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Educational farm walks and webinar

Teagasc will host several farm walks this month. The programme begins with a Contract Heifer Rearing Farm Walk at Noel Farrell’s farm, Rathgallen, Golden, Co. Tipperary, Eircode: E25 F250 on Thursday 1 September, 2022 at 11am. DAFM staff as well as host farmers will talk to attendees about why they should consider Contract Heifer Rearing, requirements for a successful agreement, health issues and other key concerns as well as the…

Secrets of a successful grassland farmer

Learn about the secrets of a successful grassland farmer with Aidan Maguire and the Teagasc Grass10 and DairyBeef500 teams on 31 August, 2022 at 6.30pm. You’re invited to join the walk on Maguire’s farm in Navan, Co. Meath, Eircode: C15 W4C2 to discover more about how he won the 2021 Grassland Farmer of the Year award in the Drystock Enterprise Category. Maguire joined his local Grass10 group and the Dairy calf-to-beef…

Farming for a better future – Teagasc

Teagasc will host an open day to demonstrate farming methods for a better future at its Environment Research Centre, Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford on 30 August, 2022, at 10am. The event will feature technologies and practices that can help maintain farm productivity and profitability while increasing overall environmental sustainability. The programme will cover grass clover and multispecies swards, fertiliser and slurry technologies, biodiversity and water quality, dairy and dairy-beef systems. Teagasc advisory services will…

Hedgerow Week – preserving national heritage

Hedgerow Week is the focus of the next webinar in the Teagasc Signpost Series to be held on 26 August, 2022 at 9.30am. Catherine Keena, Countryside Management Specialist at Teagasc, will talk about best-practice hedge cutting. Ireland is fortunate to have a network of about 680,000km of native hedgerows remaining, but this valuable resource is being destroyed at an alarming rate. Up to 2,000km of hedgerows are being removed annually to make…

Irish pig prices below breakeven for farmers

Irish producers are receiving up to 20c less than €2.20/kg – the price that Teagasc estimates is breakeven. Some farmers are reporting current losses of more than €25/pig. There was no change to the Irish pig price last Friday. Farmers are receiving quotes of €2.00c/kg up to €2.08/kg. European market prices continue to increase as pig supply tightens. The French pig price is now at €2.30/kg while the UK pig price is at…

Meet equine experts at Dublin Horse Show

The 147th Dublin Horse Show opens today at the RDS in the heart of Dublin city. The next five days will be a celebration of Ireland’s affinity with the horse. Visitors can expect to see 1,500 of the country’s best show horses at the event, which is considered one of the top equestrian events in the world. Teagasc’s Equine Department has taken a stand in the main hall (Stand C7)…

Tree budding and propagation event

Teagasc will host a tree budding and propagation event at Kildalton College, Piltown, Co. Kilkenny on Wednesday, 17 August, 2022 at 11am and 2pm. With growing demand for young and semi-mature trees, there is scope for new and developing growers in this potentially lucrative sector. The farm gate value of amenity plants produced in Ireland in 2019 was estimated to be €37.8 million. In 2021 the amenity sector was valued…

Stay Safe with Jessy art competition winners

The Stay Safe with Jessy art competition revealed four winners of toy shop vouchers as reward for their themed entries. The competition is spearheaded by Jessy the Sheep Dog, the Teagasc Farm Safety mascot, who loves to help keep everyone safe on the farm. The initiative was used to raise awareness among children of the dangers and risks around a farm, and to encourage farm families to think about farm…

Informative farm walk and field event

Trench Dairies’ Dairy Farm Walk will be held at Garryduff Middle, Claremorris, Co Mayo. Eircode: F12XT62 on Thursday, 28 July, at 11am. It forms part of the Teagasc – Aurivo Joint Programme. Donal and Liam started milking with 205 heifers in a company partnership in 2021. The farm is a mixed-soil type where 100% of the grazing platform has been reseeded with substantial investment in grazing infrastructure. New cubicle sheds…

Anaerobic digestion plant under construction

A pilot-scale anaerobic digestion plant currently under construction at Teagasc Grange is due to be commissioned this year. The plant will produce biogas using grass silage and cattle slurry. Anaerobic digestion is a multi-step process whereby organic waste and residues are converted into biogas by a group of microorganisms in an anaerobic environment. Biogas could be used as any of the three energy vectors – electricity, transport and heat. In…

