The Dairy Edge

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 newslette...

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. ...

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 A...

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-podca...

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/th...

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...

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 appro...

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-podcas...

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 nat...

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 i...

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 th...

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...

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 e...

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 al...

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 indust...

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...

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...

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-ed...

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 pa...

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses current grazing advice as some farms are coming into surplus grass, plus he has a grazing update from Tim Walsh in Co. Kerry.   Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-3rdJune   For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-po...

Irish dairy farms are making huge progress when it comes to improving their sustainability metrics, with the Teagasc/FBD Environmental Sustainability Awards highlighting the farms which are leaders in this regard.    For this week’s Dairy Edge, James Dunne is joined by dairy farmer, Brendan Walsh, who was the overall winner in 2024.    Brendan outlines how he farms to meet high levels of performan...

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses current grazing advice as growth rates are expected to bounce back with rainfall received, plus he has a grazing update from Killian Brennan, Co. Cavan.   Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-27thMay   For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/anim...

Teagasc Grass10 Programme Manager, John Maher, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss managing mid-season grass quality.    John outlines the significance of getting grass quality right with 40% of the milk being produced in May, June and July.   He talks about why grass management is difficult, because it doesn’t grow consistently with as much grass growing in the last 7 days of...

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, with rainfall amounts variable throughout the country, Joseph Dunphy discusses current grazing advice and has a grazing update from Michael Walsh, Co. Laois.   Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-20thMay   For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy...

Costs over the last number of years in running a commercial dairy farm have increased significantly, albeit farm gate milk prices are higher than the long term average, and it’s important that investment decisions are made that benefit the business in the long term.     Teagasc farm management specialist, Kevin Connolly, joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss and explain why farmer...