*This podcast is sponsored by AXA Farm Insurance.

On the latest episode of the AgriFocus podcast, brought to you by Agriland in association with Axa Insurance, Agriland editor Stella Meehan chats to head of Crops Knowledge Transfer Department with Teagasc, Michael Hennessy.

They discuss how winter crops, as well as spring-sown cereals, are performing across the country.

Hennessy outlines the tasks growers should be undertaking in the coming days and weeks as growth progress is monitored and pests and diseases are controlled.

*This podcast is sponsored by AXA Farm Insurance.

In this episode of AgriFocus Francess McDonnell is joined by Ann Griffin, regional advocate for the north-west with Sage Advocacy  – which is the National Advocacy Service for Older People – to chat about what happens to the family farm if an older person needs to consider nursing home care.

Ann addresses common concerns among older farmers and their families who fear losing the farm if they enter the scheme. She explains how the HSE assesses income and assets – such as homes, land, and farms – and clarifies the 3-year cap that limits how much can be charged against these assets.

The episode also touches on broader issues facing older people in rural Ireland today.

*This podcast is sponsored by AXA Farm Insurance.

In this episode of AgriFocus, Stella Meehan is joined by Dr. Frank Harrington who is chair of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) Rural Agency Committee and discipline lead of Real Estate and Valuations at TU Dublin.

Auctioneers and valuers from the SCSI have said that the outlook for the agricultural land market remains strong for 2025 and they are forecasting that the price of agricultural land nationally will increase by 6% on average this year.

In a major report with Teagasc, auctioneer and valuer members of SCSI operating in the agricultural sales and rental market, say average rental prices in 2025 are expected to increase by 7%.

*This podcast is sponsored by AXA Farm Insurance.

On this week's episode of AgriFocus, we take a closer look at why the fallout from wildfires which swept through some parts of the country earlier this month could deliver fresh challenges for some farmers in ACRES.

Joining Agriland's Francess McDonnell on this episode of AgriFocus is Fergal Monaghan, programme director for ACRES Breifne, Leinster and Munster/South Connaught regions.

Fergal has has 25 years’ experience in the agri-environment sector, including 20 years as a farm advisor working with farmers in high nature value areas throughout Ireland.

He sets out what support and guidance is available to farmers who may be concerned about the negative effects of wildfire and why it is important for them to have mitigation procedures in place. 

The programme director for ACRES Breifne, Leinster and Munster/South Connaught regions also highlighted what measures farmers can put in place, including bracken strimming, managed grazing and raising the water table on peatland commonages.

The fortnightly AgriFocus podcast series takes a closer look at some of the key issues that directly impact on farmers, rural communities and the agri-sector.

*This podcast is sponsored by AXA Farm Insurance.

On this week’s episode of AgriFocus, Agriland editor Stella Meehan sits down with technical dairy journalist with Agriland, Hugh Harney and deputy news editor, Francess McDonnell to discuss the most topical agricultural issues at the moment.

From beef price to breeding to US import tariffs, the team gauges the feeling among the farming community and agri-business about the current state of the sector and the future outlook.

The podcast delves into the recent, and ongoing, ‘beef boom’ and what direction factories are heading this week as Agriland heads out and about to talk to farmers ‘on the ground’.

Hugh Harney fills listeners in on the current state of affairs for milk suppliers and what dairy farmers are, and should be, focusing on at the moment.

Stella Meehan also discusses the impact on tariffs on Irish agri-food exporters and the short-term impact for the dairy, drinks and other sectors.

*This podcast is sponsored by AXA Farm Insurance.

In this episode of the AgriFocus podcast, Agriland’s Stella Meehan sits down with Carol Lynch, tax partner and head of customs and international trade services with BDO Ireland, to discuss what has become a hotly debated issue – tariffs.

With Ireland exporting 90% of its agri-food produce international exports are hugely important to Ireland’s domestic economy.

In this podcast Carol Lynch discusses exactly what a tariff is and what the impact of the US president’s plan to place tariffs on EU agri-food exports to the US could mean for Ireland and Irish exports.

*This podcast is sponsored by AXA Farm Insurance.

The fortnightly AgriFocus podcast series takes a closer look at some of the key issues that directly impact on farmers, rural communities and the agri-sector.

Go beyond the headlines with our podcast series – AgriFocus – where we take a closer look at some of the key issues that directly impact on farmers, rural communities and the agri-sector.

*This podcast is sponsored by AXA Farm Insurance.

In this episode of the AgriFocus podcast, Agriland’s Stella Meehan sits down with chairperson of Irish Forest Owners (IFO), Derek McCabe to discuss the aftermath of Storm Éowyn and the damage it caused to forestry across the country.

Minister of State with responsibility for forestry, Michael Healy-Rae has said that satellite data shows more than 23,000ha of forestry destroyed as a result of the hurricane force winds in January.

Now forest owners are under pressure to remove and harvest the fallen timber before it begins to rot and decay on the ground, losing value and worth as each day passes.

*This podcast is sponsored by AXA Farm Insurance.

Agriland Editor Stella Meehan speaks to Bord Bia Beef Sector Manager, Mark Zieg.

We hear what lies ahead for the beef trade in Ireland in 2025 and beyond.

*This podcast is sponsored by AXA Farm Insurance.

In this episode of the AgriFocus podcast, Breifne O’Brien chats to Sean Coughlan, CEO of the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) about the move by a number of Irish cattle breed societies to vote ‘no confidence’ in the revised Euro-star evaluations.

Over the past two months, several of the Irish cattle breed societies have issued statements outlining they are to cease publishing ICBF Evaluations in their society sales catalogues.

The ICBF CEO confirmed that the economic values of the indices will be updated this summer and confirmed that Teagasc’s Dr. Paul Crosson is currently working on these updates.

Coughlan also discussed farmer issues relating to the star ratings of cows as well as the weightings of each trait in the composition of the overall figures.

The fortnightly AgriFocus podcast series takes a closer look at some of the key issues that directly impact on farmers, rural communities and the agri-sector.

Go beyond the headlines with our podcast series – AgriFocus – where we take a closer look at some of the key issues that directly impact on farmers, rural communities and the agri-sector.