OviCast

Sheep specialist, Damian Costello, joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss why farmers should consider raddling rams this breeding season. Damian discusses the two types used - either raddle paste or ram harnesses - and offers tips on their use and ways to leave it easier to catch rams to top these up. He explains which order different raddle colours should be and discusses how to mak...

This week’s OviCast is a farmer focus interview with Brian Nicholson who farms just outside of Johnstown in Co Kilkenny. Brian runs a large-scale sheep flock and is a participant CPT flock with Sheep Ireland. Brian discusses sales in this year’s lamb crop and his plans for finishing the remaining lambs this autumn before moving on to discuss the breeding plan for the farm and he takes us through t...

On this week’s OviCast, Ciarán Lynch heads to Westport in Co. Mayo where he was joined by Tom Gill and Teagasc Advisor John Noonan to find out more about Ólas Hill Farms. Centred around Westport, Ólas Hill Farms was initially set up with a focus on breeding sales which then expanded to encompass a producer group that now has more than 400 members. Tom is a member and one of the co-ordinators of th...

Head of sheep in Teagasc Michael Gottstein joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast podcast to discuss the control of external parasites in sheep. Michael starts by describing how plunge dipping was common practice on many farms and now needs to be considered once again for external parasite control particularly to replace the use of injectable macrocyclic lactones (Group 3-ML) products for whole...

John Joe Fitzgerald, a participant in the Teagasc BETTER farm sheep programme and the new Teagasc Signpost Programme joins Ciarán Lynch on the latest farmer focus on OviCast. John Joe first describes his farming system with some insights into the type of hill he is working on five miles west of Dingle in county Kerry. He then discusses his ewe flock, the breeds used and how it has transitioned dur...

Dr. Tim Keady joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss the subject of joining ewe lambs to lambs at 1 year old. Tim starts by outlining the potential to improve productivity by lambing ewe lambs at 1 year old, but he also highlights some of the challenges it can place on the system. He discusses the various effects of joining weight on productivity, the use of the ram effect and manage...

Dr Frank Campion and Mark Dolan join Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss some of the ongoing work examining the role of forage crops in store lamb finishing systems. Mark starts by giving some back ground to his project, discussing the crops sown, when they went in and the type of lambs he is finishing while Frank highlights the role these crops have in store lambs finishing systems. As...

If someone was travelling along the Greenore Road in Carlingford on the first Saturday in September they would be forgiven for stopping to take in the spectacle of the Cooley Sheep Breeders Association annual sale. On a greenfield site the sale has become a focal point for local breeders to sell breeding ewe lambs and hoggets and on this week’s OviCast, Ciarán Lynch is joined by Conor McCann, the...

Pre-breeding vaccination is one way to reduce lambs losses and barren rates next spring and is a key point highlighted by Sarah Campbell veterinary advisor with MSD Animal Health who joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to explain in more detail. Sarah starts by highlighting the need to identify the cause of abortion through the veterinary laboratory’s and highlights the common causes reporte...

When new animals arrive on farm they can potentially bring some unwanted health issues with them. To minimise the risk, it’s important there is a quarantine procedure in place and on this week’s OviCast, Michael Gottstein, Head of Sheep in Teagasc joins Ciarán Lynch to discuss this issue in more detail. Michael starts by emphasising why this is an important consideration for any flock owner. He di...

Assessing if the ram team is fit for purpose is an essential task at this point of the season and on this week’s OviCast, Ciarán Lynch is joined by drystock advisor Edward Egan to discuss this in more detail. Edward starts by explaining why this needs to be conducted now to allow for corrective action to be taken or a replacement ram purchased well in advance of the breeding season. Edward takes u...

With the rams sales season kicking into high gear, Dr Alan Bohan from Sheep Ireland joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss how genotyping has improved the genetic information available to breeders and farmers alike. Alan discusses the increase in the number of animals genotyped this year and explains the process and costs involved in genotyping. He then discusses the benefits of geno...

