The Dairy Edge

For the final Grass10 grazing management update of 2024, Joseph Dunphy discusses the 2024 grazing year with Ciaran Hearn from PastureBase Ireland, plus find out how to make better use of your grazing data through the reports on PastureBase Ireland. Here also is the link to the Grass10 end of year webinar:https://bit.ly/Grass10WebinarRecording For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, now that we are in early December, Joseph Dunphy discusses completing your closing Average Farm Cover on PastureBase Ireland along with an up to date set of soil samples. Plus, this week’s featured farmer is Sustainable Grassland Farmer of the Year for 2023, Patrick O’Neill from Co. Longford. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-10thDecember For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

This week on the Dairy Edge, we continue our coverage from the Teagasc National Dairy Conference in Limerick.  The theme of this year’s conference was Robust Dairy Farming for Future Challenges. As part of the conference there were six practical workshops which farmers could choose to attend which would benefit their own farms in the future.  These included:•             Meeting Herd feed requirements next spring•             Successful use of sexed semen in Irish dairy herds•             Controlling dairy production costs in 2025•             Managing young calves for better health outcomes•             Clover 150 – lessons learned from 2024 and putting a plan in place for 2025•             Trends in TB, reducing risk for dairy herds    We hear from the presenters from each of the workshops who outline some of the key messages discussed on the day. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

On this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted rainfall & soil temperatures for the week.  Now that we are in early December, Joseph discusses completing your closing Average Farm Cover on PastureBase Ireland, while this week’s featured farmer is Enda Armstrong, Co. Galway who will be speaking at our Grass10 and PastureBase webinar on the 10th December 2024. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-3rdDecember  For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

This week’s Dairy Edge brings you some of the main insights from the 2024 Teagasc National Dairy Conference, including Áine Murray and Donal Patton, Teagasc Grassland Researchers, who gave an in-depth look on current grassland performance, the metrics that farmers should be focusing on and how to achieve these on commercial farms, even in difficult conditions. Pat Dillon, Teagasc Director of Research, also spoke to James Dunne about improving water quality with a particular focus on the Munster Blackwater River Catchment, including primary actions required at farm level to reduce nutrient loss and why a whole catchment approach is important. Plus Niamh Doyle heard from some of those farmers in attendance at the conference to get their thoughts on the day. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week.  Joseph also discusses completing your closing Average Farm Cover on PastureBase Ireland in early December, while this week’s featured farmer is Michael Carroll, Bruree, Co. Limerick. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-26thNovember For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For the latest Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week.  As December 1st approaches, Joseph also discusses current grazing management and he has a grazing update from John Casey, Co. Kerry. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-19thNovember  For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Dr Aisling Claffey, Teagasc Ruminant Nutritionist, joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss the important practices to remember when it comes to the upcoming dry cow period.  Aisling discusses the importance of assessing body condition of the herd, timely intervention when required and what the cows mineral requirements are to ensure a successful transition period next spring For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall and soil temperatures for the week. Joseph also discusses current grazing management and encourages farmers to focus on spring grass availability. Plus he has a grazing update from Eugene and Eoin Lawler, Co. Kildare. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-12thNovember For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Joe Patton, Head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer in Teagasc, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to outline the factors that will make dairy more robust in the future in advance of the Teagasc National Dairy Conference entitled ‘Robust dairy farming for future challenges’, which is taking place at Limerick Racecourse on Wednesday November 27th. Joe discusses the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that will make dairy farming robust, namely: grass utilised, understanding financials and cost control, excellent breeding, healthy cows, working efficiently and environmental sustainability.  Joe outlines the significance of grass utilised as an indicator of profitability on farms and challenges farmers to look at this for their own farm.  He then explains that cost control is another significant factor and encourages farmers to take a few days over the next while to take a look at the cost of running their businesses. With an internationally-regarded breeding programme already in place, Joe recommends that people trust the science in terms of breeding in terms of milk production, fertility, maintenance and health.  A less clear cut area but important nonetheless, is labour and work efficiency with Joe challenging people to look at taking more time off from the farm. He finishes by outlining that all of what he has discussed will lend itself to delivering on the final KPI: environmental sustainability. For further info on the Teagasc National Dairy Conference go to: www.teagasc.ie/dairycon24 For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

