Articles
Your ACRES Plan
Your ACRES Plan Many of the 46,000 farmers who applied for ACRES last November had their applications approved in late March. Once you were approved you were effectively a scheme participant since the 1st of January and the contracted period will run for 5 years until the 31st of December 2027. Austin […]
26 June 2023
Be vigilant of lungworm
Be vigilant of lungworm After a sustained dry period, recent rainfall may have created the perfect conditions for lungworm to develop. One of the most important respiratory diseases of cattle in Ireland and caused by Dictyocaulus viviparous, humid conditions following rainfall create the perfect conditions for lungworm to multiply. With most of […]
26 June 2023
John Pringle Farm Update – Grassland, Clover, Breeding & Performance
John Pringle Farm Update – Grassland, Clover, Breeding & Performance John farms with his wife Linda, daughter Lucy and sons William and Scott. He works full-time on the farm in Kilacloran, Aughrim, Co. Wicklow. Here he gives us his farm update for May and June. Grassland management 35 acres of silage has […]
26 June 2023
Back to the future – developing new avenues for oats
Back to the future – developing new avenues for oats An overview of the Healthy Oats project, a collaboration between Teagasc, UCD and Aberystwyth University, was provided at the Crops and Cover Crop Cultivations Open Day on Wednesday, June 21st. Cathal McCabe, Lecturer in the UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science, […]
26 June 2023
Optimum grazing stocking rate in mid-season
Optimum grazing stocking rate in mid-season Best practice grazing management over the summer months is to maintain pre-grazing herbage mass between 1,300 and 1,500kg dry matter (DM)/ha (8 and 10cm), and target a post-grazing sward height of 4-4.5cm. Grazing conditions have been difficult this spring; therefore, grass quality on a lot of […]
25 June 2023
Growing Organics: Combining a sheep and tillage enterprise in Co. Laois
Growing Organics: Combining a sheep and tillage enterprise in Co. Laois Operating a mixed sheep and tillage farm in Errill, Co. Laois, the Stanley family have just marked their first decade of being fully certified organic farmers. A host of a recent Growing Organics demonstration farm walk, the farm is now in […]
25 June 2023
Beautiful plants which thrive in acid soils
Beautiful plants which thrive in acid soils One of the great beauties of the late-spring garden is the abundance of acid soil loving plants doing their thing. Chris Heavey, Lecturer at the Teagasc College in the National Botanic Gardens, has many favourites and first among them is Magnolia, which comes in evergreen […]
25 June 2023
Beyond Peat, potential peat alternatives for Irish horticulture
Beyond Peat, potential peat alternatives for Irish horticulture To highlight the work being done to meet that challenge, we spoke to the core Beyond Peat Mushroom team: Senior Research Officer Helen Grogan, Technologist Brian McGuinness, Specialist Advisor Donal Gernon, and Research Officer Eoghan Corbett. Peatlands are natural reservoirs of carbon and biodiversity, […]
25 June 2023
Time to consider weaning
Time to consider weaning The optimum age to wean lambs at is 100 days or 14 weeks of age. Leaving the lambs suckling the ewes for longer than this will have a negative effect on both parties, as the ewes will be competing with the lambs for grass. In addition, ewes need […]
24 June 2023
A solution to the pea crop’s Achilles’ heel?
A solution to the pea crop’s Achilles’ heel? Pea crops have been grown in Ireland for generations. However, the popularity of the crop is often dampened by its Achilles’ heel of lodging and the resulting challenges this brings at harvest time. This week’s Crops and Cover Crop Cultivations Open Day in Teagasc […]
24 June 2023