The Dairy Edge

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses why monitoring grass supply on farm is critically important at this time of the year; growth rates are predicted to be above average for the coming week so walk the farm and establish regrowth on paddocks grazed first in spring. Plus, it’s important to get up to date with Nutrient applications – the aim is to have 60 units N/acre applied by early-mid April. Meanwhile, the featured farmer is Michael Cunniffe from Fuerty, Co. Roscommon. Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:https://bit.ly/Grass10-24thMarch2026 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

Kevin Downing and Dan O’Riordan of ICBF join Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss the Spring Breeding Guidelines that will be arriving to farmers across the country this week. Kevin explains how the scorecard included in the guidelines can be used to identify the herd strengths and weaknesses to allow people to see where they may need to target improvement. He then discusses the importance of using enough dairy AI straws to ensure there are adequate numbers of replacements coming through to support the needs of individual farms. 25% is required in order to ensure that 18-20% replacement rates can be maintained as not all heifers will go the distance so some surplus will be needed. He also spoke about the importance of using high DBI with high beef subindex beef sires to generate high quality dairy beef stock and emphasises the need to continue using AI until such time as there is sufficient bull power to meet demand. Finally Dan spoke about how sire advice is now available on the HerdPlus app which will facilitate more people to use it. He highlights the benefits of sire advice, balancing milk and fertility, avoiding inbreeding and lethal mutations and maximising beef merit while minimising calving difficulty risk, all making life easier for everyone involved. 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, with the weather improving and a significant decrease in rainfall expected, John Maher discusses the increase in grass growth rate. There's now an opportunity to get more of the farm grazed:· Get animals out (priority groups such as replacement heifers)· Day and night grazing for dairy herd It is especially important to prioritise grazing if:· There is a low level of fodder available (do a budget!!)· Quality of silage is poor· Have a high feed demand· Shortage of accommodation As weather conditions improve, get fertiliser and slurry applied across the farm. Target 30/35 units N per acre to areas of the farm that have not yet received any fertiliser. Meanwhile, the featured farmer is Liam Rochford from Co. Wexford. Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:https://bit.ly/Grass10-17thMarch 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 is a special episode as it marks the 500th show of the podcast. The first episode aired on 11th January 2018, when Emma-Louise Coffey was joined by dairy farmer, John Leahy, and Teagasc ruminant nutritionist, Brian Garry, to discuss preparing for the spring calving season and managing forage supplies. Since then the podcast audience has grown significantly with the series now surpassing one million listens in total. To mark the milestone, we’re taking a look beyond the farm gate to the wider dairy industry with James Dunne speaking to Conor Mulvihill, Director of Dairy Industry Ireland. They discuss the remit of Dairy Industry Ireland withing the wider industry, the current market outlook, what ‘value-added’ really means for Irish dairy, the importance of the grass-fed story, and some of the key challenges and opportunities facing the industry. 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, John Maher discusses the importance of getting animals out grazing and why on/off grazing is the best approach to get going. Plus, getting the farm ready to move and having fertiliser ordered and in the yard will allow farms to take the opportunity spread when conditions allow Meanwhile, Michael Smith from Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan is this week’s featured farmer. Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:https://bit.ly/Grass10-10thMarch 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

Marie Louise Ryan, veterinary practitioner with Mulcair vets covering the counties Limerick and Tipperary joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge to highlight what issues are raising their head at farm level when it comes to herd health on dairy farms at the moment. Marie Louise also discusses what farmers can do from a management perspective over the coming weeks to ensure good cow and calf health throughout the month of March. Topics covered include transition cow management, milk fever, displaced abomasums and calf management. 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, John Maher discusses updated spring targets, getting the farm ready to move, and why on/off grazing should be used to maximise the level of grass in the diet. Plus the featured farmer is Enda Walsh from Oranmore, Co. Galway. Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:https://bit.ly/Grass10-3rdMarch 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

John Maher of Grass 10 and dairy farmer, Mike Bermingham, join Stuart Childs to discuss the challenges of grazing in 2026 and how to overcome them. John explains how February has been wet and people have been holding off grazing in the hope of dry weather, however, the forecast is middling at best for the next few weeks so people will have to make a start for the good of the grass and the good of the cow. Mike Bermingham is on a high north facing farm just outside Fermoy. He has experienced plenty of rain in the last few weeks like many others, but he is getting cows to grass most days and even some evenings now too. Mike explains how he feels the effort to get the cows out is less for him than the work in the yard and this drives him on to get cows to grass at every opportunity. Mike outlines how he is doing this and explains that the thought of what he will be paid on April 22nd for his March milk is a further incentive to get grass in every day if possible. Mike finishes by saying that grass is the best feed available and nothing you can buy in the yard can compare to it. 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, John Maher discusses being proactive and identifying what feed is available on the farm, dealing with the challenging conditions and why on/off grazing is the most important tool available to farmers at the present time. The featured farmer is Shane Seymour from Nenagh, Co. Tipperary. Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at: https://bit.ly/Grass10-24thFeb26 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

