OviCast

Conditions during March have been difficult and has thrown up many challenges for farmers.    On this week's OviCast podcast, we’re joined by Teagasc’s Head of Sheep, Michael Gottstein, to discuss this in more detail and offer some advice on how to manage things through this period for those at different stages - from those lambed in early March, to those currently lambing and with outdoor lambing...

Having access to some source of hot water in the farmyard is essential, especially in spring.    For some farms however, there is a requirement to supply larger volumes either for artificial rearing of lambs or calves or for general farm use.    So what are the options and which suits best? This week’s OviCast is joined by Teagasc Researcher, Dr John Upton, to shed some light on this topic.    Joh...

Sheep specialist, Michael Gottstein, is on this week’s OviCast podcast to talk about diagnosing and treating hypothermia in lambs.    Michael explains what hypothermia is, the symptoms and predisposing factors.    They discuss steps involved to warm these lambs up to normal body temperature based on age, severity and the type of energy source required.    Michael explains why and how to use the gl...

Dr Emer Kennedy joins Ciarán Lynch on this latest OviCast podcast to talk about some key aspects of colostrum management on farms.    Emer explains the importance of colostrum in newborn ruminants and discusses the importance of hygiene during the collection process, storage both fresh and frozen of the colostrum, as well as the correct thawing procedure.    Emer highlights the impact management h...

County Antrim veterinarian and sheep farmer, Paul Crawford, who is also the chairman of the Northern Ireland Sheep Scab Group joins us on the latest OviCast podcast to discuss sheep scab.   Paul starts by explaining what causes sheep scab, the clinical symptoms and how to diagnose it in flocks.    We discuss the routes of transmission and risk factors for the spread of mites before Paul takes us t...

In this bonus episode from a recent Let’s Talk Sheep webinar, you'll hear from veterinarian Charles Chavasse who is the Area Veterinary Manager with Zoetis.    Charles describes what the different clostridial diseases are and how they affect the animal.    He goes on to explain the vaccination process adding some useful tips and highlights some common pitfalls.    Charles also takes questions subm...

This week’s OviCast podcast is from a recent Let’s Talk Sheep webinar with Maresa Sheehan who is based in the DAFM RVL in county Kilkenny.    Maresa talks about the flock health issues that they observe in the lab each spring, what causes them and explains what approach to take when issues occur.    She goes on to discuss the thin ewe survey which is a new project being run by the RVLs across the...

Teagasc Soil & Plant Nutrition Specialist, Mark Plunkett, joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast podcast to discuss fertiliser planning this spring.    With fertiliser costs remaining high, Mark starts by explaining timing, location and rate of nitrogen application this spring with Mark highlighting the crops’ requirements at present.    He discusses the P & K requirements and how this...

For the latest OviCast podcast, Ciarán Lynch discusses late pregnancy nutrition with Dr Tim Keady.    Tim discusses the impact of nutrition on performance in the weeks before lambing and Tim explains the increase in foetal growth that occurs during these final weeks of gestation and the impact this has on the ewe’s energy demand and intake.    He discusses concentrate price and why it’s essential...

On this week’s OviCast podcast Ciarán Lynch caught up with Dr Dave Leathwick following this year’s National Sheep Conference.  Dave, who is principal scientist in parasitology at the Pastoral Agricultural Research Centre in New Zealand, has for almost 35 years been researching nematode parasites of grazing livestock, with a focus on their biology and control, and the development and management of...

Seamus McMenamin, Sector Manager with Bord Bia, joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast podcast with an update on the current market trends.  Seamus first discusses the throughput in the back end of 2022 and the carryover  of lambs into this year before moving on to some of the challenges seen in the current trade and lamb consumption figures in our main markets as well as the domestic trade.  S...

Dr Tim Keady joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast podcast to discuss managing ewe lamb replacements and the influence that has on their subsequent productivity.  Tim first outlines the various sources of replacements in the national flocks. With the majority of these replacements not entering flocks until 18-19 months of age, he discusses the various factors during the rearing phase that infl...

