The Dairy Edge

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, and with the challenging week's weather, Joseph Dunphy discusses getting one grazing per day and he has a grazing update from Ben and Robin Mooney, Co. Wicklow. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-25thFebruary 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

Shane Leane, technical sales manager with Progressive Genetics, joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss the importance of milk recording. He also outlines how to ensure efficiency and accuracy throughout the process. Plus, Shane discusses how to use to data to maximise the benefit to your herd. 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 challenging weather, Joseph Dunphy discusses getting one grazing per day and he has a grazing update from John Finucane, Co. Limerick. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-18thFeb 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 McCabe, Teagasc/Aurivo Joint Programme Advisor, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to cover tips on grazing in spring. John first gives a range of scenarios that he has heard from across the country. He encourages people to get grazing if not already. For those who are, they need to manage their grazing to ensure they don’t leave themselves short of grass at the end of the 1st round. John advises to get cows into the habit of grazing by grazing lower cover – this will also help get ground grazed off and growing for the 2nd rotation. Then move to the heavier cover to take it off before it starts to deteriorate in mid-March. This will also aid recovery of this type of ground. Finally John says that it is very important to get early N out in the right conditions asap. The equivalent of a bale of silage/ha is up for grabs by doing it and if you’re not in a position to do, seek the help of a contractor as you cannot afford to miss the early application of fertiliser. 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 getting grazing allocations correct and he has a grazing update from Lauren Kinsella, Co. Carlow. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-11thFeb 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

David Wall, Teagasc Researcher at Johnstown Castle, joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss correct nutrient management use on dairy farms this spring. David outlines how the correct timing, rate and type of fertiliser is key to ensure efficient use of the nutrients available on farm. He makes the point that when conditions are correct, it would be an opportunity lost not to apply the required nutrients in order to increase the amount of grass grown and set the farm up for subsequent grazings. 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 attending a spring pasture morning near you and asks can you start grazing on your farm? Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-4thFebruary 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

Raymond Ryan of Dairygold’s Milk Quality Advisory team joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge with tips on preparing for commencing supply and ensuring milk quality standards are maintained. Raymond recommends washing the bulk tank and the plant in advance of putting milk in the tank as it has been idle for a number of weeks now. He also suggests checking the level of uptake of chemical to ensure the tank and any autowashers are using the right quantity of detergent and descaler. High SCC in February is not acceptable and Raymond recommends people try to respond as early as possible in order to deal with the source of the problem. This may require consultation with your vet as to the best course of action but getting on top of SCC at the start of lactation is important to have good control for the full lactation. Finally, Raymond speaks a lot about the process, whatever the process is, whether it is washing the milking machine, dealing with a mastitis case, dealing with a freshly calved cow, it is important that people put a system in place and stick to it so that it can be repeated consistently. This, in his experience, is what delivers results from a milk quality perspective but can also contribute to the smoother running of the farm during busy periods such as during calving. 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 completing your opening AFC on PastureBase Ireland and previews the upcoming Spring Pasture Morning events throughout the country. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-28thJanuary 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

Teagasc ruminant nutritionist, Dr Aisling Claffey, joins James Dunne on this week's Dairy Edge podcast to discuss how to best meet the nutritional needs of the calved dairy cow throughout early lactation. Aisling outlines the energy requirements required to minimise body condition loss and optimise animal performance over the spring period and how these can be met with a simple diet of grazed grass, high quality silage and concentrates. The importance of achieving at least one grazing per day was discussed whilst also giving an understanding as to what’s needed at farm level when this isn’t achievable in difficult periods. 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 all things Nutrient Management Week which is across all Grass10 social media accounts this week and he encourages farmers to get out and complete an opening AFC on PastureBase Ireland. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-21stJanuary 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

