The Sod Pod

On this episode James and Lauren are joined by Lorraine Rossiter our Human Resources Manager in Grassland Agro and two of our Technical Sales Advisors Evelyn Fenlon and John Delee. The group have a great discussion about working in Grassland Agro, the continued expansion and the opportunities within. If you would like to find out more; Email: careers@grassland.ie or check out our current opportuni...

On this episode James Freeman,  Eoin Quinn and Lauren Stanley welcome Matt Thompson to The Sod Pod.  Matt is an agronomist for Grassland Agro covering the East Wicklow Region.  But Matt has a very interesting story about how "the guy from the housing estate" in Bray fell in love with farming from a very young age and has never looked back.  Matt has, this season, also entered into a Dair...

On this episode James Freeman is joined with the usual suspects Lauren Stanley, Claire Aspel and John O'Loughlin. But the newest member of the team Eoin Quinn from County Tyrone comes on to make his Sod Pod debut also. They discuss a handful of topics including the national fertiliser database and veterinary bill.  These are coming thick and fast on us so every piece of information we can pie...

On this episode James Freeman sits down with Lauren Stanley, Claire Aspel and John O'Loughlin to have a great discussion with Cork dairy farmer, Mike Bermingham. Mike gives us a great insight into his own farm, grass measuring, Grass10, Clover, fertiliser and the all important ginger nut biscuit. The Sod Pod;  https://ie.timacagro.com/podcast-the-sod-pod/

On this episode James is joined with Lauren, Claire and John as they discuss the soil sample reports that the department of agriculture have been sending out to farmers to allow them to have a better understanding of its details. A very detailed report and we have attempted to summarise it in slightly more understandable language.  No mean feat! The Sod Pod;  https://ie.timacagro.com/podcast-the-s...

On this episode Claire Aspel and John O'Loughlin catch up with three of our seven Work placement Students as the give us an insight into what they are seeing in farming and their experiences so far with Grassland Agro. We have Eoghan Devereux from The Model County, Wexford.  Tadhg Griffin from The Kingdom of Kerry and Dara Heffernan from The Premier County, Tipperary. The Sod Pod;  https://ie...

On this episode James was tied up as he attended a milk quality event organised by Tirlán so Lauren, Claire and John carried the show.  They have a lovely conversation about many topics facing farmers at the moment from soil health to sheep.  From Clare losing the Munster final to muted microphones The Sod Pod;  https://ie.timacagro.com/podcast-the-sod-pod/

On this episode John and David had the pleasure of being joined by David Wall and Cathal Somers from Teagasc.  As we stare down the barrel of drought conditions they give some really practial urgent advice on what steps are best to take to help manage these pressure points. The Sod Pod;  https://ie.timacagro.com/podcast-the-sod-pod/

On this episode Lauren and Claire headed off to Tipperary to meet You Tube and Instagram Influencer / Entertainer MC Milking It. Mark loves Showing how milk is produced on our grass based, dairy family farm in Ireland 🌱🐄 Promoting Social, Economic & Environmental Sustainable Agriculture 🚜 YouTube;  youtube.com/c/MCMilkingIt Insta;  https://www.instagram.com/mcmilkingit/ The Sod Pod;  https:...

On this latest episode, James is joined by Lauren, Claire and Davy to chat where we’re at as regards farming at this time of year.  They discuss growth rates and weather conditions with some tips to gain an edge in maximising grass returns. Lauren and Claire also give a summary on the latest edition of their monthly news bulletin; Out The Gap. May is one of the busiest months on farm so planning a...

On this episode, James is joined by Lauren, John, Claire and Social Media Farming Influencer Andrew Macky! Andrew is a Dairy Farmer in New Zealand and milks his cows Once A Day. He posts videos of daily farm life milking 320 jersey cows in beautiful sunny New Zealand. The cows are on a all grass system with a bit of supplement to allow for hot dry summers. They also stay outside on grass for 365 d...

On this episode, James is joined by Lauren, John, Claire and Davy and they discuss a recent outing in Teagasc Grange where they all got an insight in Calf To Beef and Red Clover.  In the morning they had the privilege along with all The Grassland Agro Team to be welcomed onto the farm of Morty O'Sullivan where John Maher gave a grass measuring masterclass. The Sod Pod;  https://ie.timacagro.c...

