With breeding season around the corner Derrypatrick farm manager Michael McManus gives an insight on this week’s Beef Edge podcast into how calving went, the breeding season ahead and what sires are being selected. Michael describes how calving took place from 2nd February- 22nd April. There were 102 cows calved, 100 live calves, 1 set of twins and 3 moralities. The average birthweight was 45.5 kg and the average birth date was 2nd March. 89 cows and heifers calved in 6 weeks. The first 30 cows ...
Apr 26, 2022•12 min•Ep. 119
Aidan Maguire from Co.Meath, is this year’s Grass10 Drystock Grassland Farmer of the Year winner and he joins Catherine Egan on this week’s Beef Edge podcast with an update on his grassland management over the coming weeks and his plan for silage 2022. Aidan outlines how he started measuring grass when he joined the Grass10 group and the Green acres programme and describes the changes he made on the farm, increasing the number of paddocks and reducing their sizes. Through soil sampling, applying...
Apr 20, 2022•12 min•Ep. 118
Future Beef programme participant Aonghusa Fahy from Co. Galway joins Catherine Egan on this week’s episode of the Beef Edge podcast with an insight into his plan for the breeding season ahead. Aonghusa describes the sires he selected for using on heifers and cows. He plans to synchronise the heifers and goes through the protocol. Aonghusa calves his heifers at 24 months and describes how he achieves this. When working off farm, Aonghusa highlights the benefits of a compact calving pattern and u...
Apr 13, 2022•14 min•Ep. 117
With silage ground being closed on many farms across the country at the moment, Teagasc advisor Peter Lawrence from Tinahely, Co. Wicklow is on this week’s Beef Edge podcast with an insight into reducing costs whilst balancing silage quantity and quality. Peter outlines the importance of completing a fodder budget to determine the amount of silage needed next winter and hence the area of ground to be closed. Farmers also need to determine the quality of silage needed - be it for spring or autumn...
Apr 06, 2022•15 min•Ep. 116
With the recent launch of a number of schemes by the Department of Agriculture, including the Tillage Incentive Scheme, Beef Environment Efficiency Programme Suckler scheme also known as the BEEP-S Scheme and the Dairy Beef Calf Programme, Aidan Murray, Teagasc Beef Specialist and Michael Hennessy, Teagasc Head of Tillage, discuss the main points and information on this week’s Beef Edge podcast. Michael advises when converting grassland to tillage, the first place to start is to see if seed, fer...
Mar 30, 2022•17 min•Ep. 115
Teagasc researcher, Deirdre Hennessy, joins Catherine Egan on this week’s episode of the Beef Edge podcast to discuss what you need to know about clover swards. With the price of chemical fertiliser this spring Deirdre highlights that clover most definitely has a role on all grass based systems. Before establishing white clover, Deirdre advises on the importance of good soil fertility (soil pH 6.2-6.5, soil P index 3 or 4, soil K index 3) and good infrastructure where each paddock is grazed with...
Mar 23, 2022•19 min•Ep. 114
Following the National Fodder and Food Security Committee meeting last week, Teagasc Head of Drystock, Pearse Kelly, joins Catherine Egan on this week’s Beef Edge podcast with an insight into the steps farmers can take in the coming weeks. With the current cost of fertiliser, farmers are questioning what to do and Pearse advises to apply fertiliser requirements to grow the silage crops for first cut silage. When farmers are applying fertiliser to grazing ground they should consider the impact th...
Mar 16, 2022•15 min•Ep. 113
With changes in the regulations surrounding antibiotics introduced since 28th January, Tommy Heffernan aka ‘Tommy the Vet’ is on this week’s Beef Edge podcast with tips and advice. Firstly, Tommy outlines some key tips to ensure the health of calves from birth onwards. He highlights the impact the current changes in the antibiotic regulations are having at farm level and says that calf scours are an issue on most farms. Tommy discusses what farmers do to treat calves and prevent it becoming a pr...
Mar 09, 2022•11 min•Ep. 112
Future Beef programme participant Cathal Irwin from Co. Mayo is on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to give an insight into grassland management on his farm this spring and planning ahead for silage 2022. Cathal operates a suckler to store system in Castlebar and farms just over 18 ha of predominantly heavy land. Cows calve in December and January so that the calves can thrive at grass when they hit the grass in April. Weanlings currently average 450/kg and have achieved 0.98kg per day since birth....
Mar 02, 2022•11 min•Ep. 111
Philip O’Connor, Head of Farm Support, and Trevor Boland, accountant with Irish Farm Accounts Co-operative Society (IFAC), join Catherine Egan on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to discuss what can be done to help manage costs this year on farm and how to plan and budget for the year ahead. Trevor advises to get your books and records in to the accountant early which means you will know if you have a tax bill early in the year and budget to pay it later, while if a refund is owed you get it back i...
