Teagasc Dairy specialist Patrick Gowing joins Catherine Egan on this week’s episode of the Beef Edge podcast to discuss the Teagasc Dairy Start-Up course. Patrick highlighted the fact that converting to dairy involves a major commitment and sizeable capital outlay, therefore you need to be sure you are making the right decision. Patrick discussed the importance of selecting the right cow type, parlour, infrastructure and capital budget. The six day course starts this autumn and the locations of ...
Aug 05, 2020•16 min•Ep. 28
Soil pH plays a key role in soil fertility and it is also critical for maximising the availability of nutrients (N, P & K) applied in organic and chemical fertilisers. On this episode of the Beef Edge Podcast, Shane Devaney Teagasc Business & Technology Drystock Advisor joins Catherine Egan to discuss the importance of lime on beef farms and a campaign he organised in 2018 in Co. Longford ‘Time 2 Lime’. Shane highlights the fact that lime is continually being lost from the soil and needs...
Jul 29, 2020•14 min•Ep. 27
If you don’t measure grass you can’t manage it. On this episode of the Beef Edge podcast, suckler farmer Thomas O’Connor from Co. Kildare joins Catherine Egan to give an insight of his farming system. The farm is run as a partnership by Monica, Tom and their son Thomas. It is a truly mixed farm with four enterprises comprising beef, sheep, tillage and pigs. In 2015, Thomas was the winner of the FBD Young Beef Farmer of the Year Award. The beef enterprise consists of 70 suckler cows with all-male...
Jul 22, 2020•15 min•Ep. 26
Accidents on farms are a continuing cause of concern and on this week’s episode of the Beef Edge podcast, Teagasc Health & Safety specialist John McNamara, joins Catherine Egan with some tips for farmers in advance of Farm Safety Week. Ireland and the UK have joined forces for Farm Safety Week 2020, taking place from July 20th to 24th and John highlighted the importance of safety around machinery and livestock. As farmers undertake maintenance work at a height, an assessment of the task need...
Jul 15, 2020•18 min•Ep. 25
Recently appointed Teagasc Beef Enterprise Leader at Teagasc Grange, Paul Crosson, joins Catherine Egan on the latest Beef Edge podcast to address the ‘Grand Challenges’ facing the beef sector. Paul gives an overview of the facilities and areas of research at Teagasc Grange and the two most recognised research projects in Grange are the Dairy Calf to Beef and Derrypatrick research experiments of which Paul gives a progress update. Obviously the Common Agricultural Policy accounts for over 100% o...
Jul 08, 2020•21 min•Ep. 24
Sean Roddy, suckler farm manager of the Lyons Demesne farm Co. Kildare, joins Catherine Egan on this week’s Beef Edge to discuss grassland management on his farm. Last Spring, Sean calved 90 stabiliser breed cows with all stock brought to finish at 18-20 months. By measuring grass on a weekly basis it allows him to utilise grass better. His main aim is to finish all progeny off grass with little or no concentrates. Sean’s excellent grazing management on the farm is evident in the high animal wei...
Jul 01, 2020•13 min•Ep. 23
Producing Irish beef sustainably is important and poses many challenges as reducing Greenhouse Gases (GHG) is something farmers have heard about a lot lately, especially with agriculture accounting for 34% of Irish GHG emissions. On this episode of the Beef Edge, Catherine Egan is joined by Prof Sinead Waters, Researcher in Teagasc Grange and Dr Dominika Krol, Researcher in Teagasc Johnstown Castle to find out more. One of the mitigation measures is protected urea as it reduces losses of both am...
Jun 24, 2020•22 min•Ep. 22
Since 2013 there has been research in dairy calf to beef systems in Teagasc Johnstown Castle and on this episode of the Beef Edge Podcast, Ruth Dunne, research technologist in Teagasc Johnstown Castle, joins Catherine Egan to discuss the current research findings. Ruth highlights how results from the previous production systems research have shown that systems where a high proportion of weight gain was achieved from grazed grass were the most profitable. Current trials are investigating optimum ...
Jun 17, 2020•13 min•Ep. 21
Gut worm infection negatively impacts the performance of grazing calves. In grass-based beef production systems good gut worm control is highly dependent on the availability of effective wormers (anthelmintics). Gut worms can develop resistance to the wormers used to control them. This is known as anthelmintic resistance. Orla highlights the importance of treating for the correct parasite, using the correct product and administering the correct rate of dose for the product. Orla gives her opinio...
Jun 10, 2020•17 min•Ep. 20
Currently the west is growing more grass than the east, heavier ground is growing more grass than drier ground, newer ryegrass swards are growing more grass than old pasture and farms with higher soil fertility are growing more grass in general than those with poorer soil fertility. Demand is also very variable; some drystock farms that have a low daily demand for grass will only need a few minor tweaks while others have a very high demand so each farmer needs to look at their own individual sit...
