This week on OviCast, I got the opportunity to sit down with father and son duo, Eddie and Aidan Connell, who farm at Clonbullogue, Co Offaly, and who are hosting this year’s Irish Grassland sheep event. 

The father and son partnership are running a 400 ewe mid-season flock, finishing upwards of 150 bulls and grow winter barley and maize for their own use. 

Eddie and Aidan talk about how each of the enterprises operate and the integrated nature of the farm. 

We discuss some of the challenges this spring and the carry-over impacts of last year’s drought on flock productivity.  

We discuss grassland management, paddock setup and silage and the impact on lamb performance. 

With a lot of stock purchased on the farm each year, Eddie talks about the importance of a good vaccination programme for the purchased ewes and weanlings each autumn. 

Managing the workload on the farm is also important and Aidan talks about the sheep shed they constructed in 2018, some of the key adaptions made to it as well as upgrades made to their handling system to improve overall labour efficiency on the farm. 

For more details of Irish grassland Association sheep event go to:

https://www.irishgrassland.ie/event-detail/sheep-event/

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast