Articles
Future-proofing the farm with solar panels
Future-proofing the farm with solar panels The Dolan family have installed a solar energy system to cut costs and enhance sustainability on their 400-cow dairy farm in Westmeath. John and Una Dolan, and their children Aoife, Shane and Cathal, are dairy farmers in Fardrum, Co. Westmeath close to Athlone. The family can […]
19 December 2023
Silage testing – what the results mean
Silage testing – what the results mean On this episode of the Teagasc OviCast podcast, Teagasc Sheep Specialist, Ciarán Lynch speaks to Dr Tim Keady about the importance of silage testing and what the results mean. Tim emphasises the importance of getting a silage test conducted correctly and early, to know the […]
19 December 2023
Grower feedback wanted on winter crop plantings
Grower feedback wanted on winter crop plantings Following a challenging autumn and early winter period on tillage farms, Teagasc has launched a survey to help identify the areas planted this autumn and to shed light on farmers’ cropping plans for next spring. With wet conditions persisting from mid-September through to late-November, plantings […]
19 December 2023
Don’t ‘waste’ Christmas
Don’t ‘waste’ Christmas As the song goes, Christmas is the ‘most wonderful time of the year’. Many of us will have the pleasure of feasting and sharing beautifully prepared meals with our friends and family. However, there can also be a downside and that is the amount of food waste we generate […]
19 December 2023
Lessons on pasture utilisation and meal feeding to be learned from 2022
Lessons on pasture utilisation and meal feeding to be learned from 2022 2022 was an extraordinary year on Irish dairy farms. Although input price volatility overshadowed much of the year, dairy incomes still managed to hit record highs on the back of all-time high milk prices. With volatility now seemingly an ever-present […]
18 December 2023
Mutual benefits – Cork tillage and dairy farmers work together
Mutual benefits – Cork tillage and dairy farmers work together Ciaran Collins, Teagasc Crops Specialist, and Advisor Michael McCarthy report on Cork tillage and dairy farmers working together in a textbook example of the ‘circular economy’ at work in farming. Niall Canty and his father Denis are tillage farmers and contractors from […]
18 December 2023
The Wexford farmers helping to take back the Blue Flag
The Wexford farmers helping to take back the Blue Flag With the help of the county council, Wexford farmers are working hard to improve water quality in their local seaside village of Duncannon and things are looking good. Eoin Kinsella, agricultural scientist with Wexford County Council and Project Manager with the Duncannon […]
18 December 2023
Recuperation for yourself and your cows during the dry cow period
Recuperation for yourself and your cows during the dry cow period Although 2023 has been a long and challenging year on dairy farms, now is the right time to take back control and help get 2024 off to a good start, writes Tom Murphy, B&T Advisor at Teagasc Galway/Clare. Compact calving spring […]
17 December 2023
Watch: Monitoring body condition score at Teagasc Grange
Watch: Monitoring body condition score at Teagasc Grange Suckler farmers should aim to body condition score (BCS) their cows at least three times per year, housing, pre-calving and breeding, writes Colin Byrne, Research Officer at Teagasc Grange. This means farmers should handle their cows as per guidelines described in the video below. […]
17 December 2023
Signpost Series – Sustainable diets: Balancing personal and planetary health
Signpost Series – Sustainable diets: Balancing personal and planetary health On this episode of the Signpost Series, Pat Murphy, Head of Environment Knowledge Transfer, Teagasc, was joined by Dr. Sinead McCarthy, Teagasc, to discuss sustainable diets: Balancing personal and planetary health. A questions and answers session took place at the end of […]
17 December 2023