Dairy
Livestock safety ahead of calving season key focus of HSA campaign
Livestock safety ahead of calving season key focus of HSA campaign The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) will begin a two week farm safety inspection campaign on Monday, January 22, with a focus on the safe management of livestock during calving season when the risk of injury to farmers increases significantly. In […]
19 January 2024
Calf rearing: Don’t forget water
Calf rearing: Don’t forget water Along with milk, concentrates and forage, water plays an important role in the early life nutrition of calves when it comes to the development of the rumen. When first born, all ruminants are monogastric and so depend on milk diets – be that in the form of […]
17 January 2024
Keeping the milking parlour running during this cold snap
Keeping the milking parlour running during this cold snap After a well-earned break, the milking parlour is returning to action on many spring-calving dairy farms nationally. Regardless of your milk production system, be it spring or winter milk, keeping the milking parlour operational during this cold spell is key. Below are a […]
16 January 2024
CMT for peace of mind post calving
CMT for peace of mind post calving The risks around calving are great, with the management of cubicles and calving boxes of high importance. In this article, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, details how early Californian Milk Testing (CMT) will facilitate early identification of mastitis infections. Having clean, dry cubicles, achieved through […]
15 January 2024
Breeding better beef calves for sale
Breeding better beef calves for sale With uncertainty facing the future of calf exports and the potential need for some dairy farms to move animals earlier on account of nitrates changes, Alan Dillion, DairyBeef 500 Co-Ordinator, explained that the onus is on dairy farmers to breed a better quality beef calf to […]
15 January 2024
Time to appreciate the value of your cattle slurry
Time to appreciate the value of your cattle slurry Joining Teagasc Dairy Edge host Dr Emma-Louise Coffey on a recent episode of the weekly podcast, Dr William Burchill, FBD Lecturer in Sustainable Agriculture at UCC, said that a rethink on the way slurry is managed on some farms is required. With the […]
13 January 2024
Last-minute adjustments to your calf shed
Last-minute adjustments to your calf shed Dairy farmers nationally are on the cusp of the busy spring-calving period. There is, however, an opportunity to make last-minute adjustments or tweaks to your calf housing to improve the health and welfare of your calves. Speaking from a recent Teagasc / Animal Health Ireland (AHI) […]
11 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
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
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