Dairy
10 tips for trouble-free calving
10 tips for trouble-free calving For most herds, peak calving season is just around the corner and about 50% of dairy cows will calve between now and the end of February, write Joe Patton, Head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer at Teagasc. That brings great advantages later in the season in terms of […]
10 January 2024
Risk to colostrum quality from poor-quality nutrition pre calving
Risk to colostrum quality from poor-quality nutrition pre calving With the spring-calving period fast approaching, dairy farmers have been warned of the risk poor quality nutrition in the period immediately prior to calving can pose to colostrum quality. Providing calves with adequate volumes of high-quality colostrum – the cow’s first milk – […]
10 January 2024
Getting ready for the 2024 dairy season
0 Getting ready for the 2024 dairy season Decisions made over the next few weeks will have long-lasting consequences for the profitability for the dairy business in 2024, writes Michael Donoghue, B&T Dairy Advisor, Teagasc Galway/Clare. Most spring-calving herds are now 2-3 weeks away from calving. Hopefully cows on most dairy farms have […]
8 January 2024
How to maximise the value of slurry
0 How to maximise the value of slurry Pat Tuohy and William Burchill join Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss how farmers can maximise the value of slurry through tactical use and having optimum storage facilities on farm. At the outset, William says, if you are not prepared to […]
8 January 2024
Teagasc Supporting Farming in Kenya
0 Teagasc Supporting Farming in Kenya Teagasc currently leads three dairy development projects funded by Irish Aid and the EU across three different countries in East Africa – Kenya, Eritrea and Tanzania. Paul Maher, Dr. Anne-Marie Butler and Dr. Edna Curley tell us more. Combined, the three projects have an overall expenditure budget […]
8 January 2024
Teagasc in Tanzania
0 Teagasc in Tanzania Paul Maher & Padraig French discuss an agricultural development project, titled ‘Maziwa Faida’ funded by Irish Aid in collaboration with partners in Tanzania, aimed at enhancing dairy production research & extension capabilities in the Tanga region to benefit small dairy farming households. Teagasc staff have been working on an […]
7 January 2024
How some farmers are achieving an average 8 hour working day on farm
0 How some farmers are achieving an average 8 hour working day on farm Marion Beecher joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s episode of The Dairy Edge to discuss a recent case study of farmers who achieve an average 8 hour working day on their dairy farm throughout the year. Marion explains that […]
6 January 2024
Achieving 100 SCC in the first 100 days
0 Achieving 100 SCC in the first 100 days Somatic cell count (SCC) is a key indicator of intramammary infection, which compromises udder health. SCC of less than 100,000 cells/ml is the objective to maximise milk production and milk revenues. Any increase in SCC above 100,000 is associated with a reduction in animal […]
2 January 2024
Wholefarm Nitrogen Use Efficiency
0 Wholefarm Nitrogen Use Efficiency William Burchill, FBD Lecturer in Soil Science in UCC, is on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast discussing Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) from a wholefarm point of view but also from the point of nitrogen applied. William explains how wholefarm Nitrogen Use Efficiency works and then how NUE can […]
1 January 2024
Make safety at calving a priority for 2024
0 Make safety at calving a priority for 2024 Accidents relating to livestock on farms are not inevitable and can be prevented through careful planning and task organisation during the busy times of the farming year. Livestock-related incidents account for 25% of Irish farm accidents and 15% of farm mortality among older farmers. […]
1 January 2024