Dairy Matters

Following the publication of the Government's National Biomethane Strategy, Jeremy Probert talks to Declan Murray, CEO of Biocore Environmental, about the role of biogas anaerobic digestion plants in converting organic farm waste into renewable energy. How likely is a rollout of biogas facilities, what role would farms and rural communities play in the process, what are the main obstacles, and what are the potential benefits for Irish dairy farmers?

To highlight this year's International Women’s Day, celebrated worldwide on 8th March, the NDC has produced a special podcast featuring four young women making strides in farming and agriculture. RTE Presenter Kathryn Thomas chats to NDC Farm Ambassador Nicole Keohane; agri influence and farmer Sophie Bell; Anna Daly, Member relations Manager at Tirlan; and Frances Nash, Grain Operations & Quality Manager at Dairygold.

In this special podcast about the science behind dairy farming, Teagasc Research Officer Dr Ben Lahart joins host Jeremy Probert to talk about his  recently-published research, which suggests that the amount of methane emitted by Irish cows is actually significantly less than previously believed.

In this special podcast about the science behind dairy farming, VistaMilk PhD researcher Rose Edwin joins host Jeremy Probert to discuss her work profiling Irish soil and its implications for soil fertility, plant growth, environmental sustainability, and human health. Rose's goal is to map the microbiome of soil but with trillions of microbes in the soil, piecing them together is like trying to solve the world’s biggest jigsaw puzzle.

Nadeem Rather, a PhD researcher at Tyndall Institute in Cork, joins the pod to talk about his work developing of a completely new material that will allow the transmission of data without any electronics or batteries – and its implications for monitoring the health of cows in Ireland’s dairy farming system. A special podcast about the science behind dairy farming, published in collaboration with VistaMilk SFI Research Centre. 

Host Jeremy Probert is joined by Dr Lee Coffey, Jennifer Drohan, and Dr Daniel Martins to talk about how the development of bionanomachines which use living bacteria to deliver molecular communications could benefit the health of animals and, potentially, humans. A special podcast about the science behind dairy farming, published in collaboration with VistaMilk SFI Research Centre. 

Irish milk, litre for litre, has a lower carbon footprint than milk produced almost anywhere else – but how much does the public really know about what goes on down on the farm? Jeremy Probert talks to National Dairy Council Farmer Advocacy Manager Majella McCafferty about how consumers can find out for themselves the incredible work Irish dairy farmers are doing to produce healthy, nutritious, and sustainable dairy.

In this special podcast about the science behind dairy farming, host Jeremy Probert talks to Dr Elodie Ruelle, Research Officer with Vistamilk, about grass growth, grass modelling, and getting to the grassroots of the sustainability issue.

Jeremy Probert talks to Dr Alan O’Riordan and Dr Han Shao from Tyndall National Institute in Cork about their work on measuring nitrates in soil in real time, providing information to farmers to manage fertiliser use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Dr Sharon Madigan, Head of Performance Nutrition at the Sport Ireland Institute, joins the pod to talk about the working with elite Team Ireland athletes through five Olympic cycles and the importance of what you eat when it comes to fuelling success.