Emma-Louise Coffey, Programme Co-Ordinator for the Farm Manager Apprenticeship Programme, joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss why young, skilled dairy farmers are important for the industry and what the farm apprenticeship course can offer both host farmers and aspiring young dairy farmers.
For more information go to:
https://teagasc.ie/education/apprenticeships/farm-manager/
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses current grazing advice as we approach autumn build-up of grass and while some farms, particularly in the southern coast, are very tight on grass supply. There is also a grazing update from Sean Phelan, from Kilkenny who is investing in grazing and currently on target for autumn build-up.
Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
John Maher, Teagasc Grass10 Programme Manager, joins Stuart Childs to discuss the current PastureBase figures and he explains the idea of autumn build-up and autumn grazing management.
Firstly, John outlines the figures for the week explaining that on the majority of farms, there is currently way too much grass and that action needs to be taken to manage this situation sooner rather than later.
He also talks about the impact of another spell of long rainfall on a proportion of farms along the south and east coast and what is happening there.
Then he gets into the topic of autumn build-up and how to go about it:
· Increase N application rates in August to increase supply
· Remove young stock from the platform to reduce demand
· Silage ground coming back increases supply
· Reseeded ground coming back increases supply
· Remove poor performing cull cows will reduce demand
· Introduce supplementary feeding in the form of meal (may not be enough), silage, zero grazing etc. will lower the demand for grass thus giving it a chance to build
The majority of people need to make autumn grazing management happen by doing something is the long and short of it and John recommends that people farm with ‘the head up’ to see what is happening and responding to it.
For those that do and don’t measure, rotation length is a useful guide and the objective is to move to a 30 day rotation by Sept 1st. This is grazing 1/30th of the farm each day so 3 acres a day on a 90 acre platform for example.
The objective is to build a wedge of grass to graze into in the autumn when growth eventually drops below herd demands which will normally start to happen in mid to late September. If you don’t have it then, you won’t be able to create it.
John finishes by saying that the grazing season starts in the autumn not in the spring.
The week’s Grass 10 newsletter features Cork dairy farmer Con Lehane and can be accessed at:
https://sh1.sendinblue.com/3iqx0f848slpfe.html?t=1754411905519
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
It was another hugely successful Open Day at Moorepark this year with the theme of ‘Innovating for the Future’ showcasing the latest technology and insights into Irish dairy farming.
For this bonus episode from the Dairy Edge, Stuart Childs and James Dunne used the opportunity to speak to some of those in attendance, including Denis Drennan from ICMSA, the IFA’s Francie Gorman and Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon, as well as a number of dairy farmers to find out what they thought of the day and how their farming year has been.
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses current grazing advice as grass supply increases on farms and he has a grazing update from Chris Cahill, Co. Westmeath.
Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-29thJuly
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
Muireann Conneely, Teagasc dairy researcher who specialises in animal welfare, joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge.
Muireann discusses the impact of lameness on Irish dairy farms, detecting and dealing with lameness issues and putting prevention measures in place at farm level.
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses current grazing advice and he has a grazing update from Eoin Corrigan, Co. Meath.
Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-22ndJuly
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
Conor Hogan, Teagasc’s People in Dairy Programme Manager, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss share farming as an option for generational renewal.
Conor discusses the importance of managing time to keep the length of the working day in check and also the importance of getting time off or away from the farm also. This can be helped by being structured in the way work is approached.
This element of work organisation and the potential that it has to create a good working environment is critical to attracting the next generation of farmers into the fold.
Generational renewal is a big ticket item now with people looking at their options and it can no longer be taken as a given that there is a natural successor that will be interested in taking over the farm.
On the other hand there may also be people out there that are looking to farm but have no access to land. This creates opportunity and Conor goes on to discuss the idea of share farming as a solution to generational renewal in the absence of a natural successor.
Conor says these arrangements can be win-win for both parties but that they are built on trust and communication.
Conor highlights the importance of farms being well maintained ahead of the owner potentially stepping back in order to ensure there isn’t a mountain to climb in terms of investment in the business when the decision is made to take the next step.
This can be a significant handicap to the young person coming in as it will undermine the technical efficiency of the business in the early years which is critical to driving the financial success of the arrangement.
Finally, Conor says that people should try to get time off in the next few weeks and then look to the future in terms of what they can do on their own farms to reduce the hours that they have to work and what they need to put in place to facilitate them taking as much time off as they want or as they feel is necessary to allow them have a good balance in their own lives.
The preliminary National Farm Survey report for 2024 can be accessing at:
https://teagasc.ie/wp-content/uploads/uploads/NFS-Preliminary-Report-2024.pdf
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, as rainfall amounts start to increase, Joseph Dunphy discusses current grazing advice and he has a grazing update from Joe Morrissey, Co. Cork.
Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-15thJuly
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
Teagasc dairy specialist, Pat Gowing, joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss farmyard infrastructure and why good planning and design are key to ensuring good animal performance, ease of management and allow for future development.
Teagasc are running a series of events looking at good farmyard design and investment and Pat outlines what will be discussed across these events nationally.
For more information go to:
https://teagasc.ie/rural-economy/farm-management/farm-buildings/events/
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, as we enter July, Joseph Dunphy discusses current grazing advice and he has a grazing update from Sean Barry, Co. Limerick.
Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-8thJuly
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
Emma Dillon, economist and senior research officer with the National Farm Survey joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss the recently published preliminary results for the 2024 survey.
Emma explains how the survey works and how the 300 or so dairy farms that supply data to the survey are used to create a representation of the dairy farms across the country and how they adjust their survey to ensure it continues to be representative of the farming population.
Emma discusses the headline figure that gets reported outlining what has to come out of that for the farmer themselves and that it isn’t the same as the annual take home pay of a salaried employee.
Emma then delves into the increase in production costs, the shift in milk prices that have helped insulate farmers from this rise in costs and she looks at a number of ‘sticky costs’ that all farmers need to be conscious of to reduce their exposure to price volatility in future years.
Finally, Emma talks about structural change that is important for the industry and how this will need to be assisted through funding for generational renewal from the perspective of both the new entrant or young farmer and the older generation that also need security as they step back from their careers in farming.
The preliminary report for 2024 can be accessed here:
https://teagasc.ie/wp-content/uploads/uploads/NFS-Preliminary-Report-2024.pdf
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses current grazing advice as some farms are coming into a surplus in grass supply while others, particularly on the southern coast, are tight on grass supply.
John also reviews where fertiliser nitrogen use is at and what should be left for the rest of the grazing season, plus there is a grazing update from Enda Armstrong from Galway, who is currently growing lots of grass!
Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-01stJuly2025
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
ICBF business analysts, Mark Waters and Gearoid Slattery, join James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss the National Genotyping Programme, how it has performed to date, the benefits of genotyping, some the challenges that have been faced and the opportunity for new participants in the next phase of the programme.
We are also joined by Cork dairy farmer Sheena Murphy who outlines her experience of being in the programme and how it has benefited her herd.
Moorepark Open Day
The Teagasc Moorepark Dairy Open Day will take place on Wednesday, 2nd July 2025, 8:30am - 5pm, at the Teagasc Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, P61 C996.
The theme of this year’s event is ‘Innovating for the future’.
Join us on Wednesday, 2nd July at Moorepark!
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses current grazing advice as some farms are coming into a surplus in grass supply while others - particularly in the southern coast - are tight on grass supply.
John also has a grazing update from Mike Ahern, from Co. Waterford, who was announced as the Sustainable Grassland Farmer of the Year 2024. The Moorepark Open Day is also discussed.
Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-24thJune2025
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
Laurence Shalloo, Head of the Animal and Grassland Programme in Teagasc Moorepark, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge.
Laurence starts by acknowledging that there is a constant state of flux in the world now and that we are constantly adapting to change. This is no different to what we did in the run-in to the milk quota removal.
Laurence talks about the pent up energy in the industry post-quota removal that has delivered a 100% increase in milk solids production from just a 50% increase in cows, indicating the advances made in terms of productivity.
There are always challenges and costs were high on the agenda at previous Open days and they are well up the agenda again in 2025 as there has been an upward shift in costs. There is a need to focus on getting on top of them again and key to that is efficiency and growing the cheapest feed we can – grass.
The other challenges facing the industry include generation renewal as some of the people that have delivered the expansion are now looking for the person to carry on the business.
Greenhouse gas emissions and water quality challenges also exist but are trending in the right direction and can be overcome by implementing the research.
The Moorepark Open day is on July 2nd starting at 08:30am and we encourage all to attend and engage on the day.
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses current grazing advice as many farms are coming into surplus grass, grazing grass covers that are too high and he has a grazing update from Denis Finnegan, Co. Cork.
Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-17thJune2025
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
Padraig McCormack, dairy advisor at Teagasc Moorepark, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss what’s currently happening on the farms in his area.
Padraig outlines the grazing situation in the area which is beginning to get back on track followed a prolonged spell of dry weather a month ago. Quality has been variable but people are looking at removing surplus in the coming week as growth is exceeding demand on average.
Padraig spoke about fertiliser advice from nitrogen rates to sulphur and also P and K where surplus is removed.
Padraig discussed breeding performance in his area which is looking good and he reminded listeners to plan a date to stop breeding prior to July 20th with it being the cut off to avoid May calvers in 2026.
From his profit monitor meetings in the spring of 25, the justification for calving a cow in May is non-existent given the cost of keeping the cow and the return she will generate in her 2025 lactation.
Padraig then tells us about the investments that his clients are considering with slurry storage on some people’s minds but clarity around storage requirements and planning is slowing movement in that area.
Investing in things to make life easier is where it is at with people looking to avail of grants on heat detection systems, drafting gates and calf feeders.
Finally, Padraig ends by telling us that currently, his groups are either planning or heading away on some visits away from their own farms. He suggests that people should plan to take holidays and plan to get a few days off when things quieten down once breeding is finished and he reminds listeners of the excellent day out that is the Moorepark Open day coming up on July 2nd.
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses current grazing advice as some farms are coming into surplus grass and he has a grazing update from John Phelan, Co. Waterford.
Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-10thJune2025
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
James Dunne is joined this week by Teagasc grassland science researcher, Mike Egan, to discuss the correct management of grass-clover swards to ensure high levels of pasture and animal performance.
Mike also discusses the findings from the recent external assessment of Teagasc’s Clover and Multi-Species Sward Research Programme.
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com