Feb 23, 2022•20 min•Ep. 110
As dairy calves start to arrive on farms, Green Acres Dairy Calf to Beef participant, Shane Cranny from Co. Carlow, is on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to share some of his top tips when it comes to rearing calves and an update on his farm. Shane purchases calves in the autumn and has grown the number of calves to 110, purchased in 2021. Shane targets to slaughter off grass as steers at 22-24 months of age and says that buying the right calf from reliable sources, optimising the calf’s nutrition...
Feb 16, 2022•16 min•Ep. 109
As the new Organic Farming Scheme opens today on the 9th February, organic specialist Joe Kelleher gives tips and considerations for conversion to organic farming on this week’s Beef Edge podcast. The government is targeting a conversion of 350,000 Ha of agricultural land to organics over the next 5 years and Joes outlines the opportunities and steps to conversion. Given the rising input costs, he also has organic farming tips that beef farmers consider even if they didn’t want to take the full ...
Feb 09, 2022•14 min•Ep. 108
With the high price of fertiliser this spring, Teagasc pig development officer, Gerard McCutcheon, and Teagasc specialist, Mark Plunkett, are on this week’s Beef Edge podcast with an insight into using pig manure as a cheap alternative and the dos and don’ts around importing slurry. Gerard highlights that each 1000 gallons is currently worth €48 (double what it is usually worth!) which is a total fertiliser value of over €23 million. 1000 gallons of pig slurry is equivalent to a bag of 19-7-20 s...
Feb 02, 2022•15 min•Ep. 107
As calving season approaches on the Newford farm, Farm technician Michael Fagan gives an insight into the preparation in advance of calving and a review of performance of the herd in Athenry where there are 76 cows and 17 heifers due to calve from the start of February for 10 weeks. The cows are all in-calf to 5 star terminal bulls. Michael explains that cows are currently on ad-lib silage 66-68 DMD. However, heavy cows with good conditional score are having their silage restricted. 100g of a pr...
Jan 26, 2022•15 min•Ep. 106
As the registered farm partnership deadline approaches on 11th February 2022, Teagasc Collaborative Farm specialist, Gordon Peppard, gives an insight into what you need to do to set up a farm partnership, its benefits and implications. At this time of year farmers start considering various farming options in advance of submitting the basic payment in May. Gordon explains that Registered Farm Partnerships (RFPs) are one of a number of collaborative farm business structure arrangements that will p...
Jan 19, 2022•11 min•Ep. 105
With technologies increasing on farms every year, on this week’s episode of the Beef Edge, John Heslin, MSD Animal Health Market Access and Marketing Manager, and part time beef farmer, gives his insights in advance of calving and breeding season. John describes how he farms with his father in Co. Westmeath operating a suckling to store and sometime finishing system. With all family members involved it makes work-life balance easier as both John and his father also work off farm as well as John ...
Jan 12, 2022•24 min•Ep. 104
Kicking off the first episode of the Beef Edge podcast for 2022, Ronan Delany from Co. Meath gives an insight into his mixed farming system, how he has managed to meet the challenge to reduce age to slaughter and his plans to progress in the year ahead. Ronan buys in 200 heifers per year and finishes the majority from grass at an average of 19.5 months of age. Ronan describes how he buys a variety of breeds of heifers online and due to online bidding, he is buying heifers in marts he would never...
Jan 05, 2022•19 min•Ep. 102
On the final episode of the Beef Edge podcast for 2021, Teagasc Head of Drystock, Pearse Kelly, joins Catherine Egan to look back on the year gone by and to discuss what is expected in the New Year and the outlook for 2022. In many ways, 2021 was a good year on cattle farms and Pearse outlines how beef prices began to rise in the spring and, like the tide that rises all ships, weanling and store prices followed and have remained buoyant. The recent Teagasc outlook and review webinar showed that ...
Dec 29, 2021•19 min•Ep. 101
For the 100th episode of the Beef Edge podcast, Catherine Egan is joined by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, to find out what beef farmers can expect from the new CAP, to discuss markets for Irish beef abroad and what is in store for the future of the Irish beef sector. The Minister told the Beef Edge that beef farmers will be supported in the next CAP. ‘The core support proposed for beef farmers is the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Scheme which will build on the w...
Dec 22, 2021•17 min•Ep. 103
With Liver Fluke costing Irish farmers €90million every year, Teagasc Advisor Gary Fisher, joins Catherine Egan on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to give an insight into fluke treatment on farm, when to dose and what products to treat each stage. Liver Fluke is a parasite on many farms and Gary explains that recent high temperatures and the extended grazing season may lead to high fluke levels on farms this year with the DAFM Liver Fluke forecast indicating high disease prevalence along the west ...