Cathal Somers, Water Quality Specialist with Teagasc, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss spreading organic fertilisers. Cathal gives a summary of the factors that need to be considered before spreading slurry or manure even though the closed period has ended. Cathal sympathises with the challenges farmers face trying to make this decision as it can be a challenge. In an ideal world, he suggests that farmers should try to hold off spreading slurry until mid-February as day length increases, growth increases to use the nutrient applied, plus ground conditions might be better – although he does acknowledge that we can’t say if that will be the case in any given year. If you are going to spread, you need to watch the rate, so 1500-2000 gals/acre, and target it to the right fields, which would, in most cases would be silage fields where the greatest demand for P and K will be and then to adhere to the 10m buffer zones for the two weeks after the closed period has ended. Cathal also says that the 1.5m distance for fencing can allow for a vegetative buffer to grow inside the wire that can act as a second line of defence in the event of heavy rainfall washing nutrients towards a dyke or a drain, so the combination of this with the correct buffer can help prevent nutrients getting into waterways. He also suggests that if farmers are finding themselves under pressure to spread currently, they think about where the excess of slurry is coming from. Is there water making its way into tanks that shouldn’t? If yes, can it be stopped or is additional capacity needed and should consideration be given to this?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 getting soil samples completed while ground conditions are good and he highlights the upcoming Nutrient Management Week on our social media channels. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-14thJanuary 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

Monaghan dairy farmer, Paddy Traynor, joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge to outline his simple grass based block spring calving system that is capable of producing a good economic return. Paddy explains what he does to ensure he is best prepared for calving, while explaining how he manages labour on a part-time basis. Plus he explains how he has adopted several simple practices that ensures a high level of efficiency in the busy spring period. 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, Manager of the Teagasc Grass10 Programme joins Stuart Childs to discuss the grass growing year of 2024 and what we can learn from it for 2025. John discusses several elements that people can control to help drive grass growth on their farms. Getting the basics right is what makes the difference. Soil fertility has always been important but it is more important still where nitrogen is reduced as has been the case in the last number of years. Grazing infrastructure to get grass to cows but not damage ground, was a significant issue for farmers in 2024. This doesn’t have to be elaborate, it may just be a few extra gaps into paddocks. John went on to say that a big challenge for farmers to address in 2025 is replenishing feed reserves. While the extended autumn in 2024 has helped, people need to plan to increase feed stocks in anticipation of the weather challenges that are becoming more frequent. This means farmers need to do a root and branch review of their farming system and establish how they will deal with one of these weather challenges when it comes again. This means looking at how to increase grass growth on the farm, is the stocking rate appropriate, a plan for quality silage etc. Finally, John outlines the fertiliser plan for early 2025 and how it is important to get nitrogen out in the form of either slurry or chemical nitrogen early to get growth going. It’s only a low rate application and it should only be spread in appropriate conditions but it needs to be spread if the weather is right to stimulate growth. 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 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

Hazel Costigan from Teagasc Moorepark joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss heifer rearing and the targets associated with it. Hazel references a study done 10 years ago by Laurence Shalloo which put the cost of rearing a heifer at €1,545. A further study by Donagh Berry has shown that it takes 1.63 lactations to cover this cost and this may have increased since then. Hazel says that the only way to manage heifer performance is to weigh them relatively regularly and at a minimum at key times throughout their lifetime to identify stock that are not on target and react to bring them back in line the rest of the group. Hazel highlights the importance of doing this due to the impact in 1st, 2nd and 3rd lactation performance of lighter heifers in a study she did of Moorepark records from 2003 – 2017. Finally, Hazel suggests that farmers weigh both their calves and heifers and act now to address weight deficits sooner rather than later especially as we move towards housing when average daily gain will inevitably drop due to the lower quality of the diet offered relative to the grass diet currently being consumed. The calf weights excel mentioned is available at:https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/animals/dairy/CalfWeightReadyReckoner.xls 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 autumn grass growth as cooler weather dampens grass growth and October 1st approaches; plus he has a grazing update from Evan Hunt, Co. Sligo. 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

Ronan Mulligan, Teagasc Dairy Advisor based in Claremorris, Co Mayo, joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge with an update on the current situation on dairy farms within his catchment. 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 autumn grass growth as the weather improves significantly in time for the Ploughing Championships, plus he has a grazing update from Philip Donoghue, Co. Carlow. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-17thSeptember 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 and Kieran McCarthy from Teagasc Moorepark join Stuart Childs on the latest Dairy Edge to discuss the reduced milking frequency work that is ongoing there. Emer first outlines the reduction in yield that farmers would be likely to see if they implement reduced milking frequencies. The milk solid percentages increase which helps to compensate for the reduced volume. Emer then spoke about SCC and how it changes when the reduced frequencies are being done. Kieran explains how they manage these groups on the farm and while it is slightly different to a normal commercial farm going onto reduced frequency milking, they still have the same issues to handle when transitioning as commercial farms. Emer and Kieran also highlight what people could do to ease the transition with Emer suggesting that the mindset of the person may be a bigger issue than the mindset of the cow. Finally, Kieran says that this is something all farmers could consider but that they will need to manage their SCC well from the start of lactation. 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 autumn grazing targets as predicted growth rates start to drop and he has a grazing update from Jack Kearney, Rathcormac, Co. Cork. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-10thSeptember 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

