Dairy

Planning for good grazing infrastructure
Planning for good grazing infrastructure Improved grassland management relies upon robust grazing infrastructure; suitably sized and shaped paddocks with multiple access points, serviced by roadways of sufficient quality and adequate drinking water. It is vital to consider the quality of your grazing infrastructure and acknowledge where deficits have arisen in recent years. […]
18 March 2023

Ensuring the health and success of your replacement heifers
Ensuring the health and success of your replacement heifers Managing pre-breeding replacement heifers in spring after turnout to grass can be a critical component of a successful dairy cattle operation. George Ramsbottom, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, highlights some key considerations and practices to keep in mind. Nutrition Replacement heifers need to receive adequate […]
13 March 2023

The Importance of the 1st spring grazing
The Importance of the 1st spring grazing This week, Sandra Hayes, co-ordinator of the Teagasc/Tirlán Future Farm Programme, visited John and Shane Fitzgerald of Portlaw, Co. Waterford, Teagasc Tirlán Future Farmers, to assess how well the first grazing rotation of 2023 was going. The farm achieved 33% grazed by the end of […]
12 March 2023

How many cows do you need to breed to dairy AI?
0 How many cows do you need to breed to dairy AI? The genetic potential of an animal initially comes from the average of both sire and dam figures; therefore mating your best females to dairy AI is as important as selecting the correct bull team, James Dunne, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, explains more. […]
6 March 2023

Nitrates banding and the options available to you
0 Nitrates banding and the options available to you Patrick Gowing, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to talk about the options available to dairy farmers impacted by the introduction of the new nitrates banding. Patrick explains that people need to optimise their nitrogen (N) allowance on […]
6 March 2023

Headway with grazing on Teagasc/Tirlán Future Farms
0 Headway with grazing on Teagasc/Tirlán Future Farms Sandra Hayes, co-ordinator of the Teagasc/Tirlán Future Farm Programme, outlines the progress farmers are making with grazing in the most recent Teagasc/Tirlan Future Farm Update. The monitor farms are making great headway with getting, on average, 33% of the milking platform grazed over the month […]
1 March 2023

Teat disinfectant – part of the solution to reducing SCC
Teat disinfectant – part of the solution to reducing SCC With milking in full swing, Martina Gormley, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, explains why now is a good time to evaluate post-milking teat disinfectant products. New intramammary infections caused by contagious pathogens can be reduced by at least 50% when post-milking teat disinfection is […]
22 February 2023

Update: Calving and early grass with a Teagasc/Tirlán Future Farmer
Update: Calving and early grass with a Teagasc/Tirlán Future Farmer Teagasc/Tirlán Future Farmer Steven Fitzgerald outlines to programme co-ordinator Sandra Hayes, Teagasc, how calving 2023 is going for him. Steven is farming with his parents near Aglish in west Waterford. This highest point of the farm is 600 feet above sea level. […]
20 February 2023

Top 5 tips for February
Top 5 tips for February Joe Patton, Head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer Teagasc, gives his top 5 tips for February 1. Get calves off to the best start – start testing colostrum quality on your farm using a Brix refractometer (>22 = quality colostrum). Follow the 1-2-3 rule – every calf should […]
16 February 2023

Milk feeding and the effect of temperature on young calf performance
Milk feeding and the effect of temperature on young calf performance The colostrum 1,2,3 rule is considered best practice for the newborn calf, Teagasc Dairy Specialist George Ramsbottom discusses the important factors to consider with calf rearing this spring. Transition milk is milkings 2-6 from freshly-calved cows. Where there are no underlying […]
16 February 2023