Emer Kennedy, Dairy Enterprise leader, Teagasc Moorepark and Joe Patton, Head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer, join James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss the recently launched Teagasc Dairy Roadmap 2030 — a blueprint for where the Irish dairy sector needs to go over the remainder of this decade. The roadmap sets out clear KPIs across profitability, sustainability, breeding, labour and environmental performance. 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, John Maher discusses on/off grazing, picking your paddocks and grass budgeting. The featured farmer is Ger Whelan from Ballinahinch, Co. Clare. Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:https://bit.ly/Grass10-17thFeb 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

Donal Whelton, Head of Agri at AIB, joins Stuart Childs to discuss the financial situation that Irish dairy farmers are currently in and what challenges they may face and the solutions they may require in 2026. Donal says that the Irish dairy sector is entering 2026 from a position of financial strength. Farm debt levels are nearly half of what they were in 2009. Meanwhile, farm cash balances have doubled over the same period. Overdraft utilisation in dairy is currently at its second lowest in 20 years and despite tighter milk prices this year, the sector overall has stronger balance sheets than in previous downturns. Cost inflation is now the primary financial pressure. Total dairy farm operating costs have risen by 46% since 2020 with the key drivers of this being fertiliser and energy and concentrate feed which is up 56% and now averaging 9 c/L of production cost. Production costs range from mid-30s to mid-50s c/L, creating major resilience differences between farms. Knowing your break-even milk price, preparing 2025 accounts early (especially for tax liabilities), and targeting cost control will be important this year. Finally, Donal offers some advice around being prepared for a year like 2026, he recommends financial buffers such as €500 per cow working capital available at start of year and where debt level is >€3,000/cow, hold a reserve to cover 12 months of repayments. Farmers should complete simple forward cashflow projections (even in a notebook) to quantify funding needs accurately before approaching banks. Consider financing capital projects or tax liabilities rather than depleting cash. Banks can offer overdraft increases, term loans, interest-only options, or retrospective CapEx funding to help ease any cashflow pressures people might experience however, it is important that people identify pressure early and engage early as cashflow support is more effective when proactively structured than reactively requested. 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, John Maher discusses current grass growth, prediction for grass growth, plus rain and average soil temperature for the next 7 days. The featured farmer is Stephen Burchill from Bandon, Co. Cork. Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:https://bit.ly/Grass10-10thFebruary 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

Conor Hogan, Research Officer with Teagasc Moorepark, whose work has focused on labour efficiency and work organisation on dairy farms, and Martina Gormley, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, who works closely with farmers on practical ways to reduce workload, join James Dunne on this week's Dairy Edge. With spring calving commenced on the majority of dairy farms it places an increased demand on farm workload and for this episode, we’ll be discussing what the research tells us about managing workload, what practical changes farmers can make to reduce pressure, and how small system adjustments can make a big difference to both efficiency and quality of life. 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, John Maher explains why opening farm cover measurement should be prioritised this week. Plus he discusses the importance of completing a spring rotation planner in PastureBase with the target for March 1st to have about 30% of the farm grazed. Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:https://bit.ly/Grass10-3rdFebruary 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 with Teagasc in Grange, joins Stuart Childs with tips and advice for the month of February. Padraig discusses the management of the freshly calved cows as a separate group. Keeping these cows in for a few days after calving in a fresh-calved group allows recovery, easier observation and reduced bullying. Control of the colostrum group also simplifies milking management and use of available help. Padraig then talks about testing colostrum quality with a refractometer. Use a Brix refractometer (target >22%) to quickly check colostrum quality. This helps ensure adequate passive immunity for calves and flags potential diet issues. If readings are low, review the dry cow diet. Short-term protein supplementation (e.g., soybean meal pre-calving) may help improve quality. With reports of many cows over-conditioned this year, milk fever is a real risk. Padraig recommends focussing on correct dry cow minerals (especially magnesium), appropriate body condition (≈3.0–3.25), and controlled feeding for later calvers where feasible. Milk fever is a gateway disease linked to retained cleanings, mastitis, and fertility losses. Finally, Padraig advises people to prepare early for spring grazing opportunities. Even with poor weather, monitor drier paddocks and be ready to turn cows out for short (2-3 hour) grazings to reduce feed costs and support production. Set up fences and access in advance to act quickly when conditions allow; short grazing bouts can work without paddock water if cows have good access in sheds. 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, John Maher gives an update on the first set of figures in terms of grass supply from PastureBase Ireland. Plus he talks about the grazing management plan for the spring. Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:https://bit.ly/Grass10-27thJanuary 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 is from a recent Teagasc webinar entitled, ‘TB Update – Understanding the Recent Changes for Your Dairy Farm.’ TB continues to be a major challenge for the dairy sector, with herd incidence rising above 6% in 2024. There are now significant changes being introduced through the new TB Action Plan. James Dunne hosted the webinar and was joined by Damien Barrett, Head of the Ruminant Animal Health Programme with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and Joe Patton, Head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer with Teagasc. Together, they outlined the key policy changes, current TB trends, and what these developments mean in practical terms for dairy farmers, particularly around herd management, animal movement and biosecurity. Link to webinar:https://youtu.be/naefVhMC-ZU Link to new TB action plan:https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/d4cfc18d/7784-DAFM_TB_Action_Plan_LR.pdf 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, John Maher has a few tips before the grazing season gets going and he gives a summary of the farmers’ contributions from Nutrient Management Week 2026. Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:https://bit.ly/Grass10-20thJanuary 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

