OviCast

Shane Moore, BETTER Farm Participant who is farming just outside Athleague in county Roscommon, joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to talk about lamb performance and drafting.    With the breeding season around the corner, he discusses breeding ewe lambs and how this year’s cohort are shaping up.    Shane also discusses grassland management, overall production this year and how he has made...

Sheep Specialist, Michael Gottstein, joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss some important aspects of lamb drafting at this point in the season.    Michael discusses the national kill and type of carcass being supplied and he discusses the expected kill out percentage in lambs and what can influence it.    He also explains the issues with under-fleshed carcasses, both in terms of del...

With another college year starting off, Emma Tobin from Kildalton Agricultural College joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to highlight the different full time and part time courses that are available.    Emma discusses the blended approach to learning from the classroom to the practical side of flock management as well as some of the newer technologies they use.    She also discusses the co...

Séamus Fagan from the Department of Agriculture’s Regional Veterinary Lab in Athlone joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast podcast to discuss Haemonchus contortus infection in sheep.    Séamus explains how this parasite is sometimes referred to as the barber’s pole and how it affects sheep.    With some cases appearing around the country this year, he discusses the symptoms, transmission and c...

BETTER Farm participant, Francis Gonley, and programme manager, Dr. Frank Campion, are on this week’s OviCast podcast to chat about Francis’ system and lamb finishing this autumn.  Francis starts off explaining his lowland and hill system, grass growth and how the lambs have performed this season.  He discusses his reasons for selling off the lighter lambs from both flocks as stores, while Frank d...

Sheep BETTER Farm Programme participant, Brian Keane, and his Teagasc Advisor, James Doran, join Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to get an insight into the system he is operating and how he is managing this season.    Brian, who is farming near Enniscorthy in Co Wexford, first gives some background to his farming enterprise which comprises of sheep suckers and tillage.    He discusses how the...

Seamus McMenamin, Sheep Sector Manager with Bord Bia, is on this week’s OviCast podcast to discuss current trends and the outlook for the sheep market in the coming months.    Seamus begins by discussing current trade and throughput this year to date. Since spring, Seamus explains the impact reopening has had on lamb consumption both on the domestic and international market as well as the trends i...

Patrick Dunne, who is a participant in the Teagasc BETTER Farm Sheep programme, is on this week’s OviCast to discuss the impact of OPA on his flock and how he has addressed the issue over the past number of years.    Patrick goes back a number of years to explain how it was impacting the flock and  the lack of awareness of what was causing it. He discusses how he went about getting a diagnosis and...

Dr Philip Creighton joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss grazing management as we head into the autumn.    Philip starts off by discussing grass supply and demand across the country and the need to take stock of these for the coming weeks and months. He goes on to outline the grazing targets for the coming weeks.    He discusses August fertiliser applications, the importance of  ta...

With ram sales in full swing, Kevin Mc Dermott, Sheep Ireland Manager, joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss using genetic information when making your purchasing decisions.    First, Kevin highlights the benefits genetic improvement has in a flock as he discusses the results from on-farm validations.    There is a discussion on what information is available for recorded rams in sal...

Post-graduate student, Sarah Woodmartin, and Dr Fiona McGovern join Ciarán Lynch on the latest OviCast podcast to discuss ongoing work examining the effect of companion forages influence intake, digestibility and methane production in sheep as part of a wider Grass2Gas project.    Sarah first gives a bit of background to the project before discussing what is being examined, some of the preliminary...

Dr Frank Campion joins Ciarán Lynch for this episode of OviCast with an update of how performance has stacked up on the lowland flocks at weaning.    He discusses lamb performance and its implications for sales, feeding and finishing strategies on the farms.    Frank emphasises the importance of assessing the weight of lambs and their expected finish time at this stage of the season.    Finally, F...

With ewes being weaned across the country it provides farmers with an opportunity to check udders for mastitis and other issues and remove these problem ewes from the flock.     Ryan Duffy, Technical Vet with HIPRA, joins Ciarán Lynch on the latest OviCast podcast to discuss the implications of mastitis in ewes and offers some practical advice on the topic.    Ryan explains the different types of...

With weaning occurring around the country, sheep specialist Michael Gottstein joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss some of the key management tasks over the coming weeks and the opportunity it presents to benchmark performance.    They discuss various aspects of flock performance from ewe output to lamb performance to reasons for culling.    Michael advises as to why it’s a good op...

The Fodder Support Scheme opened for applications this week and sheep specialist Damian Costello joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to explain more about it.   Damian outlines the focus of the scheme  and the potential payment and key dates involved.    He discusses eligibility criteria and maximum payable area plus explains how you can submit an application under agfood.ie and when payment...

Postgraduate student, Mark Dolan, and Dr Frank Campion join Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss some of the results of an ongoing study between Teagasc and UCD examining the potential of using forage diets alongside conventional systems to finish hill bred lambs post-weaning.    Mark outlines the project now entering its third year and discusses the different forages grown, carrying cap...

This week’s OviCast is joined by post-graduate student Lisa McGrane and Dr Philip Creighton to discuss some of the results of 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.    With four years data collected, Lisa discusses what impact these forages have had on ewe an...

Dr Frank Campion joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast with an update on what’s been happening in the BETTER farm flocks. They discuss grass growth, surpluses and silage and some of the management challenges during the past few weeks. With the first round of weighing complete for the lowland flocks, Frank outlines how lambs are performing this spring. They discuss the variation among flocks an...

Dr Natascha Meunier from Animal Health Ireland is on this week’s OviCast podcast to tell us more about the Targeted Advisory Service on Animal Health (TASAH) parasite control consult which is a new fully funded programme from Animal Health Ireland. Natascha starts by putting the challenge of resistance in context and why we need to proactively address it. The parasite control consult is available...

Following on from the previous episode, Ciarán Lynch is re-joined by Dr. Tim Keady to discuss some of the various factors that influence silage digestibility. Tim covers a wide range of factors from harvest date and pre-closing management to heading date and sward type and he also discusses the pros and some cons to wilting. Tim explains the potential to make high quality later in the season and o...

As silage season is kicking off, this week’s OviCast is joined by Dr. Tim Keady to discuss the importance of focusing on quality. Tim highlights why high feed value silage is essential for the coming year and the opportunities it presents. Tim sets the target of producing 75+ DMD silage to sustain high levels of performance and allow for concentrate saving in the coming winter. He discusses the im...

With clover more in focus than ever, this week’s episode of OviCast is joined by Germinal’s Dr Mary McEvoy to discuss in more detail. Mary outlines the role of clover in swards and its potential benefits and talks about the different establishment methods from a full reseed to over-sowing. She discusses field selection, sowing rate and a number of other key factors that will influence its success....

Maresa Sheehan from the Dept. of Agriculture’s Regional Veterinary Laboratory in Kilkenny joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast with an update on some of the issues she and her colleagues are encountering at the moment. The relatively mild winter and spring has helped many farms but it has also posed a risk for various parasite challenges from fluke to Nematodirus and Coccidia which are discus...

Dr James O’Shaughnessy from the Dept. of Agriculture Central Veterinary Research Laboratory in Backweston joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast podcast to discuss Nematodirus disease in lambs. James starts by describing the life cycle of Nematodirus and how it differs from other stomach worms. He discusses how it affects lambs and the symptoms to watch out for and he also discusses the limitat...

Co. Kildare sheep and beef farmer, James Johnston, and his Teagasc advisor Dr Rachel Taylor join Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to give an insight into his system, grassland management and how he is addressing some of the challenges going forwards. James first outlines his farming system before discuss grazing groups and the use of temporary fencing, fertiliser and soil fertility. Rachel and...