On this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week.  Joseph also discusses current grazing management with super grazing conditions and above-average growth rates, plus he has a grazing update from Michael Walsh, Co. Kilkenny. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-5thNovember For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Padraig O’Connor, Dairy Technician at Teagasc Grange joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss the role of SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) on farms. Padraig explains that the SOP is a step by step guide to completing a task. They are suitable for many tasks on farms such as preparing for milking, milking itself, treating a cow with mastitis and how to wash the milking machine correctly amongst many others. SOPs are an extremely useful way of communication and can help avoid mistakes being made due to misunderstanding. While often associated with farms that employ people, they have an equally important role to play on owner operator farms to help during holiday periods, during busy periods where help is needed which may be family or externally sourced, but most especially in the event of any incident which renders the farmer unable to do tasks with little or no notice requiring people to jump in to help to keep the show on the road. Padraig says that it is as simple as taking a piece of paper and recording the steps to complete the task in question, then getting someone that is preferably not overly familiar with the task to follow the instructions and ‘road test’ them. They may need tweaking and once happy with it, it should be laminated to make it waterproof and robust and placed in a visible location near the point of use. Padraig, Martina Gormley and Francis Quigley have some great information on SOPs and developing them for your own farm available at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/standard-operating-procedures/ For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week.  As we approach 1st November, Joseph also discusses current grazing management and he has a grazing update from Robin Stevenson, Co. Donegal. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-29thOctober For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Dr. Tomás Russell, Assistant Professor in Agricultural Extension and Innovation at the School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, joins James Dunne on the latest Dairy Edge to discuss the considerations people should take when it comes to farm succession. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week.  As we approach late October, Joseph also discusses current grazing management and he has a grazing update from Brian Meade, Navan, Co. Meath. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-22ndOctober For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week.  With the excellent grazing conditions around the country, Joseph also discusses current grazing management as AFC holds and he has a grazing update from Danny Bermingham from Co Clare. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-15thOctober For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Helena Madden, Ruminant Veterinary Manager with MSD Animal Health, joins Stuart Childs on the latest Dairy Edge to discuss the new vaccine against Cryptosporidium, Bovilis Cryptium. Helena first discusses how crypto is consistently one of the main causes of calf scour and then explains how cleaver the parasite is at surviving. Billions of eggs (oocysts) are shed by sick calves but only 17 are required to cause infection!  Consequently, it can be a difficult disease to manage once it gets in the gate. Helena says the new vaccine is the product of 23 years of research which clearly shows the challenge that crypto poses at farm level that such effort was invested into finding a solution. However, it is still only part of the solution.  Cleaning and disinfection of sheds and good management of calf sheds is still important to minimise the challenge while the vaccine boosts the animals ability to resist infection. The vaccine requires a primary dose so it is important that people are aware of this as the final dose has to be given at least 3 weeks before calving to be effective so that will require some planning for farmers to ensure they have the primary course given on time to ensure the 2nd shot is given in sufficient time. Helena emphasises the importance of colostrum management both in terms of ensuring good quality and quantity of colostrum but also making sure the calves get the colostrum as early as possible and for this vaccine, it is recommended that they get colostrum/transition milk for the first 5 days at least to maximise the protection. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week.  As we enter October, Joseph discusses getting the importance of closing the farm correctly and he has a grazing update from Michael Ahern, Co. Waterford. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-8thOctober For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Pat Moylan, Teagasc Dairy Advisor based in Kilkenny, joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge for an update on the current grazing and winter feed situation within his client base. For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week.  As we enter October, Joseph also discusses autumn grass growth and the final grazing rotation, plus he has a grazing update from David Melody, Co. Kilkenny. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-1stOctober For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com