Dairy
Statistics point to stabilisation of national dairy cow numbers
Statistics point to stabilisation of national dairy cow numbers After more than a decade of growth, data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) have pointed to a stabilisation in the Irish national dairy cow herd. Presenting data from its Livestock Survey December 2023, Ireland’s national statistics office reported that there were […]
13 February 2024
Taking control of SCC in the early stages of lactation
Taking control of SCC in the early stages of lactation Don Crowley, Teagasc Milk Quality Specialist, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s episode of the Dairy Edge to talk about how to take control of SCC in the early stages of lactation. Don first outlines the importance of a fresh cow group […]
12 February 2024
Managing SCC in freshly-calved cows
Managing SCC in freshly-calved cows Elevated Somatic Cell Count (SCC) is a hidden cost on dairy farms, writes Teagasc Dairy Specialist, James Dunne. Unless a clinical case of mastitis is seen and treated, raised SCC levels are rarely acted upon but high SCC levels are costly. Teagasc research shows that mastitis costs […]
12 February 2024
Farmers selected for Aurivo/Teagasc joint Farm Profitability Programme
Farmers selected for Aurivo/Teagasc joint Farm Profitability Programme Five farmers have been selected to participate in the fourth phase of the Aurivo/Teagasc joint Farm Profitability Programme, which aims to improve farm profitability and environmental practices. Located throughout the Aurivo catchment, key messages from these farms will be shared with all Aurivo suppliers […]
11 February 2024
Reduce milking workload in early lactation
0 Reduce milking workload in early lactation Once-a-day (OAD) milking in early lactation can help reduce workload during spring calving. Moorepark research shows that initially there is a 20% reduction in yield, but when cows switch back to twice a day (TAD), yields recover quickly. By week 35 of lactation there is only […]
9 February 2024
Dairy heifers behind target on a lot of farms
0 Dairy heifers behind target on a lot of farms John McCabe, Teagasc – Aurivo Farm Profitability Programme, has seen many bunches of heifers weighed in the past few weeks and their progress is worrying in many cases. 2023 was a hard year on replacement heifers. July was wet and so was the […]
6 February 2024
The priority tasks for setting up the farm for the grazing season
0 The priority tasks for setting up the farm for the grazing season On this week’s episode of the Dairy Edge, dairy advisor Kay O’Connell joins Emma-Louise Coffey to address priority tasks from supporting cow and calf health to setting up the farm for the grazing season of 2024. Kay recommends that farmers […]
5 February 2024
Assess the quantities of grass on your farm now
0 Assess the quantities of grass on your farm now The average farm cover on your farm is a vital piece of information required to plan your spring feed budget, writes Teagasc Dairy Specialist, Mark Treacy. Farm covers entered on PastureBase Ireland show an average farm cover on dairy farms of 838kg DM/ha […]
5 February 2024
CBVs expected for 85,000 mart-traded calves
0 CBVs expected for 85,000 mart-traded calves Following the publication of over 620,000 genotypes last week and ongoing sampling at farm level as part of the National Genotyping Programme (NGP), ICBF expects ~85,000 mart-traded calves to have a Commercial Beef Value (CBV) displayed at the time of sale this year. In a recent […]
3 February 2024
Keeping calves healthy as calf rearing kicks off
Keeping calves healthy as calf rearing kicks off In recent years over four hundred thousand calves are traded annually between dairy and beef farmers around the country. With calving in full swing on dairy farms, the coming weeks will see large numbers of calves move between both enterprises. Tommy Cox tells us […]
31 January 2024