The Dairy Edge

Padraig McCormack, dairy advisor at Teagasc Moorepark, joins Stuart Childs on this week's Dairy Edge to discuss what's currently happening on the farms in his area. Padraig outlines the grazing situation in the area which is beginning to get back on track followed a prolonged spell of dry weather a month ago. Quality has been variable but people are looking at removing surplus in the coming week as growth is exceeding demand on average. Padraig spoke about fertiliser advice from nitrogen rates to sulphur and also P and K where surplus is removed.  Padraig discussed breeding performance in his area which is looking good and he reminded listeners to plan a date to stop breeding prior to July 20th with it being the cut off to avoid May calvers in 2026.  From his profit monitor meetings in the spring of 25, the justification for calving a cow in May is non-existent given the cost of keeping the cow and the return she will generate in her 2025 lactation. Padraig then tells us about the investments that his clients are considering with slurry storage on some people's minds but clarity around storage requirements and planning is slowing movement in that area.  Investing in things to make life easier is where it is at with people looking to avail of grants on heat detection systems, drafting gates and calf feeders.    Finally, Padraig ends by telling us that currently, his groups are either planning or heading away on some visits away from their own farms. He suggests that people should plan to take holidays and plan to get a few days off when things quieten down once breeding is finished and he reminds listeners of the excellent day out that is the Moorepark Open day coming up on July 2nd.   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 grazing advice as some farms are coming into surplus grass and he has a grazing update from John Phelan, Co. Waterford. Link to this week's Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-10thJune2025 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

James Dunne is joined this week by Teagasc grassland science researcher, Mike Egan, to discuss the correct management of grass-clover swards to ensure high levels of pasture and animal performance.   Mike also discusses the findings from the recent external assessment of Teagasc's Clover and Multi-Species Sward Research Programme. 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 current grazing advice as some farms are coming into surplus grass, plus he has a grazing update from Tim Walsh in Co. Kerry. Link to this week's Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-3rdJune 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

Irish dairy farms are making huge progress when it comes to improving their sustainability metrics, with the Teagasc/FBD Environmental Sustainability Awards highlighting the farms which are leaders in this regard.  For this week's Dairy Edge, James Dunne is joined by dairy farmer, Brendan Walsh, who was the overall winner in 2024.  Brendan outlines how he farms to meet high levels of performance, whilst also keeping the long term sustainability of his system in mind.  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 current grazing advice as growth rates are expected to bounce back with rainfall received, plus he has a grazing update from Killian Brennan, Co. Cavan. Link to this week's Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-27thMay 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 Grass10 Programme Manager, John Maher, joins Stuart Childs on this week's Dairy Edge to discuss managing mid-season grass quality.  John outlines the significance of getting grass quality right with 40% of the milk being produced in May, June and July. He talks about why grass management is difficult, because it doesn't grow consistently with as much grass growing in the last 7 days of the rotation, as it does in the first 14 days. The main aim is to graze 1400 Kg DM/ha as this is the cover that optimises grass performance and cow performance and means the paddock is grazed well to facilitate good quality in subsequent rotations. There are challenges in terms of management of grass quality currently with drier than normal conditions. However, people need to try to get back into the right cover as soon as they can if rain comes. Nutrient status of paddocks is important and K is critical in water management in the plant, so some K and indeed S are important to deal with stress periods.  Rainfall should bring a surge in growth and that will have to be managed but having nutrient status in control allows for a quicker return to normal as grass can deal with the stress better when nutrient status is adequate. John finishes up by saying that it is important to walk the farm before the rain comes to know where you are at and then walk it again once the rain comes to reassess, with the objective being to get to the right pre-grazing yield of 1400 or 10cms in height as soon as possible to underpin midsummer milk production and milk price. 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 rainfall amounts variable throughout the country, Joseph Dunphy discusses current grazing advice and has a grazing update from Michael Walsh, Co. Laois. Link to this week's Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-20thMay 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

Costs over the last number of years in running a commercial dairy farm have increased significantly, albeit farm gate milk prices are higher than the long term average, and it's important that investment decisions are made that benefit the business in the long term.   Teagasc farm management specialist, Kevin Connolly, joins James Dunne on this week's Dairy Edge to discuss and explain why farmers should make informed decisions when it comes to managing their farming business, managing cash surpluses and how to best complete an investment appraisal. 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 managing a surplus grass situation as soil moisture deficits begin to bite on some drier farms, plus he has a grazing update from Sean O Sullivan, Co. Cork. Link to this week's Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-13thMay 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

