The Beef Edge

Chris Daly from ICBF joins Catherine Egan on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to discuss all you need to know about BDGP. Chris outlined that there are over 22,500 farmers in BDGP I and the key upcoming date of the 31st October 2020 is very important to ensure that you must have 50% of the reference number of animals, genotyped 4 or 5 star on the Replacement Index. They must be at least 16 months of...

Teagasc Dairy specialist Patrick Gowing joins Catherine Egan on this week’s episode of the Beef Edge podcast to discuss the Teagasc Dairy Start-Up course.   Patrick highlighted the fact that converting to dairy involves a major commitment and sizeable capital outlay, therefore you need to be sure you are making the right decision. Patrick discussed the importance of selecting the right cow type, p...

Soil pH plays a key role in soil fertility and it is also critical for maximising the availability of nutrients (N, P & K) applied in organic and chemical fertilisers. On this episode of the Beef Edge Podcast, Shane Devaney Teagasc Business & Technology Drystock Advisor joins Catherine Egan to discuss the importance of lime on beef farms and a campaign he organised in 2018 in Co. Longford...

If you don’t measure grass you can’t manage it. On this episode of the Beef Edge podcast, suckler farmer Thomas O’Connor from Co. Kildare joins Catherine Egan to give an insight of his farming system.   The farm is run as a partnership by Monica, Tom and their son Thomas. It is a truly mixed farm with four enterprises comprising beef, sheep, tillage and pigs. In 2015, Thomas was the winner of the...

Accidents on farms are a continuing cause of concern and on this week’s episode of the Beef Edge podcast, Teagasc Health & Safety specialist John McNamara, joins Catherine Egan with some tips for farmers in advance of Farm Safety Week.  Ireland and the UK have joined forces for Farm Safety Week 2020, taking place from July 20th to 24th and John highlighted the importance of safety around machi...

Recently appointed Teagasc Beef Enterprise Leader at Teagasc Grange, Paul Crosson, joins Catherine Egan on the latest Beef Edge podcast to address the ‘Grand Challenges’ facing the beef sector. Paul gives an overview of the facilities and areas of research at Teagasc Grange and the two most recognised research projects in Grange are the Dairy Calf to Beef and Derrypatrick research experiments of w...

Sean Roddy, suckler farm manager of the Lyons Demesne farm Co. Kildare, joins Catherine Egan on this week’s Beef Edge to discuss grassland management on his farm.   Last Spring, Sean calved 90 stabiliser breed cows with all stock brought to finish at 18-20 months. By measuring grass on a weekly basis it allows him to utilise grass better. His main aim is to finish all progeny off grass with little...

Producing Irish beef sustainably is important and poses many challenges as reducing Greenhouse Gases (GHG) is something farmers have heard about a lot lately, especially with agriculture accounting for 34% of Irish GHG emissions.  On this episode of the Beef Edge, Catherine Egan is joined by Prof Sinead Waters, Researcher in Teagasc Grange and Dr Dominika Krol, Researcher in Teagasc Johnstown Cast...

Since 2013 there has been research in dairy calf to beef systems in Teagasc Johnstown Castle and on this episode of the Beef Edge Podcast, Ruth Dunne, research technologist in Teagasc Johnstown Castle, joins Catherine Egan to discuss the current research findings. Ruth highlights how results from the previous production systems research have shown that systems where a high proportion of weight gai...

Gut worm infection negatively impacts the performance of grazing calves. In grass-based beef production systems good gut worm control is highly dependent on the availability of effective wormers (anthelmintics).     Gut worms can develop resistance to the wormers used to control them. This is known as anthelmintic resistance. Orla highlights the importance of treating for the correct parasite, usi...

Currently the west is growing more grass than the east, heavier ground is growing more grass than drier ground, newer ryegrass swards are growing more grass than old pasture and farms with higher soil fertility are growing more grass in general than those with poorer soil fertility.    Demand is also very variable; some drystock farms that have a low daily demand for grass will only need a few min...

Kildalton Beef Unit operates a mixed grazing system for the cattle and heifers with the sheep flock and all grazing groups rotate around paddocks.  Two paddocks are reseeded each year and the grass seed includes clover.    The herd operates a 50% AI and 50% stock bull breeding programme for 12 weeks. Billy Fraher does the AI across the herd and between good conception and culling they don’t carry...

The second phase of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme was launched in April 2019 and Pat Collins, Green Acres calf to beef participant joins Catherine Egan to give an update on his progress.    Located just outside Castlemartyr, Co. Cork, Pat operates a mixed farming system, consisting of 28ha of leased grassland and a tillage enterprise.    Having first ventured into calf rearing in...

As we approach the final year of Beef Data Genomics Programme 1 with over 22,500 participants, Martina Harrington, Teagasc Beef Specialist, joins Catherine Egan to discuss the key dates farmers need to be aware of this year.   On the 31st of October 2020 you must have 50% of the reference number of animals genotyped 4 or 5 star on the Replacement Index. They must be at least 16 months of age, so b...

As the silage season fast approaches, Joe Patton joins Catherine Egan on the latest Beef Edge episode to discuss the importance of silage quality on beef farms.    Nationally, silage quality is 65 DMD. The farmers who consistently make good quality silage always have a plan in place. Short and long-term planning is required to maximise the yield and quality of silage with a target cutting date in...

Established in the spring of 2018, the Grange dairy calf to beef trial is headed up by researcher Nicky Byrne and technician Donal Fahy to compare the physical and financial performance of progeny from both Holstein Friesian and Aberdeen Angus sires used in the dairy herd.    These sires vary in breeding value for carcass weight and conformation and are managed in a grass-based system, aiming to b...

As we approach the start of the beef breeding season Dr. David Kenny, researcher in Teagasc Grange joins Catherine Egan to discuss key aspects of a synchronisation regime for a suckler beef herd.   Currently usage of artificial insemination (AI) is low in Irish suckler herds and this has implications for the speed of genetic improvement. In Ireland, approximately 1 out of every 5 calves born in be...

As we start aiming for ground being closed for first cut silage, David Wall, Soil Science researcher based at Teagasc Johnstown Castle, joins Catherine Egan to discuss fertiliser application for silage and grazing ground.   This year, due to extremely wet weather from mid-January to mid-March, a large amount of ground that would have typically been grazed before closing may not be grazed due to la...

As we approach peak calf sale season, Ray Doyle from the Irish Co-Operative Organisation Society (ICOS), joins Catherine Egan on the latest episode of the Beef Edge to discuss the limited range of essential services that marts are able to offer during Covid-19. Over 1 million cattle are sold through Irish Livestock Marts on an annual basis and Ray outlines that there a number of farmers purchasing...

With the launch of the new €35 million Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme Sucklers scheme (BEEP-S) on March 12th, Teagasc Beef Specialist, Aidan Murray, joined Catherine Egan to discuss the details and objectives of the programme.  Please note, the deadline to apply is 15th May 2020.   About BEEP-S The Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme Sucklers scheme (BEEP-S) was launched on March 12th...

As the country reels from the impact of Covid-19 coronavirus, Pearse Kelly, Head of Drystock Knowledge Transfer in Teagasc joins Catherine Egan to discuss the impact to Teagasc Advisory Services. All Teagasc Basic Payment appointments will now be processed over the phone rather than an office consultation. Teagasc staff will contact farmer clients in the coming weeks. BPS application for clients,...

Aidan Murray, Teagasc Beef Specialist joins Catherine Egan on the latest episode of The Beef Edge to discuss the key targets heifers need to be achieving to calve at 24 months. Only 22% of beef heifers calve at 22-26 months. However, this figure has hovered between 27-17% over the past decade.    For more information go to: https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/publications/2018/calving-beef-heifer...

Trevor Boland, a part time suckler farmer from Dromard in Co Sligo, joins Catherine Egan on this episode of the Beef Edge to give an update on spring grassland management.   Trevor was awarded the Grass 10 Grassland Farmer of the year Beef category award winner in 2019. Spring 2020 has been a difficult spring to get stock out grazing with heavy rainfall and poor grazing conditions. Trevor discusse...

Alan Dillon, Beef Specialist & Green Acres Programme Manager, joins Catherine Egan, to give an update on the Green Acres programme and to discuss the key targets of the calf rearing phase.   The second phase of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme was launched in April 2019. This programme is demonstrating profitable dairy calf to beef systems on a whole farm basis through a network...

The Beef Data and Genomics Program (BDGP) and the Beef Environmental and Efficiency Pilot (BEEP) were introduced with the objective of using genetics/genomics to address the decline in key maternal traits within the national suckler herd.  Andrew Cromie, Irish Cattle Breeding Federation Technical Director joins Catherine Egan to discuss how BDGP and BEEP improve the profitability and carbon effici...