Setting up the fertiliser spreader correctly is important to ensure accurate and even placement of fertiliser. John Corbett from Grassland Agro joins John Maher for the final daily episode as part of Nutrient Management Week to discuss this important aspect of nutrient application and management. Join us on the Dairy Edge each day of Nutrient Management Week for special episodes from farmers and experts and for more go to:https://teagasc.ie/news--events/news/grass10-nutrient-management-week-2026/ 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 today’s episode as part of Nutrient Management Week, Grass10’s John Maher is joined by Mike Ahern who is farming near Ballyduff, Co. Waterford. Mike was the winner of the Nutrient Management category as well as the overall winner of that Grassland Farmer of the Year Competition in 2024 and he talks to John about the importance of driving growth with early fertiliser application on his farm as well as how to use GPS technology to minimise losses to ensure you get full value from the fertiliser allowances for your farm. Join us on the Dairy Edge each day of Nutrient Management Week for special episodes from farmers and experts and for more go to:https://teagasc.ie/news--events/news/grass10-nutrient-management-week-2026/ 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

Continuing the daily episodes as part of Nutrient Management Week, today John Maher talks about timing of applications to maximise their return, the rates to apply to find the balance between driving growth and mitigating potential environmental losses and how getting soil fertility right improves the return from applied nutrients thus being an important factor in minimising potential nutrient loss also. Plus he speaks to Mike Ahern who is farming near Ballyduff, Co. Waterford. Mike was the winner of the Nutrient Management category as well as the overall winner of that Grassland Farmer of the Year Competition in 2024.Join us on the Dairy Edge each day of Nutrient Management Week for special episodes from farmers and experts and for more go to:https://teagasc.ie/news--events/news/grass10-nutrient-management-week-2026/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

As part of Nutrient Management Week, Grass10’s, John Maher, speaks to Michael Carroll from Co. Limerick. Michael was one of the joint winners of the Nutrient Management category at the 2023 Sustainable Grassland Farmer of the Year awards. He won this award for his understanding of managing slurry on his farm to drive grass growth and reduce his chemical N inputs and today he shares his way of looking at and managing slurry to reduce his chemical N input without compromising on the growth required to feed his herd as much grass as possible.Join us on the Dairy Edge each day of Nutrient Management Week for special episodes from farmers and experts and for more go to:https://teagasc.ie/news--events/news/grass10-nutrient-management-week-2026/ 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

Philip Murphy, Co-ordinator of the Blackwater Catchment Programme, and Pat Tuohy, Senior Researcher at Teagasc, join Stuart Childs to discuss effective use of nutrients and avoiding losses. Pat discusses recent research across 100 farms that he has completed on behalf of the Dept. of Agriculture that is showing slurry production rates are about 20% higher than the current regulatory assumptions (≈0.4 m³/cow/week vs 0.33m3). This means many farms that may currently be compliant on the basis of the current regulations, do not have sufficient physical storage, leading to pressure to spread slurry at less than ideal times. Both Pat and Philip talk about how this situation is forcing poor nutrient management decisions as when storage runs tight, farmers end up spreading slurry in poor weather/soil conditions. The return for these applied nutrients are lower and the risk of nutrient loss to water can also be greater so increased storage capacities would help take away pressure but also improve nutrient recovery subsequently. Philip speaks about the role of buffer zones for protected waterways and says that expanded buffer zone requirements (e.g. 10 m near waterways early/late in the spreading season vs 5 m for the rest of the year), risky fields, and wet soil conditions can remove 10–25% of land area from safe spreading. Storage capacity is therefore essential to provide flexibility. Both emphasise that adequate and indeed excess storage, allows slurry to be applied at the right time, rate, and place, improving nutrient efficiency, protecting water quality, avoiding soil damage from heavy machinery, and maximising the value of home-produced nutrients. 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 first Grass10 grazing management update of the year, John Maher highlights key practices to get grazing in 2026 off to a good start and he discusses the upcoming Nutrient Management Week which runs from Mon 19th-Fri 23rd January. Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:http://bit.ly/13thJanuary2026 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