Jun 03, 2020•21 min•Ep. 19
Kildalton Beef Unit operates a mixed grazing system for the cattle and heifers with the sheep flock and all grazing groups rotate around paddocks. Two paddocks are reseeded each year and the grass seed includes clover. The herd operates a 50% AI and 50% stock bull breeding programme for 12 weeks. Billy Fraher does the AI across the herd and between good conception and culling they don’t carry barren cows. Billy splits the herd into high replacement star cows plus their calves run with the replac...
May 27, 2020•16 min•Ep. 18
The second phase of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme was launched in April 2019 and Pat Collins, Green Acres calf to beef participant joins Catherine Egan to give an update on his progress. Located just outside Castlemartyr, Co. Cork, Pat operates a mixed farming system, consisting of 28ha of leased grassland and a tillage enterprise. Having first ventured into calf rearing in 2017, with the purchase of 50 calves, numbers have grown considerably since. All of the calves are sourced...
May 20, 2020•16 min•Ep. 17
As we approach the final year of Beef Data Genomics Programme 1 with over 22,500 participants, Martina Harrington, Teagasc Beef Specialist, joins Catherine Egan to discuss the key dates farmers need to be aware of this year. On the 31st of October 2020 you must have 50% of the reference number of animals genotyped 4 or 5 star on the Replacement Index. They must be at least 16 months of age, so born before the 30th June 2019 and born after 1st January 2013. If you do not meet these criteria you f...
May 13, 2020•17 min•Ep. 16
As the silage season fast approaches, Joe Patton joins Catherine Egan on the latest Beef Edge episode to discuss the importance of silage quality on beef farms. Nationally, silage quality is 65 DMD. The farmers who consistently make good quality silage always have a plan in place. Short and long-term planning is required to maximise the yield and quality of silage with a target cutting date in mind of mid-late May. The key factors that affect digestibility are discussed in detail; these include ...
May 06, 2020•18 min•Ep. 15
Established in the spring of 2018, the Grange dairy calf to beef trial is headed up by researcher Nicky Byrne and technician Donal Fahy to compare the physical and financial performance of progeny from both Holstein Friesian and Aberdeen Angus sires used in the dairy herd. These sires vary in breeding value for carcass weight and conformation and are managed in a grass-based system, aiming to be finished as steers under 24-months. Nicky Byrne, researcher in Teagasc Grange joins Catherine Egan on...
Apr 29, 2020•24 min•Ep. 14
As we approach the start of the beef breeding season Dr.David Kenny, researcher in Teagasc Grange joins Catherine Egan to discuss key aspects of a synchronisation regime for a suckler beef herd. Currently usage of artificial insemination (AI) is low in Irish suckler herds and this has implications for the speed of genetic improvement. In Ireland, approximately 1 out of every 5 calves born in beef herds are bred from artificial insemination. David highlights the advantages and disadvantages to AI...
Apr 22, 2020•21 min•Ep. 13
As we start aiming for ground being closed for first cut silage, David Wall, Soil Science researcher based at Teagasc Johnstown Castle, joins Catherine Egan to discuss fertiliser application for silage and grazing ground. This year, due to extremely wet weather from mid-January to mid-March, a large amount of ground that would have typically been grazed before closing may not be grazed due to late turnout. David discusses options and recommends fertiliser programmes to ensure the crop is ready t...
Apr 15, 2020•17 min•Ep. 12
As we approach peak calf sale season, Ray Doyle from the Irish Co-Operative Organisation Society (ICOS), joins Catherine Egan on the latest episode of the Beef Edge to discuss the limited range of essential services that marts are able to offer during Covid-19. Over 1 million cattle are sold through Irish Livestock Marts on an annual basis and Ray outlines that there a number of farmers purchasing cattle now at the start of the grazing season and to make contact with their local Livestock Mart. ...
Apr 08, 2020•11 min•Ep. 11
With the launch of the new €35 million Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme Sucklers scheme (BEEP-S) on March 12th, Teagasc Beef Specialist, Aidan Murray, joined Catherine Egan to discuss the details and objectives of the programme. Please note, the deadline to apply is 15th May 2020. About BEEP-S The Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme Sucklers scheme (BEEP-S) was launched on March 12th 2020. The scheme will target the weaning efficiency of suckler cows and calves - measuring the live we...
