AgriFocus

In recent weeks, cases of bluetongue have significantly increased in parts of England and Wales, particularly the south-west of England around Devon and Cornwall.The data at the moment indicates that the animals most affected in those areas are sheep, cattle and one llama.Naturally, livestock owners on this side of the Irish Sea are concerned about the potential spread of the disease from the UK, especially given that the cases so far detected in Ireland earlier this year resulted from infection possibly last autumn.Agriland Editor Stella Meehan is joined on AgriFocus by Dr. Avril Hobson from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the National Disease Control Centre to discuss the important and urgent information livestock owners need to know.Farmers and herd owners can also help in the research and monitoring of the virus by providing vital information, so tune into AgriFocus to find out what you need to do

What does the rest of 2026 have in store for Irish farmers?The latest Teagasc outlook points to a tougher year ahead, with falling dairy and cattle prices, rising costs and global economic uncertainty combining to squeeze farm incomes.In this episode of AgriFocus, Agriland editor Stella Meehan chats to Trevor Donnellan, head of the agricultural economics and farm surveys department with Teagasc. Trevor outlines why lower milk prices are set to sharply reduce margins on dairy farms this year.On this epsiode he also discusses the volatility in milk prices and why the short-term is going to be challenging for the dairy sector.

Ireland has officially taken the helm of the EU Council Presidency for the next six months.But what does that mean in practice, and what can Ireland hope to achieve for Irish farmers?In this episode of AgriFocus MEP Billy Kelleher chats to Agriland editor Stella Meehan at the European Parliament in Strasbourg about why the Presidency matters, the priorities Ireland is bringing to the table, and what its leadership could mean for Europe.

In this episode of AgriFocus, Agriland editor Stella Meehan is joined by Matthijs Bremer and Manuelle Iamakami from DCA Market Intelligence to discuss the situation with beef markets and the continuing drop in beef price.DCA Market Intelligence, formerly DCA-Markets, is part of DCA Groep B.V. Since 2005, it has grown into a trusted Price Reporting Agency (PRA) with a mission to turn market developments into transparent, independent data and insights that support businesses across the food and agriculture industry.Beef price has taken a tumble in Ireland over the past few months and the impact of quotas in China and lower consumer demand due to cost, are having a big effect on the sector.

Inheritance and retirement continue to drive Irish farmland sales according to a major new report.The latest Annual Agricultural Land Market Review Outlook 2026 report produced by Teagasc and the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) highlights that succession and probate sales "are among the most common sources of land coming to market".This year’s annual survey, the 13th in the series, provides an analysis of Ireland’s agricultural land market performance in 2025.It shows that farmland values for poor quality and good quality land last year were €6,963 per acre and €14,126 on average, respectively.The report also identifies that rental values in 2025 also rose by 10% on average across all farming uses.Find out what drove agricultural land trends last year and what’s the current state of the Irish agricultural land market in 2026 in this podcast with Francess McDonnell and Dr. Frank Harrington, chair of the SCSI’s Rural Agency and Discipline Lead of Real Estate and Valuations at TU Dublin.