On this week’s OviCast, Ciarán Lynch heads to Westport in Co. Mayo where he was joined by Tom Gill and Teagasc Advisor John Noonan to find out more about Ólas Hill Farms.

Centred around Westport, Ólas Hill Farms was initially set up with a focus on breeding sales which then expanded to encompass a producer group that now has more than 400 members.

Tom is a member and one of the co-ordinators of the group and he explains how it has delivered for his own system and that of the other members.

The group works closely with Kildare Chilling where they send more than 30,000 lambs annually. With stock all produced locally and with transport leaving Westport three times a week, they discuss the type of lamb being sent, with Tom explaining how the group co-ordinates this, acknowledging the efforts of the committee and staff within the group.

The breeding sales are still very much a part of Ólas Hill Farms and John and Tom explain more about this.

John also discusses how the group has worked with the various stakeholders to develop a dedicated website where customers can find out more about their story and how the lamb was produced and the Ólas Hill Farms brand that they hope will be on the shelves in European markets.

For more information visit:

https://olashillfarms.ie/

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

Head of sheep in Teagasc Michael Gottstein joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast podcast to discuss the control of external parasites in sheep.

Michael starts by describing how plunge dipping was common practice on many farms and now needs to be considered once again for external parasite control particularly to replace the use of injectable macrocyclic lactones (Group 3-ML) products for whole flock treatment.

They discuss best practice when it comes to dipping with Michael emphasising how the duration the sheep are dipped for has a big impact on its efficacy. He highlights the need to replenish the dip concentration as the active is removed during the dipping process and explains the option of using mobile plunge dipping providers or considering incorporating it into a handling unit.

He also discusses dip disposal and why it’s vital this is done in a safe manner before finishing up encouraging farmers to consider dipping as a control option for external parasites.

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

John Joe Fitzgerald, a participant in the Teagasc BETTER farm sheep programme and the new Teagasc Signpost Programme joins Ciarán Lynch on the latest farmer focus on OviCast.

John Joe first describes his farming system with some insights into the type of hill he is working on five miles west of Dingle in county Kerry.

He then discusses his ewe flock, the breeds used and how it has transitioned during the past few years as he pushed the flock back onto the hill more.

John Joe explains the new handling facility he built which includes a dipping tank and batch footbath and how this has improved flock health, performance and the efficiency of carrying out basic tasks with the flock.

Finally he discusses selling this year’s lamb crop in the store lamb market.

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

Dr. Tim Keady joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss the subject of joining ewe lambs to lambs at 1 year old.

Tim starts by outlining the potential to improve productivity by lambing ewe lambs at 1 year old, but he also highlights some of the challenges it can place on the system.

He discusses the various effects of joining weight on productivity, the use of the ram effect and management of ewe lambs throughout the joining period.

Finally, Tim discusses the knock on effect lambing yearling ewes has on their subsequent performance particularly the following season as 18 month olds.

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

Dr Frank Campion and Mark Dolan join Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss some of the ongoing work examining the role of forage crops in store lamb finishing systems.

Mark starts by giving some back ground to his project, discussing the crops sown, when they went in and the type of lambs he is finishing while Frank highlights the role these crops have in store lambs finishing systems.

As carrying and finishing capacity of these crops is highly important, Mark and Frank describe the crop yield they achieved last year, their carrying capacity and how many lambs they finish off each crop.

They then discuss the grazing management, use of temporary fences and the effect the difficult weather last year had on crop utilisation.

Back to current events, with store lambs being purchased at the moment, Mark discusses the management of the lambs on arrival including the reasons they opted to fully shear them while Frank also offers some advice on getting these lambs acclimatised to the crops and the need to provide a forage source.

Finally, Frank highlights the need for those using this system to assess the potential of the crops sown on their farms this year.

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

If someone was travelling along the Greenore Road in Carlingford on the first Saturday in September they would be forgiven for stopping to take in the spectacle of the Cooley Sheep Breeders Association annual sale.

On a greenfield site the sale has become a focal point for local breeders to sell breeding ewe lambs and hoggets and on this week’s OviCast, Ciarán Lynch is joined by Conor McCann, the current chairman of the association, and local Teagasc advisor, Hugh Rooney, to explain more about the sale and how it came about.

Hugh and Conor give the background to how the sale was set up and how it has developed over the years. Conor explains how the exhibitors are all local to the area and what kind of stock is on offer in this multibreed sale.

They discuss the unique setting and the effort that goes into setting it up to accommodate the sale. There’s strong community spirit behind the event and Hugh explains how it provides a means of adding value to the product they are producing.

Conor discusses how the move online last year influenced the sale and how as an association they are continually trying to improve the service for potential purchasers such as providing free transport which was an initiative started last year.

The sale has grown significantly over the years from just over 1000 breeding females on offer the first year to over 4000 in this current sale and Conor acknowledges all those who have helped along the way to help make this a successful addition to the area.

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

Pre-breeding vaccination is one way to reduce lambs losses and barren rates next spring and is a key point highlighted by Sarah Campbell veterinary advisor with MSD Animal Health who joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to explain in more detail.

Sarah starts by highlighting the need to identify the cause of abortion through the veterinary laboratory’s and highlights the common causes reported on farm.

She discusses the two most common causes of abortion namely Enzootic abortion and Toxoplasmosis in more detail explaining how these are spread and how the timing of infection effects the ewe. In both cases there is a vaccine available and the vaccination programme that can be implemented this autumn is discussed.

As with any vaccine correct storage, handling and administration is an important consideration and Sarah highlights how this can affect vaccine efficacy and the key areas to focus on.

Finally as these vaccines have to be given a number of weeks in advance of the breeding season Sarah encourages farmers to order their vaccines in time and plan their vaccination programme prior to breeding.

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

When new animals arrive on farm they can potentially bring some unwanted health issues with them. To minimise the risk, it’s important there is a quarantine procedure in place and on this week’s OviCast, Michael Gottstein, Head of Sheep in Teagasc joins Ciarán Lynch to discuss this issue in more detail.

Michael starts by emphasising why this is an important consideration for any flock owner. He discusses the importance of inspecting the sheep at purchase and asking some basic questions of the seller about the health status of their flock.

Some preparation is needed to correctly quarantine animals on arrival and Michael highlights the need to house these animals for 48 hours and correctly treat them for foot issues, internal and external parasites and Michael and Ciarán discuss the treatment options that are currently available.

They move on to discuss turnout post treatment and why it’s a good idea to keep these animals separate from the main flocks for a number of weeks after purchase.

Finally, Michael highlights the need to enrol these sheep in the flock’s health plan for the farm ensuring they receive the appropriate vaccinations.

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

Assessing if the ram team is fit for purpose is an essential task at this point of the season and on this week’s OviCast, Ciarán Lynch is joined by drystock advisor Edward Egan to discuss this in more detail.

Edward starts by explaining why this needs to be conducted now to allow for corrective action to be taken or a replacement ram purchased well in advance of the breeding season.

Edward takes us through some of the basic checks that should be conducted, checking ram soundness and the absence of injuries, infections or other impairments.

They discuss the implications of each of these on the ram’s ability to function correctly and why that assessment needs to be made now.

Edward finishes up explaining how to introduce new rams to the farm highlighting the need to deal with biosecurity issues and how to best acclimatise them to their new surroundings and the rest of the ram team.

The process of the ram health can be viewed here:

https://youtu.be/Pd8uSqTMERg

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

With the rams sales season kicking into high gear, Dr Alan Bohan from Sheep Ireland joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss how genotyping has improved the genetic information available to breeders and farmers alike.

Alan discusses the increase in the number of animals genotyped this year and explains the process and costs involved in genotyping.

He then discusses the benefits of genotyping animals from parentage verification to scrapie genotyping.

Genotyping also provides a genomic evaluation which improves the accuracy of the index and Alan explains why this is a major benefit to farmers.

Finally, he discusses this year’s Sheep Ireland multi-breed sale and the use of the ram search tool to find rams and pedigree breeders in your own locality.

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast