Teagasc National Dairy Conference 2026

Join us at the National Dairy Conference 2026 on Wednesday, 25 November at 9:15am in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Little Island, Co. Cork, T45 WF53, for an informative day focused on the latest developments and research in the Irish dairy sector.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Developing Resilient Dairy Farming Systems”.

Click here to register for the conference!

Conference fees

• Industry and Non Clients: €120
• Teagasc Client/ ConnectEd Member: €60
• Student: €30

Conference Programme

9:15am
Registration

9:35am
Opening Address
Liam Herlihy, Teagasc Chairperson

9:50am
Session 1 – Dairy farm resilience – are we moving in the right direction?

Moderated by Grainne Hurley, Teagasc Cork West Regional Manager

• Farm KPI’s that drive resilience for the long term
  Professor Laurence Shalloo, Teagasc
• Update on international dairy market trends
  John Lancaster, StoneX                                          

10:50am
Tea/Coffee 

11:20am
Session 2: Farming in challenging years – building contingency into our systems

Moderated by Dr. Deirdre Hennessy, University College Cork

• John McAuliffe, dairy farmer, Kiskeam, Cork
• Matt Pilkington, grass-focussed dairy farmer, UK
• Mark Treacy, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, Clonakilty

12:40pm
Lunch

2pm
Interactive Workshops

Attendees can choose to attend 3 out of the 6 workshops below

Workshop 1
EBI: Proven technology breeding the cow of the future?

Facilitator: Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist
Contributors: Kevin Downing, Dan O’Riordan and Margaret Kelleher, Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF)

Workshop 2
Best practice in farmyard design

Facilitators: Patrick Gowing, Teagasc Dairy Specialist; Seamus Nolan, Teagasc Schemes Support Specialist; and John Moriarty, Teagasc

Workshop 3
Troubleshooting dry cow nutrition for a better calving season

Facilitator: Dr. Aisling Claffey, Teagasc Ruminant Nutritionist
Farmer: Fachtna Collins, Cork
Vet: Maresa Sheehan, Veterinary Research Officer, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) RVL

Workshop 4
Is 14 tonnes DM grass grown still a realistic target?

Facilitators:  Grass10 Team and Professor Michael O’Donovan, Teagasc

Workshop 5
Matching people and rostering to farm workload, getting the balance right

Facilitators: Martina Gormley, Teagasc Dairy Specialist & Liz Duffy, Teagasc Advisor

Workshop 6
Using key financial metrics to improve farm profit

Facilitators: James Dunne, Teagasc Dairy Specialist & Adrian O’Callaghan, Teagasc Advisor
Farmer: David O’Leary, Cork and member of the 3C South of Lee Discussion Group

4pm
Conference close 

All Welcome to attend