Dairy
Meet the Farmer – Peadar O’Driscoll
Meet the Farmer – Peadar O’Driscoll Peadar O’Driscoll from Churchcross outside Skibbereen is a monitor farm in the Teagasc Carbery Joint Programme as well as being a SignPost farmer in the national SignPost programme. David Purcell, Teagasc Dairy Advisor, Skibbereen, West Cork, has an update from Peadar’s farm The focus of the […]
22 June 2022
Dairy farm employment arrangements for Spring 2023
Dairy farm employment arrangements for Spring 2023 With the average dairy herd at 90 cows many farmers comment that finding part-time help is an issue. Furthermore, some will say they can only justify paying for help in spring and that for the rest of the year they do not need help. Martina […]
20 June 2022
Breeding better beef from the dairy herd
Breeding better beef from the dairy herd With most dairy herds finished breeding dairy replacements at this stage, farmers are typically breeding the remaining cows to beef AI or beef stock bulls. A considerable data bank is available from the Angus cross Friesian cattle finished at Grange since 2019. George Ramsbottom, Specialist […]
13 June 2022
How many stock bulls do you have?
How many stock bulls do you have? Approaching mid-way point in the breeding season, it’s important to not lose sight of the targets. “Easier said than done with farmers weary from a busy calving season, an intensive start to early breeding and getting silage sorted in the last few days”, says Stuart […]
30 May 2022
Making enough quality grass silage for dairy farms in 2022
Making enough quality grass silage for dairy farms in 2022 With fertilizer Nitrogen prices at very high levels, our Teagasc dairy advisory staff have been receiving many queries this spring on the best strategy to keep the cost of silage down. Joe Patton, Head of Dairy KT, Teagasc has advice on fertiliser […]
24 May 2022
Getting cows back in calf
Getting cows back in calf Pauline O’Driscoll, Teagasc Dairy Advisor, Skibbereen, discusses the importance of nutrition for breeding, EBI and getting cows back in calf. While discussing the breeding season she has tips on targets, plans and goals and she lists bull selection targets to keep in mind Nutrition, EBI and Getting […]
23 May 2022
Borrowing from the bank
Borrowing from the bank In the second part of the year many farmers examine what investment they will complete on farm in the months ahead. While smaller investments may be funded through cash flow, the majority of larger investments will require funding from a bank. Patrick Gowing Teagasc Dairy Specialist has helpful […]
23 May 2022
Ireland to host European Dairy Farmers Congress in June
Ireland to host European Dairy Farmers Congress in June The 30th European Dairy Farmers Conference,will take place from 28-30th June in the Rochestown Park Hotel in Cork. The theme of the conference is ‘Sustainable Dairying – The Irish Story’. Over 350 delegates from more than 28 countries are expected to attend the […]
19 May 2022
Using beef AI on the dairy herd
Using beef AI on the dairy herd As we progress through the breeding season Teagasc recommends moving from selectively using beef AI on the dairy herd to fully using beef AI on the cows once the target number of inseminations to dairy AI has been achieved. Nicky Byrne, Teagasc Grange has more […]
18 May 2022
Time off this summer: Planning and Task Prioritisation on Dairy Farms
Time off this summer: Planning and Task Prioritisation on Dairy Farms With calving finished on Spring block calving farms, now is a great time to plan time off, the staff roster, and farm projects. Martina Gormley, Teagasc Dairy Specialist discusses planning ahead and task prioritisation. Martina recommends using a wall planner and […]
16 May 2022