Apr 01, 2020•18 min•Ep. 10
As the country reels from the impact of Covid-19 coronavirus, Pearse Kelly, Head of Drystock Knowledge Transfer in Teagasc joins Catherine Egan to discuss the impact to Teagasc Advisory Services. All Teagasc Basic Payment appointments will now be processed over the phone rather than an office consultation. Teagasc staff will contact farmer clients in the coming weeks. BPS application for clients, in so far as possible, will be done over the phone. Pearse highlights that the transfer of informati...
Mar 25, 2020•16 min•Ep. 9
Aidan Murray, Teagasc Beef Specialist joins Catherine Egan on the latest episode of The Beef Edge to discuss the key targets heifers need to be achieving to calve at 24 months. Only 22% of beef heifers calve at 22-26 months. However, this figure has hovered between 27-17% over the past decade. For more information go to: https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/publications/2018/calving-beef-heifers-at-24-months-of-age.pdf For more episodes and information covered on the Beef Edge, visit: teagasc.ie...
Mar 11, 2020•19 min•Ep. 8
Trevor Boland, a part time suckler farmer from Dromard in Co Sligo, joins Catherine Egan on this episode of the Beef Edge to give an update on spring grassland management. Trevor was awarded the Grass 10 Grassland Farmer of the year Beef category award winner in 2019. Spring 2020 has been a difficult spring to get stock out grazing with heavy rainfall and poor grazing conditions. Trevor discusses his success of managing grass through improved soil fertility, an excellent paddock system and measu...
Feb 26, 2020•13 min•Ep. 7
Alan Dillon, Beef Specialist & Green Acres Programme Manager, joins Catherine Egan, to give an update on the Green Acres programme and to discuss the key targets of the calf rearing phase. The second phase of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme was launched in April 2019. This programme is demonstrating profitable dairy calf to beef systems on a whole farm basis through a network of demonstration farms. The primary aim of the programme is to achieve a net margin of €500/ha (exclud...
Feb 12, 2020•21 min•Ep. 6
The Beef Data and Genomics Program (BDGP) and the Beef Environmental and Efficiency Pilot (BEEP) were introduced with the objective of using genetics/genomics to address the decline in key maternal traits within the national suckler herd. Andrew Cromie, Irish Cattle Breeding Federation Technical Director joins Catherine Egan to discuss how BDGP and BEEP improve the profitability and carbon efficiency of our livestock sector. Andrew discusses results and analysis of the first females that calved ...
Jan 29, 2020•17 min•Ep. 5
Animal welfare is a key consideration for every Irish beef farmer and on this episode, Dr. Bernadette Early, researcher in Teagasc Grange, joins Catherine Egan to highlight the welfare advantages experienced by animals in our systems and results from recent research studies relating to animal housing, castration, and transport. Bernadette also outlines the key legal and welfare requirements relating to calf disbudding and to castration. Welfare and performance of finishing beef heifers in relati...
Jan 15, 2020•20 min•Ep. 4
Derrypatrick herd manager, Michael McManus, joins Catherine Egan to give an update on the performance of the Teagasc research farm. The research demonstration farm was established to explore new ideas and research different system comparisons using a herd of 105 suckler cows in a finishing system on 65 ha at Teagasc, Grange. It is a spring-calving, suckler calf-to-beef system with a rotational paddock grazing system is in operation on the farm. Michael highlights the benefits of grass in the sys...
Jan 01, 2020•15 min•Ep. 3
Pic: Independent.ie It has been a tough year for Irish beef farmers and with the need to look to different international markets, Bord Bia Meat & Livestock Senior Manager Joe Burke joins Catherine Egan to discuss the potential new markets for Irish Beef. Joe highlights the fact that beef prices have fallen in Ireland in 2019, for example, the R3 steer price has fallen by 6.5% while similar price decreases have occurred in the UK (7%) and continental Europe (5%). Over the last number of years...
Dec 18, 2019•11 min•Ep. 2
On the first episode of the Beef Edge, Teagasc's new podcast for beef farmers, specialist Alan Dillon joins Catherine Egan to discuss his top tips for winter weanlings management. Alan emphasises the importance of housing, cash flow and silage quality in terms of keeping weanlings over winter. He also highlights how farmers can ensure weanlings are achieving 0.6kg/head/day over the winter period. When deciding between different concentrate options Alan explains that straights are currently good ...
Dec 04, 2019•17 min•Ep. 1
The Beef Edge, Teagasc's new podcast for Irish beef farmers, is launching on December 4th and presented by Catherine Egan. With guest interviews, tips and advice, it will be bringing you all the latest information and advice to help you improve your beef farming. Subscribe and listen on Spotify or Apple and Google podcasts and never miss a show. The Beef Edge, for Irish beef farmers, live from December 4th. For more information, go to https://www.teagasc.ie The Beef Edge is produced by LastCast ...
Nov 26, 2019•29 sec