Growers should analyse performance of winter barley crop

With the winter barley harvest almost wrapped up, growers should make a point of recording all the details of the experience to analyse performance while the memory is fresh. While some of the later-harvested crops yielded well, many of the earlier-harvested crop performed very poorly. Where crops were poor, try to figure out why this happened from listening to reports from around the country, advises Teagasc Tillage Specialist Shay Phelan.…

Farmers must take steps to manage fire risk

With the recent dry weather significantly increasing the risk of fires on tillage farms, Teagasc Tillage Specialist Shay Phelan advises farmers to put measures in place to be able to prevent and extinguish fires if they occur. All fields, including grass fields and hedges where there is dead or decaying material has the potential to burn if the conditions are right. 10 ways to manage the fire risk: Make sure…

Signpost Series Webinars to diarise

Teagasc is hosting a series of weekly Signpost Series of environment webinars aimed at the Irish agri industry. The next one is on 22 July, 2022, beginning at 9.30am. You need to register online to participate. This webinar forms part of The Signpost Series and will focus on the ecological value and condition of Irish uplands. The guest speaker is ecologist Caitriona Douglas, National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). Register: Here You…

Grassland Farmer of the Year launch

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue TD launched the Grassland Farmer of the Year competition for 2022 in Johnstown Castle Estate yesterday. This is the sixth year of the competition, which recognises farmers who are achieving high levels of grass utilisation in a sustainable manner. The Grassland Farmer of the year competition is part of the Teagasc Grass10 Campaign, which is supported by the DAFM, Teagasc, Allied…

ISH Young Breeders are world champions

The Irish Sport Horse (ISH) Studbook Young Breeders team members were crowned world champions at the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses International Young Breeders World Championships in Ermelo, Holland. The event was held from 7 to 9 July, 2022. Since 2005, Teagasc has partnered with Horse Sport Ireland to provide the ISH Young Breeders training programme. Teagasc Equine Specialist Wendy Conlon manages the programme with support from Horse Sport Ireland and…

Ballyhaise’22 Dairy Open Day – 13 July, 2022

Dairy farmers and dairy industry stakeholders are invited to attend the Ballyhaise’22 Dairy Open Day tomorrow (Wednesday, 13 July, 2022) at Ballyhaise Agricultural College, Ballyhaise, Co. Cavan. Eirocde: H12 E392 from 10am to 5pm.This year’s theme is “Futureproofing Irish Dairying”. Irish dairy farmers have expanded significantly since the abolition of milk quotas in 2015. This has made a significant addition to family farm income in rural communities throughout Ireland and…

Register for breeding conference and farm walk

Sheep Ireland, in conjunction with SMARTER, will host a Breeding Conference and Farm Walk as well as announce the FBD LambPlus Awards on 12 July, 2022. The event is aimed at industry stakeholders, pedigree breeders and sheep farmers. Entrance is free, but registration is required here. Dr Donagh Berry from Teagasc will open and chair the Breeding Conference. The first speaker is Sam Boon, who leads the service delivery of…

Supporting sustainable beef farming – Beef2022

Supporting Sustainable Beef Farming was the theme for recent Teagasc Open Day Beef2022, held at the Teagasc Beef Research Centre in Grange, County Meath. The focus was on the application of technologies that will help beef farmers increase the profitability and environmental sustainability of their family farm businesses. Speaking at the Open Day, Teagasc Director, Professor Frank O Mara, said: “Beef farming is the most widespread of all farm enterprises…

Learn more about organic farming this July

Teagasc, Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine and organic organisations have a series of organic farm walks planned this July. All farmers and members of the public are invited to book their tickets to join the fun and see organic farming in practice. What’s more, you will be able to meet and speak with the producers and experts in this sector. Wednesday, 6 July, 2022 at 2pm You can see…

Conor Hammersley wins Teagasc-Fulbright Award 2022

Teagasc Walsh Scholar Conor Hammersley has won the Teagasc-Fulbright Award, enabling him to conduct further research into contemporary issues impacting on farmers’ wellbeing and health. Hammersley will spend time at the Columbia-Bassett Medical School in New York to research evolving socio-cultural and economic challenges US farmers face in relation to their health, compared to those encountered by farmers in Ireland. He will undertake qualitative research through interviews, observations and focus…