Dairy farmer, Paul Hyland, who runs the farm with his brother David near the village of Ballacolla, Co. Laois, joins Stuart Childs on this week's Dairy Edge to discuss silage quantity and quality. They have an objective to provide 4-5 bales of quality silage to feed cows in the autumn and again in the springtime but also have a July reserve to be prepared for dry weather at that time of the year. Paul discusses how they cut covers of 2500-3000 kg DM/ha, baling out at 4-5 bales per acre ideally until they have the reserve they need and then they will focus on main crop silage. Interestingly, the Hylands always split their fertiliser applications to give themselves options with silage ground. Also they plan silage, targeting to cut younger, more recently reseeded ground for the quality silage. Finally, Paul explains how the frequent cutting system that they employ on their farm delivers the same quantity of silage at the end of the year but far better quality than big bulky crops. 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 managing surplus grass currently on farm and he has a grazing update from Raymond Niblock, Co. Monaghan. Link to this week's newsletter Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-6thMay  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

Seamus Nolan, Teagasc's Scheme Support Unit Specialist, who has a particular focus on the Target Agriculture Modernisation scheme, better known to many as the TAMS scheme, joins James Dunne on this week's Dairy Edge. Seamus discusses the recently announced nutrient storage investment scheme under TAMS 3 which offers farmers an increased rate of grant aid for nutrient storage investments on their 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

For this week's Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses keeping a handle on pre-grazing yield as growth rockets throughout the country and he has a grazing update from Danny Bermingham, Co. Clare. Link to this week's Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-29thApril 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 ICBF's Dan O'Riordan joins Stuart Childs on this week's Dairy Edge to discuss the ICBF Sire Advice Programme which remarkably has been around for 18 years! Dan first explains what sire advice is and how it works to try and balance the milk and fertility sub-indices to deliver a balanced cow. Dan also speaks about the benefits of the programme from preventing lethal gene mutation matches in the background, to checking inbreeding to maximising the beef merit of the calf whilst minimising calving risk to the cow with the objective being to deliver a live calf each time. Finally, Dan highlights the numbers of sire advice being completed, how they have increased in the last few years but that there is scope for more.  One of the other benefits of completing the sire advice is how it streamlines the breeding season for both the farmer and that AI technician with the decisions made in advance in relation to what cow is getting what bull and giving technical clear instructions on the same with options if necessary also.  If people are interested in completing a sire advice for 2025, they can contact their advisor, breeding advisor or ICBF directly. 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 managing grass supply, he previews upcoming reseeding events and has a grazing update from John Cashen, Co. Tipperary. Link to this week's Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-22ndApril  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 Kerry Dairy Ireland Joint Programme Demonstration Farm Advisor, Claire McAuliffe, and Programme Demonstration Farmer, Pa O'Hanlon, join Stuart Childs on this week's Dairy Edge to discuss pre breeding management to drive submission rate and ultimately 6 week calving rate for the next calving season. Pa first explains how calving has gone on the farm in 2025 and how he has delayed his calving start date over the last few years in order to better align with grass growth on his farm.  In the past no matter how much quality silage he tried to have available, Pa found that he ended up feeding poorer silage to milking cows which was hitting his milk solids production so he has moved the calving date to try to calve closer to grass. This means that he has to achieve the 90% 6 week calving figure to get the best return from the herd. Consequently, Pa is ‘afraid' not to make the effort in terms of pre-breeding management as he can't afford to let calving slip. He went on to explain how he has a chart which is very visual for keeping track of cows coming in heat post calving and uses the same chart for tracking AI in the 1st 3 weeks.  This chart helps him to drive his 3 week submission rate and then identify any cows that haven't been served as soon as the 3 weeks are past. He find this visual trigger much better than info on his phone as he would have used in the past. Claire then highlights the performance of the demonstration farmer group and gave examples of some of the effort they are putting into pre-breeding management to drive the submission rate once AI commences.  She also pointed out that many of the farms had opened with lower covers than they should have and found that they weren't able to exploit the excellent grazing conditions this spring as much as they would have liked to.  The recent uplift in growth has helped their cause and their action has ensured they now have adequate grass moving into the 2nd rotation.  This needs to be a key focus for all of the farms at the end of this year to ensure they hit the closing cover targets so that there is adequate grass on farms in the spring of 2026.  This is a major weakness at commercial farm level as pointed out by Michael O'Donovan on a recent episode. 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 key grazing targets throughout April and he has a grazing update from Matthew Draper, Co. Cork. Link to this week's Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-15thApril 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