Building a sustainable outlet for the ever-increasing dairy and dairy-beef calves coming from the dairy industry is a priority. There is a requirement to develop profitable dairy calf-to-beef systems using excellent dairy-beef genetics and grassland management and on this week’s Dairy Edge, James Dunne is joined by Chloe Millar, Research Technologist with Teagasc, to give an update on the Tipperary calf to beef demonstration farm. 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, Niamh Doyle discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week. Niamh also has tips to achieving adequate grass supply as growth rates are below normal for this time of year and she has an update from featured farmer, Killian Brennan, Co. Cavan. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-3rdSeptemberFor 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. Neil Chesterton, a New Zealand vet who has been investigating risk factors for lameness since the 1980s, and Ger Cusack, practicing veterinary surgeon with Comeragh Veterinary in Waterford, and who is well known for his work on prevention and control of lameness, join Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast. Ger first explains the different levels of lameness while Neil explains the main issues on New Zealand farms and how they are quite similar to those we face here in Ireland. They go on to discuss the importance of patience when moving stock and allowing the natural flow of cows into and out of the collecting yard and milking parlour and how this influences the level of lameness in herds. They also discuss the importance of managing farm roadways to maintain the surfaces in optimum condition to encourage cows to want to walk on it. Neil is a strong advocate of a soft transition from the main road surface to the concrete of the collecting yard and that this should be used for 100-400 metres from the parlour yard entrance depending on the herd size to again encourage cows to walk on the surface but also to reduce the number of sole injuries associated with stones coming from the main surface to the concrete of the collecting yard. Neil and Ger finish up by highlighting key things farmers can do to minimise lameness on their farms. More info is available on Neil Chesterton’s website at https://www.lamecow.co.nz/index.html And from the Animal Health Ireland article by Ger Cusack at: https://animalhealthireland.ie/assets/uploads/2024/08/AHI_Monthly_Newsletter_August_2024_FINAL.pdf?dl=1 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 autumn grazing targets as poor weather and growth rates are leaving autumn build up and grazing conditions difficult on farms and he has a grazing update from Denis & Liam Kenny, Camolin, Co. Wexford. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-27thAugust 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

The financial landscape for dairy producers has been substantially altered during the last 3-4 years with unprecedented fluctuations in both dairy product prices and costs of inputs. Patrick Gowing, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, joins James Dunne on this week‘s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the recent trends in production costs and drivers of profit on Irish dairy farms. 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 autumn grazing targets as poor weather and growth rates are leaving autumn build up difficult on farms, plus he has a grazing update from contract rearer Billy Gilmore, Tuam Co. Galway. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-20thAugust 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

William Burchill, Lecturer in Soil Science in UCC, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss lower than normal growth rates in 2024 and advice on what to do over the next number of weeks to maximise growth. William first outlines the factors that drive mineralisation with oxygen, wet and dry cycles and soil temperature all contributing to this process. He discusses the importance of soil fertility in mineralisation and how pH is the gatekeeper for soil biology, which may have a role in alleviating some of the compaction that may have occurred early in the year but it is also the gatekeeper for mineralisation too, so the importance of lime can’t be stated enough with respect to grass swards but even more so with grass clover. William finishes by explaining the rates of nitrogen for the autumn and the timing of them as well as discussing the role of organic nutrients such as slurry which has to be used by the end of September and soiled water in keeping adequate nitrogen available to deliver growth in the latter part of the autumn. 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 the importance of reviewing where your Average Farm Cover is as we approach mid-August and he has a grazing update from Oisin Gallen, Co. Donegal. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-13thAugust 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

Increasing the level of grazed grass in the cow’s diet is a key driver of profitability on Irish dairy farms, and in order to achieve this, good grazing infrastructure is important to access all parts of the farm area and ensure cow performance isn’t compromised through lameness etc. This week on the Dairy Edge, James Dunne is joined by Paul Maher, Walsh Scholar, to discuss farm roadway infrastructure on commercial dairy farms and how it can be improved. 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