Kildalton celebrates 50th year as education college

The Teagasc Kildalton Agriculture, Horticulture and Equine College in Piltown county Kilkenny recently held an open day to celebrate its 50th year as an education college. Kildalton College first opened its doors to young farmers in 1971 with 29 students enrolled. The following year the Horticultural College opened with 18 students and the Equine College in 1986 with four students. Today, Kildalton College is the largest college in the Teagasc…

DairyBeef500 launched to focus on dairy beef production

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue TD recently launched a new programme – DairyBeef500 – focused on dairy beef production. The event took place on the O’Hanrahan family farm near Thomastown in County Kilkenny. Peter farms in partnership with his father, Thomas, and runs Friesian and early maturing steers in a calf-to-beef system. Dairy calf-to-beef demonstration farms have been selected throughout the country to illustrate key…

Photograph beef farming moments and win!

Capture what makes beef farming great and share your photograph to win with Teagasc. We know Irish beef farmers are passionate about what they do and we want to celebrate their hard work by giving away some prizes! The ‘This is Beef Farming’ photo competition aims to highlight the multiple things that make Irish beef farming great! Entries could feature the importance of family on the farm and the dedication…

New agricultural apprenticeships initiated this year

Teagasc will roll out three new agricultural apprenticeships this year. The news was announced by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue. He added that the provision of agricultural internships in the agri-food sector “is a matter for individual companies to consider”. There are currently 17 agricultural courses available by Teagasc across 25 training locations. These comprise seven agricultural colleges and 17 regional education locations. The apprenticeships are…

Join Teagasc’s tillage farm walks this June

This month’s Tillage Signpost and IPMWorks Farm Walks will address sustainability challenges and solutions on tillage farms such as water quality and nitrates, reducing pesticides, and developing non-plough-based systems on farms. IPMWorks is an EU-wide farm network established to demonstrate and promote cost-effective strategies on Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Walk the farm of John Crowley, Tinnashrule, Ferns, Co. Wexford, Y21 TX82 on Tuesday, 28 June, 2022 at 11am. Darren Allen’s Ballymaloe Farm is the venue…

Higher output prices push up farm incomes, Teagasc Farm Survey

A Teagasc review, released yesterday 14 June, 2022, has concluded that higher output prices across most farm enterprises were the main driver of the increase in farm incomes in 2021. But, the scale of the increase in income varied considerably across farm systems. The observations were noted in the Teagasc National Farm Survey 2021, and are representative of almost 85,000 farms in Ireland. Summing up factors which affected production costs,…

Teagasc National Sheep Open Day – 18 June, 2022

Join Teagasc for its National Sheep Open Day programme at its Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre in Athenry on Saturday, 18 June, 2022 and discover more about the latest research and technical advice emerging from the Teagasc Sheep programme and how to apply it at farm level. There will be a mix of technical presentations and interactive workshops dealing with all the main areas important to Irish sheep production.…

Join the Enable Conservation Tillage Project Crop Walks

Teagasc is facilitating Enable Conservation Tillage Project Crop Walks on various farms across the country to encourage the adoption of conservation agriculture practices on Irish tillage farms. The intention is also to provide growers with the knowledge, skills, and capacity to achieve effective grass weed control. Attendees will look at grass weeds in various establishment systems as well as best practices for getting the best results. The next Enable Conservation…

Join a June organic farm walk with Teagasc

Register for a farm walk during Teagasc’s June series of organic farming demonstrations and learn more about organic production first-hand. Teagasc advisers, Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine representatives, the Organic Certification Bodies, and the farmers themselves will be available on the day. They will answer questions and give guidance to farmers and members of the public interested to see organic farming in practice, and keen to meet and…

Handling facilities can be a safety issue

Following a recent inquest into the death of a farmer crushed when his cow broke through a holding pen, Teagasc Health and Safety Specialist Dr John McNamara says it is “crucial” that farmers check handling facilities for wear and tear and update them if needed. Early detection of signs of wear and tear could save lives. For example, “corrosion can be prevalent where pillars and steel go into”. Corrosion in…