For the latest OviCast podcast, Ciarán Lynch is joined by county Leitrim farmer, John O’Connell, who is a participant in the Teagasc Signpost programme.    John discusses what’s been happening on the farm in the past few weeks as he has housed the ewe flock.    He also talks about grazing management this autumn and some of the challenges and benefits of winter grazing off farm.    John explain mai...

Sheep Specialists, Michael Gottstein and Damian Costello, join Ciarán Lynch on the latest OviCast podcast to discuss the sheep farming year and look ahead to what’s in store for 2023.    Michael first looks back at 2022 and some of the challenges it posed discussing how some farms were better able to adapt to these challenges and what made their systems more resilient.    Damian discusses some key...

Dr. Frank Campion and postgraduate student, Mark Dolan, join Ciarán Lynch on the latest OviCast podcast with an update on the ongoing work examining finishing hill-bred lambs on a range of forage crops.  Mark first gives the background to the project and what crops they are grazing, followed by an update on crop yield and utilisation this year and the reason for some of the differences observed. ...

Teagasc Advisor, Serena Gibbons, is on this week’s OviCast podcast to discuss farm safety this winter.  Serena first discusses the recent data from the Teagasc National Farm Survey (NFS) highlighting the number and location of accidents on farms.  She highlights the extra challenges the recent cold snap poses and has some practical tips to deal with it as well as the need for some caution around r...

Michael Gottstein, Teagasc's Head of Sheep, joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast podcast to discuss the new Sheep Improvement Scheme launched by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.    Michael starts by outlining the timeframe for the scheme and the payments available.  He discusses how to apply for the scheme and the options for new entrants.    He explains how the reference n...

Dr. James O’Shaughnessy from the Dept. of Agriculture Central Veterinary Research Laboratory in Backweston joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast podcast for a broad discussion on the risk fluke poses this winter.    James describes the impact it has on animal health from acute to chronic infection and discusses the forecasted fluke risk for this winter and how that can vary across the country...

Dr Tim Keady is on this week’s OviCast podcast to discuss some key aspects of finishing lambs in the latter half of the season.    Tim gives some context on the numbers finished in the latter half of the season and the levels of performance achieved at grass in late autumn along with the impact of concentrate supplementation.    He also discusses indoor finishing systems and some of the key consid...

David Coen from Sheep Ireland joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to explain genotyping rams.    David outlines the benefits of genotyping rams and the kind of information it can provide from scrapie genotypes to parentage verification to genomic evaluations.  David and Ciarán also discuss the processes and costs involved for producers.    David then explains the ram genotype task in the Pro...

Teagasc advisor, David Argue, joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast podcast to discuss some important aspects of ram lamb management as the breeding season draws to a close.    Management during the first season can have an impact on ram longevity, David begins by emphasising the importance of having rams acclimatised prior to turnout.    He discusses management of ram lambs during the breedin...

Sean Godfrey from Sheep Ireland is on this week’s OviCast podcast with an update on what’s happening in the Central Progeny Test (CPT) farms.     Sean first explains the role of the CPT flocks and the other sources of commercial data that goes into the evaluations.    He discusses the number of ewes and rams involved, plus the mating strategy on the farms from the use of cervical AI to mob mating...

As part of Sustainability Week, Teagasc advisor Tom Coll joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast podcast to discuss the 12 steps from the Teagasc Signpost team to reduce gaseous emissions on sheep farms.    Tom starts by highlighting how some of these steps will require a change of mindset, others are common practice on sheep farms which will not only have environmental benefits but will also re...

Teagasc sheep specialist, Damian Costello, joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast with key tips around ram management during the mating period.    Firstly, Damian emphasises the need to make sure the ram is physically sound and any aliments are addressed prior to turnout and how this could impact ram fertility.     Damian talks about the use of raddle and the need to observe mating activity and...

Dr Philip Creighton is on this week’s OviCast to discuss some key aspects of grazing management this autumn.    Philip first talks about current grazing conditions and supply on farms as well as some of the challenges this autumn.    He then discusses the closing plan and how this may need to be modified on farms where supplies are tight.    Philip explains how clover or multi species swards may h...