Mike Dineen, a Teagasc researcher whose work focuses on animal nutrition, and Chris Heffernan, who recently completed his PhD in Teagasc Moorepark, join James Dunne on this week's Dairy Edge to discuss the factors affecting milk fat production in dairy cows under pasture-based management systems.   Mike and Chris explain the typical reduction in milk fat during late spring and early summer and outline some results from their recent research project. 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 beginning the 2nd rotation and has information on upcoming reseeding events countrywide, plus he gets a grazing update from Oisin Gallen, Co. Donegal. Link to this week's Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-April8th 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, as excellent grazing conditions prevail, Joseph Dunphy discusses managing supply and he has a grazing update from David French, Co. Wexford. Link to this week's Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-1stApril 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

Michael O'Donovan, Head of the Grassland Science Department at Teagasc Moorepark joins James Dunne on this week's Dairy Edge. Michael discusses the grassland performance on Irish dairy farms over the last number of years, how farmers can increase the amount of pasture grown on farm and outlines key decisions that need to be made over the coming weeks to ensure high levels of animal performance over the coming months. 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, as AFC drops with the excellent grazing conditions, Joseph Dunphy discusses feeding the cow appropriately, plus he has a grazing update from Eoin Corrigan, Co. Meath. Link to this week's Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-25thMarch  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

Sean Coughlan, CEO of the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF), joins Stuart Childs on this week's Dairy Edge to discuss Irish dairy, dairy beef breeding and everything in between. Sean discusses the National Genotyping Programme, the changes that they have made to improve for 2025 and how they have even more herds taken into the programme and will be looking to recruit more later on this year with the long term view to have a fully genotyped national herd in the future. Sean highlights what he feels might be a lost opportunity in that we're not able to filter some of the surplus replacements from the top EBI herds to the lower genetic merit herds. He would love to see the top herds breed the replacements for the bottom herds as it is just too much of a mountain to climb for those lower genetic merit herds and the performance levels that those top herds are actually achieving is so good: 500 litres more milk; producing 53 kilos more milk solids per cow; 16 days better calving interval which is translating into a 12% better 6 week calving rate, and low CO2 emissions. Sean also spoke about the potential of dairy beef by choosing easy calving sires that have more carcass weight than the easy calving bull as was often the choice in the past – no extra calving difficulty but significantly better beef merit calves. Sean then outlines some changes that are on the cards for the EBI this year such as a review of the economic values used in the index and a base change to reflect better the cows that are now in the country. Sean finishes by outlining how the benefits of genomics in terms of its ability to identify lethal genes such as HH3 which results in embryonic death. Identifying the carriers and using sire advice to avoid the breeding of positive cows and bulls can eliminate this negative embryonic death which is a major issue for seasonal calving systems.  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 managing the remaining grazing area on the 1st rotation and he has a grazing update from Shane Seymour, Co. Tipperary. Link to this week's Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-18thMarch  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, and with the great grazing conditions, Joseph Dunphy discusses reviewing grazing progress throughout March and he has a grazing update from Dara Killeen, Co. Galway. Link to this week's Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-11thMarch  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/Tírlan Future Farm programme farmer, David Fennelly, joins James Dunne on this week's Dairy Edge to discuss how the busy calving period is progressing, and he outlines his grazing management to date.  David also explains how he will manage the coming weeks to ensure success as the herd heads towards peak production.   Plus, programme advisor, Sandra Hayes, highlights where the programme farmers are at with regards to grazing and nutrient management this 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 reviewing your AFC in early March and he has a grazing update from the O'Callaghan family in Cork. Link to this week's Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-4thMarch 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

Tommy Cox, Teagasc Dairy Beef500 Programme Advisor, joins Stuart Childs on this week's Dairy Edge to discuss calf sales this spring. Tommy outlines what farmers should do from the moment the calf hits the ground in order to have them as fit and healthy as they can when it comes to sale time. He discusses the important relationships that farmers are forging around the sale of calves in the last few years and how it is important that these are maintained for the good of both. While prices are strong presently, compared to previous years, Tommy argues that there is a value in the relationships that have been developed over the years and that people need to factor this in when setting the prices of calves. The price paid is a significant factor in the profitability at the end of the day and that is important for the future sustainability of the calf-beef farms. Tommy also explains that when buying a calf, a farmer should be looking for a healthy calf, a calf of known parentage, otherwise you are buying an unknown animal, and finally, to have a price that you can give for the calf but not to compromise on the health or the genetics of the calf in order to meet that price.    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, 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