Sheep
Feeding ewes to maximise lamb survival this spring
Feeding ewes to maximise lamb survival this spring Jack Murphy, Teagasc Johnstown Castle, writes; on sheep farms the feeding management of the ewe pre lambing will have a massive bearing on mortality rates. 80% of foetal growth takes place in the last 6-8 weeks pre lambing. This results in the ewe’s energy […]
10 February 2024
Overcoming an abortion ‘storm’ in Co. Leitrim
0 Overcoming an abortion ‘storm’ in Co. Leitrim With lambing a little over a month away, John O’Connell recounted how an abortion storm affected his flock in 2015 – causing an increase in barrenness, weak lambs at birth and additional stress at lambing time. Carrying a mid-season flock of 160 ewes and a […]
8 February 2024
Sheep Improvement Scheme opens to new entrants
0 Sheep Improvement Scheme opens to new entrants New entrants to sheep farming are now invited to apply to Year two of the Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS). Introduced to enhance animal welfare in the sheep sector, SIS provides financial support to farmers for taking extra steps to improve welfare in their flock. For […]
6 February 2024
Vigilance and early detection key in future control of Bluetongue
Vigilance and early detection key in future control of Bluetongue Described as a virus that can have devastating impacts on sheep flocks, farmers attending the Teagasc National Sheep Conference were urged to be vigilant and to make themselves aware of the symptoms of Bluetongue. Addressing both Teagasc National Sheep Conferences in Roscommon […]
31 January 2024
Completing a profit monitor
Completing a profit monitor Catherine Egan, host of the Beef Edge podcast and Ciarán Lynch from Teagasc’s Ovicast sheep podcast discuss financial management tips on drystock farms with Teagasc Financial Specialist, Kevin Connolly. January is a good month to review your 2023 financial performance before you start focusing and putting a plan […]
31 January 2024
Driving productivity and profitability on sheep farms
Driving productivity and profitability on sheep farms Thomas Finn is striving to improve the productivity and profitability of his sheep farming business in Co. Cork. Read more on the measures being implemented on his farm in this article. Michael Gottstein and Laura Whelan write on the top three drivers of profitability on […]
30 January 2024
Shedding light on the key considerations of succession planning
Shedding light on the key considerations of succession planning Farm succession is something that meets every farm and you have to deal with it at some point in time. This was a key message delivered by Martin Clarke, Partner and Commercial Manager with IFAC, who spoke at last week’s Teagasc National Sheep […]
30 January 2024
Pregnancy nutrition – the foundation of flock profitability
Pregnancy nutrition – the foundation of flock profitability Pregnancy nutrition is the foundation of flock profitability, Dr Tim Keady, Research Officer in Teagasc Athenry, told this week’s Teagasc National Sheep Conference. Delving into the vast bank of research conducted in the Teagasc Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre in Athenry, Tim […]
26 January 2024
Farmer Focus: Michael Forde on managing a sheep and beef system on a fragmented farm
Farmer Focus: Michael Forde on managing a sheep and beef system on a fragmented farm For this week’s OviCast, we head west to Corrandulla, Co. Galway, to hear from sheep and beef farmer Michael Forde. A participant on the BETTER Sheep Farm Programme, Michael first discusses his farming system and some of […]
23 January 2024
Drafting and scanning on the BETTER Sheep farms
Drafting and scanning on the BETTER Sheep farms Frank Campion of Teagasc AGRIC reports on lamb drafting and pregnancy scanning on the BETTER Sheep farms. On the Co. Carlow flock, store lambs were purchased in September for grazing forage brassica crops. These lambs were housed for 48 hours at first and went […]
23 January 2024