As the breeding season for early lambing and pedigree flocks is starting, Prof. David Kenny Head of the Animal Biosciences Dept in Teagasc, joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss various aspects of synchronisation in ewes. David starts by explaining the pros and cons of synchronisation in sheep and he discusses the role of sponging and PMSG in the synchronising process as well as the...

Michael Gottstein Head of Sheep in Teagasc joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss the role of cobalt supplementation in lambs. Michael starts by describing how cobalt supplementation helps lamb performance and he moves on to discuss some of the typical signs of cobalt deficiency in lambs. They discuss supplementation strategies and the pros and cons of each and how the type of cobalt...

Dr. Frank Campion joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s episode of OviCast with an update on some of the performance and management decisions on the Teagasc BETTER sheep farms as we head into the mid-summer period. Frank starts by discussing current activities on the farms and discusses lamb performance on the lowland flocks to date as well as some of the challenges they faced so far this year and how...

Traditionally in mid-summer the idea of dosing and moving to clean or cleaner pasture in the form of reseeds or after grass was common practice, but with the increasing development of anthelminthic resistance, that practice has become problematic. To explain why, on this week’s episode of OviCast, Ciarán Lynch is joined by Dr. Orla Keane. Orla sets out what the key issue is with dosing and moving...

Mark Plunkett, soil and plant nutrition specialist with Teagasc, joins Ciarán Lynch on the latest OviCast podcast to discuss some key areas to maintain soil fertility. Mark discusses the importance of replacing p & K offtakes from surplus silage and discusses the fertiliser requirements for those considering a second cut of silage with Mark outlining a number of options. He also explains why s...

Seamus McMenamin, sheep meat sector manager with Bord Bia, joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss the market situation so far this year. Seamus starts by discussing the trade in the year to date and the impact of tighter lamb supply on price. They discuss how that has impacted the export market – and despite lower volumes the value of exports has gone up this year reflective of a hig...

Dr Tim Keady from Teagasc who is the lead researcher in Ireland for a new EU-funded project called Sm@RT joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to explain the project. Sm@RT brings together a network of researchers from eight countries: Ireland, Estonia, France, Hungary, Italy, Norway, UK and Israel. Tim explains how the aim of Sm@rt is to increase the awareness of those working in the sheep an...

This week’s episode of OviCast finds out about an ongoing study between Teagasc and UCD examining how companion forages – chicory, plantain, red and white clover - perform alongside a perennial ryegrass sward in sheep systems. Lisa McGrane a postgraduate student who is working on the project joined Ciarán Lynch on the podcast to explain more and began by discussing the crops and how they are being...

Incorporating clover into a sward has multiple benefits in livestock systems and to discuss this in more detail on this week’s OviCast, Ciarán Lynch is joined by Dr Philip Creighton. From recent work being conducted in Teagasc Athenry, Philip starts by explaining the impact that increasing the clover content in swards has on animal performance. He goes on to explain how this can reduce the require...

As we enter the risk period for blowfly on farms, Wesley Power, Veterinary Technical Consultant with Elanco Animal Health, joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast. Wesley starts with the risk that blowfly poses on sheep farms as well as the predisposing factors before he moves on to explaining the life cycle of the blowfly and how that affects control options. He then discusses what control opti...

Farmers should consider examining the financial performance of their farm in more detail by completing a profit monitor and on this week’s OviCast podcast, Michael Gottstein Head of Sheep in Teagasc tells Ciarán Lynch why it’s important. Firstly, Michael outlines how to complete a profit monitor and what information is required. He explains how the income and costs are classified and the differenc...

Peadar Kearney from Co Louth who is running a high output sheep only system where measuring and managing play a key role, joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast. Peadar is also a participant on the Teagasc BETTER farm sheep programme and gives a quick recap on how lambing went this year, what has happened with the lambs in the interim and how he monitors lamb performance. He moves on to discuss...

With lambing finishing up, this week’s OviCast podcast recaps on how well flocks have performed and where improvements can be made and to discuss this in more detail Ciarán Lynch is joined by Michael Gottstein Head of Sheep in Teagasc. Michael starts by outlining why it’s important to take stock of how flock has performed during lambing when it’s fresh in our minds and complete a simple lambing re...