Dec 15, 2021•16 min•Ep. 99
Martina Harrington, Teagasc’s specialist and programme manager, gives an insight into the new suckler beef demonstration farm programme on this week’s Beef Edge podcast. Teagasc’s Future Beef programme comprises of a network of 24 demonstration farms positioned right across Ireland. Each farm is representative of their region in farm size, soil type, system, stock numbers etc. The farm size ranges from 13ha to 122ha, while the herd size ranges from 14-suckler cows right up to 112 cows. The syste...
Dec 08, 2021•12 min•Ep. 98
Chris Daly from ICBF joins Catherine Egan on this week’s episode of the Beef Edge podcast to explain the new Commercial Beef Value (CBV) which will be launched at the Teagasc Virtual Beef Conference next week on 6th December at 8pm. Chris explains how it is a new tool being made available for farmers buying in cattle and bringing them on to finish to know what the genetic merit is. The euro value will be available for commercial suckler males and uncalved females, dairy males and dairy cross mal...
Dec 01, 2021•18 min•Ep. 97
With fertiliser prices skyrocketing, Teagasc Specialist Mark Plunkett is on this week’s episode of the Beef Edge podcast with an update on the outlook for the coming months and what can you do to maintain margins in light of further possible increases. The current fertiliser price increases are unprecedented and Mark explains why they have risen so dramatically - which have been caused by a number of factors across the world. While Nitrogen has spiralled out of control in the past year, Phosphor...
Nov 24, 2021•11 min•Ep. 96
With legislative changes around prescription and parasite treatment coming in 2022, on this week’s Beef Edge podcast Catherine Egan is joined by Superintending Veterinary Inspectors Caroline Garvan & Damien Barrett to discuss antimicrobial resistance, future challenges to the beef herd and the upcoming Animal Health Awareness week running from the 18-24th November. For further information visit: gov.ie/animalhealth For more episodes and information covered on the Beef Edge, visit the show pa...
Nov 17, 2021•24 min•Ep. 95
For the third and final part of the ‘Getting Winter Ready’ series, this week’s Beef Edge podcast is focusing on animal housing for the coming months and Catherine Egan is joined by vet & UCD lecturer Catherine McAloon. Firstly, Catherine highlights the importance of space allowance over the winter period to maximise performance. Good ventilation is also critical and Catherine describes the two ventilation types, focusing on the size of the inlet and outlet for air to circulate in the shed. D...
Nov 10, 2021•16 min•Ep. 94
‘Getting Winter Ready’ is a three-part series on the Beef Edge podcast focusing on nutrition, health and housing and for this second part, vet Cara Sheridan with MSD Animal Health discusses how to manage animal health over the winter. Cara highlights the importance of making adjustments to housing, fixing drinkers and ensuring cattle are dosed and vaccinated prior to housing. It is best to try and house stock on a dry day, keep stress low, divide stock bases on ages and weight and monitor stocki...
Nov 03, 2021•18 min•Ep. 93
‘Getting Winter Ready’ is a three-part series on the Beef Edge podcast focusing on nutrition, health and housing. For this first part, on this week’s episode Teagasc Advisor John Kelly from county Offaly discusses managing nutrition over the winter to maximise performance. John highlights that there are a combination of factors such as management, diet and housing that impact on performance over the winter. These are overcome by trying to maximise the animals’ intake and performance whilst reduc...
Oct 27, 2021•18 min•Ep. 92
In preparation for the last grazing rotation, Thomas Hogan from Nenagh Co. Tipperary, and Grass10 Beef Grassland Farmer of the Year, joins Catherine Egan on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to discuss his beef suckling to store system and his autumn plan. Thomas operates a spring calving system with 70 cows expected to calve down in 2022. Cows are mainly Limousin and Simmental cross and Thomas places a major focus on the replacement index to select cows with milk and sires with good conformation an...
Oct 20, 2021•9 min•Ep. 91
As part of Ag mental health week, Conor Hammersley, Teagasc PhD Walsh scholar, joins Catherine Egan on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to discuss the findings of his study as part of the ‘On Feirm Ground’ project. Irish male farmers experience some of the highest levels of adverse health outcomes relative to other occupations and Conor highlights how his recent study throws new light on male farmers’ health seeking behaviour. Farmers tend to prioritise farm work and the health of their animals ove...
Oct 13, 2021•15 min•Ep. 90
With weanling sales taking place across the country, Teagasc Beef specialist, Aidan Murray, joins Catherine Egan on this week’s episode of the Beef Edge podcast to discuss a number of finishing budgets. As no two farms are the same, Aidan advises that farmers should consider their input costs such as silage quality and concentrates, management of the beef system if it’s short or long, and stocking rates or fixed costs when completing their own beef finishing budgets. Prices for weanlings are goo...
Oct 06, 2021•23 min•Ep. 89
