn, are concerned about heat-resistant ‘thermoduric’ bacteria. Fortunately ‘chlorine-free’ cleaning has now proven to be very effective in controlling thermoduric bacteria levels in milk. Bernadette O’Brien, David Gleeson and Lorna Twomey, Teagasc Moorepark, tell us more. Extensive research by […]
14 April 2024
Managing the herd in the current weather conditions
Managing the herd in the current weather conditions On this week’s episode of the Dairy Edge, Donal Patton, Teagasc Ballyhaise, and Michael Egan, Teagasc Moorepark, discussed at a recent Teagasc webinar the current weather conditions and scenarios facing farmers across the country and how best to deal with them. Donal first talked […]
10 April 2024