The Sod Pod

On this episode we are joined by Conor Quinlan, Dairy Hygiene Manager, from Grassland Agro. We discuss a range of topics on how to manage risk in the dairy parlour from Somatic Cell Count (SCC), Total Bacterial Count (TBC), Thermodurics, Chlorine Free and Selective Dry Cow Therapy (SDCT). Conor gives a great overview of the issues we can see on farm and simple steps to help resolve them. The Sod P...

On this episode John and David set off to the Teagasc Johnstown Castle Open Day; Farming for a Better Future - Technologies for Today and Tomorrow. The lads caught up with many people for a chat. They met with Ellen Fitzpatrick, currently finishing her PhD on grass and clover in Teagasc Moorepark and soon to start a new post in Teagasc Johnstown Castle. Lillian O'Sullivan, research officer in...

On this episode we are joined by Heavy Soils Farmer, Danny Bermingham.  Danny farms some very challenging land in Doonbeg, Co. Clare.  In 2018 he won the Teagasc Grass10 Disadvantaged Farmer of The Year. Danny is also part of the Teagasc Heavy Soils Programme since 2011.  The farm has a mix of mineral and peat soils with an average rainfall of 1,250mm annually.   Danny is a huge advocate for Grass...

On this episode we are joined by 3 more of our 6 Professional Work Placement Students. They are Edmond Casey, James Downey and Sean O'Sullivan. These students got to be engrained within Grassland Agro and got to be involved in all aspects of the business, from farm visits and advice, internal training, factory tours and projects. The three students on this episode all hail from County Cork an...

On this episode we are joined by 3 of our 6 Professional Work Placement Students. These students got to be engrained within Grassland Agro and got to be involved in all aspects of the business, from farm visits and advice, internal training, factory tours and projects. the three students who join us are Laoise Cullen from Wicklow.  Laoise is in DKIT doing Sustainble Agriculture and will start her...

On this episode we are joined by Dr. David Wall.  David is a soil scientist, biochemist and enterprise leader with Teagasc based in Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford. David gives a passionate debate about the future development of Irish agriculture and bridging emerging knowledge gaps and demonstrating the full potential of Irish farming systems to deliver multiple services for farming families and wi...

On this episode we discuss reseeding grassland.  Reseeding is done for many reasons.  The main ones are to increase productivity of the farm and carry more stock per acre.  It helps increase the live weight gain and creates faster regrowth.  Its helps to increase silage quality and palatability. The first stage of carrying out a reseed is to take soil samples from the area to be reseeded. One soil...

On this episode we are joined by Simon Delaney.  Simon is a Technical Agronomist with Grassland Agro for four years, working in the North and East Cork region.  A proud Tipperary man from Cashel, Simon gives us an insight into his role as a technical agronomist with Grassland Agro. Simon talks about what he sees on farms every day and also gives us an insight into the farming partnership he entere...

On this episode we look at farming for a socially sustainable standpoint.  We look at it from a dairy, beef and tillage point of view. The role of the farmer can often be a solitary position, so we discuss items that can help increase social contact, and increase work life balance. Sustainability in farming has three key pillars;  Environmental, Economic and Social.  The third is often overlooked....

On this episode we discuss biodiversity . We couldn't kick off before congratulating Dr. David Corbett on the successful completion of his PhD , a shout-out to James on his 40th birthday in Paddy Ryan's Listerlin, not to mention the big GAA debate about the Munster hurling championship and Ulster Gaelic football. Eventually we get to biodiversity ! We cover the amazing Burren in Co. Clar...

On this episode we are delighted to be joined again by Bernard Furlong , the Grassland Agro Consultant Vet. And, Guess who's back, back again!? Davy's back, tell a friend This a pica special from the point of view of the Vet. Pica is a condition where cattle eat and / or lick items that have no nutritional value on the farm. The most common observation is cows licking stones. Other examp...

On this episode we are delighted to be joined by Bernard Furlong , the Grassland Agro Consultant Vet . We cover many topics, after an introduction to Bernard and his life story. After a brief heated debate about Clare and Wexford GAA hurling we got down to the job at hand. Bernard gives us a summary of what sort of things he is seeing on farms today from the vets perspective. He also gives a great...

On this episode we discuss the Teagasc Grass10 programme and how to make good quality silage. Grassland Agro are continued proud sponsors of the Teagasc Grass10. Since 2017 the Grass10 campaign aims to promote sustainable grassland excellence on Irish livestock farms. The primary objective of the Grass10 Campaign was to utilise 10 tonnes of grass DM/ha/year using 10 grazings per paddock on grassla...

On this episode we discuss clover, and some of the long and short term solutions we can take for reducing nitrogen application with its use. In farming, white clover is the most commonly sown legume species in temperate grassland. White clover grows really well in association with grass. It is tolerant of grazing and can grow over a fairly wide range of climatic conditions.  Red clover can be sown...

On this episode we discuss grassland management and breeding preparation. As we step into 2nd round grazing we cover some key points to look out for and tips to maximise this, including grass measuring weekly and getting out and walking your farm to visually assess growth rates and ground conditions.  "Get down on your knees and grab the sward; two and a half fists is about a 1200 cover.&quot...

On this episode we discuss some recommendations on how to maximise and best prepare for first cut silage. Farming and agriculture is facing some huge challenges this year.  Managing the nutrient value of chemical fertiliser and slurry to maximise their use has never been more imporatant.   Also the benefit and importance of grazing out.  Phosphorus is so important for tillering. We discuss the ben...

On this episode we discuss bulk density and fertiliser calibration to maximise your fertiliser spreading ability. Bulk density is a major factor affecting the spreading ability of a particular fertiliser product. Bulk density is the weight of a given volume of fertiliser and measures how heavy a fertiliser is.  For example, urea has a bulk density of 0.76 (760 g per 1 litre of volume); CAN has a b...

On this episode we discuss, The Grassland Agro soil sustainability programme. We cover the steps to the programme from Soil Sampling, Fertiliser Planning, Silage Measuring, Soil Biology Assessment and Soil Structure Assessment. Find out more about the programme here; https://ie.timacagro.com/2022/02/18/soil-sustainability-program/ #FarmTheFuture The Sod Pod;  https://ie.timacagro.com/podcast-the-s...

The Sod Pod, brought to you by Grassland Agro. This is a prelaunch podcast to get to know the panel.  Over the season we will chat and debate many topics from, soil health, fertiliser, dairy, beef, tillage, sustainable agriculture, nutrient management, animal remedies etc etc. Grassland Agro is a manufacturer specialising in soil, plant and animal nutrition / welfare. The Sod Pod;  https://ie.tima...