On this episode James is joined by Claire Aspel, Lauren Stanley, David Corbett and John O'Loughlin.  They discuss many of the topical issues on farm today from reseeding, clover, soil health and a splash of GAA to booth. The Sod Pod;  https://ie.timacagro.com/podcast-the-sod-pod/

On this episode, Lauren, John and Davy headed on down to Teagasc Soil, Environment and Land use Research Centre in Johnstown Castle, County Wexford.  A brilliant event took place, The Farming for Soil Health event. James got the easy job of indoor edits and recording from the comfort of Paddy Ryan's pub in Listerlin, while the lads battled the crowds and the elements in Johnstown Castle. The...

On this latest episode, James, is joined by John, Davy, Lauren and Claire. They have a great chat about Spring Grazing and cover many of the triggers to watch out for to maximise  growth rates .  Lauren and Claire have also launched issue two of their monthly one pager Out The Gap. The Sod Pod;  https://ie.timacagro.com/podcast-the-sod-pod/

On this latest episode, James, John and Davy made a visit to Kildalton Agricultural College where they were joined by Vice Principal, James Ryan and had a chat about the college, farming, a splash of GAA and plenty more ! James, a Tipp native is currently in his fifth year as vice principal at Kildalton. The Sod Pod;  https://ie.timacagro.com/podcast-the-sod-pod/

On this episode, James packs John and David into the car and they head up the road to County Laois where they land onto the farm of John Brennan, Senior Business Manager for the East Region with Tirlán. After a quick cup of Barry's Tea and some purple snacks they settle down for the serious business and chat with John about a range of topics including veterinary regulations, calving season, f...

Its Season Two and we are back! This season will see a larger focus on overall Nitrogen Use Efficiency. On this episode, James catches up with John, David, Lauren and Claire, the full crew and all experts in their own rights. They take a look at the year ahead, what we need to plan for and talk fertiliser regulations, slurry and soil health amongst many other topics. The Sod Pod;  https://ie.timac...

On this episode we review Season One of The Sod Pod. Nikki McGrath joins James Freeman to talk about the season and pull out some of their favourite clips. There is also a blooper reel near the end. A huge thank you to all who helped make season one possible.  The panel, the guests, the backroom team and most importantly, you, the listener. Everyone at Grassland Agro would like to wish you a very...

On this episode of the Sod Pod, Davy and John headed down to Moorepark to have a chat with Teagasc Grass10 Manager John Maher. John, a proud Kilkenny man living in County Cork, gives a huge overview on the Teagasc Grass10 programme.  The focus of the programme is promoting profitable and sustainable milk and meat production from grass on Irish farms. John discusses The Heavy Soils Programme, Pastu...

On this episode of the Sod Pod, James and John have a chat with the newest additions to the team, the lovely Lauren and Claire. Both ladies hail from a farming background so have plenty of insight and experience between them! They talk all things farming, grass management, sulphur and what solutions we need for a sustainable future. The Sod Pod;  https://ie.timacagro.com/podcast-the-sod-pod/

On this episode we are delighted to welcome back past pupil Sean McMahon! Sean recently popped the question to his beloved Bronagh and this in turn sparked a very important conversation - where will we go for the stag? This led us on to farming systems and grassland management in New Zealand, regional and farming pressures in the Netherlands and more.  After plenty of discussion and a serious plug...

On this episode we are joined by Niall Laffan and he gives a great insight into the family farm.  From Sunflower, multispecies swards and pumpkins. Kingstown Farm is a family run farm. In 2021 they planted a 3.5 acre field of sunflowers in aid of the Irish Cancer Society and the National Orthopaedic Hospital Dublin. It turned out to be a huge success. Following on from the success of that event we...

On this episode James is joined with John and David and they discuss their recent trip to France.  They visited the HQ of Timac International in the picturesque St. Malo in Brittany, France.  They where accompanied with some of their colleagues and two Teagasc members, David Wall and Michael O'Donovan. The lads also discuss, soil structure, fertiliser regulations, clover and Grassland managem...

On this episode we are joined again by Bernard Furlong, the Grassland Agro Consultant Vet. Bernard previously featured on two occasions, episode seven; The Vets Perspective and episode eight; Pica The Vets point of view. On this episode Bernard joins James Freeman and John O'Loughlin, giving his insight into topics including vaccinations, animal health, calf scour, housing conditions and calv...