With lambing season well underway, the focus on this week’s OviCast episode turns to the subject of lamb mortality and ways to reduce it.

Joining Ciarán Lynch is Dwayne Shields from Teagasc Sligo-Leitrim-Donegal who, during the course of his PhD studies, has examined the timing and causes of perinatal lamb mortality as well as farm surveys on common practices that can improve lamb survival.

Dwayne begins by discussing the timing and main causes of lamb mortality. He delves into how some of these are preventable and which ones aren’t, highlighting the importance of correct diagnosis where problems occur.

He moves on to discuss the importance of good hygiene in the lambing shed as well as treating lambs’ navels soon after birth, with Dwayne outlining the on-farm practices highlighted in his study and how they could be improved. Clostrum management and the use of alternatives and the role of nutrition has on lamb mortality is also highlighted.

Finally, Dwayne encourages farmers to take an accurate assessment of lamb mortality on their own farms and use the information as an opportunity to address some potential causes.

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

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

Dr Philip Creighton joins Ciaran Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss some of the key factors to consider for fertiliser application this spring.

Philip discusses some of the challenges this spring and the delay in fertiliser application. With both environmental and economic considerations, he outlines the importance of waiting until soil temperatures and ground conditions are suitable before applying fertiliser at the moment.

He then discusses the options for farmers looking at split applications, how much to spread, where to target and why lower covers may be better suited to FYM or slurry applications.

He also highlights the importance of soil fertility in terms of responsiveness of swards to spring nitrogen.

Finally, Philip talks about fertiliser choice for the first round and subsequent applications and the need to match grass demand.

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

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

Dr Frank Campion joins Ciaran Lynch on the latest episode of OviCast with an update on the hill sheep flocks in the Teagasc BETTER farm sheep programme.

Frank discusses the farms involved and those that have recently finished up in the programme and with many of the flocks just finished pregnancy scanning, he discusses the results they achieved this year including fertility issues encountered in one of the flock along with the possible causes and follow up actions.

He moves on to litter size, management of twins and the possibility that some flocks may be pushing litter size too high to suit the system. They also discuss the need to look at the overall system and targeting the levels of output to best suit the farm.

Finally, Frank highlights how the farmers are managing ewe body condition at this point of the year.

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

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

Seamus McMenamin, sheep meat sector manager with Bord Bia joins Ciaran Lynch on this week’s episode of OviCast with a focus on the sheep market and an outlook for 2021.

Seamus reviews some of the key highlights from the sheep meat trade during 2020 as well as overall throughput and imports from Northern Ireland.

He discusses the growth seen in key markets and moves on to discuss the impact of global trade patterns on the competitiveness of Irish lamb.

Seamus then outlines the influence of China on the world stage particularly in relation to New Zealand lamb exports before discussing the effects of Brexit on UK supply into the EU market and their production levels as well as the impact it has on trade and transport and their outlook for the UK production.

Seamus also highlights the potential for growth in the Middle East, Asian and US markets as well as the welcome increase in domestic retail and he outlines the importance customers place on Quality Assurance certification delivering to market specification before finishing up discussing the outlook for the sheep meat trade in 2021.

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

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

Co. Leitrim native John O’Connell who runs a mixed sheep and dairy contract rearing system in Ballinamore joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s episode of OviCast.

John who is also a participant in the BETTER farm Sheep Programme starts by discussing the importance of having ewes in the right body condition and maintaining this during mid-pregnancy. John discusses his scanning results and subsequent management.

He also explains the role of high-quality silage in his system and the ration specification he is using this year. John puts great emphasis on ensuring ewes have sufficient quantities of high-quality colostrum and takes us through his feeding regime, in particular how he manages singles to facilitate cross fostering.

He moves on to discuss managing pregnant ewe lambs in his flock before finishing up explaining how these and triplet rearing ewes are managed post-lambing.

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

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

Vet Charles Chavasse from Zoetis Ireland joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss the various aspects of vaccination.

Charles starts by explaining how the vaccination process works and some of the differences between those commonly used vaccines at farm level.

He highlights the role of safe handling and administration of vaccines and how that impacts their efficacy.

Charles then discusses the process of passive immunity from the ewe to their progeny and the duration of cover of clostridial vaccines before finishing up on how to identify issues on farm this spring and how a vaccination programme may reduce some of these issues.

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

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

Getting the feeding regime right in late pregnancy has a big impact on a successful lambing and flock performance and on this week’s OviCast episode, Ciarán Lynch discusses the various aspects of this with Michael Gottstein Head of Sheep in Teagasc.

They discuss using forage analyses, scan results and expected lambing date to determine the amount of supplementation required as well as how to manage thin ewes in late pregnancy.

Michael offers advice for farms with low feed value silages. He discusses the pros and cons of pelleted versus coarse rations, how to introduce supplementation and minimise the risks of acidosis.

He also explains the type of ingredients he would like to see in a ration for late pregnancy feeding. Delving into this a bit more he outlines the key energy requirements, protein source and mineral requirements.

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

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

Given the wet conditions this autumn and winter the level of fluke challenge on farms is high at the moment and on this week’s OviCast, Ciarán Lynch catches up with Dr. Orla Keane to discuss this in more detail.

Orla explains the best means of diagnosis and highlights the importance of previous farm history when considering treatment. She also discusses treatment of replacement and remaining lambs on the farm.

Orla then examines the treatment options and their suitability for a number of different circumstances highlighting the risk of continual use of products from an individual active ingredient from a resistance perspective and goes on to highlight best practice when dosing.

A guide to the various products licenced for internal and external parasites is here:

https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/publications/2018/Products-licensed-for-control-of-parasites-in-sheep.pdf

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

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

The practical aspects of housing and feed management are discussed on the latest episode of Ovicast with sheep specialist Damian Costello joining Ciarán Lynch.

Damian begins by explaining why its important to match the number of ewes to pen capacity and he outlines the recommended feed and lying space guidelines.

He then discusses feed management, access to roughage and introducing concentrates to the diet. With the cold snap in weather Damian highlights the importance of checking drinkers and ensuring there is a constant fresh water supply.

He also talks about management of shy feeders and the need to manage these separately.

Finally, Damian discusses tips for flocks housing close to lambing to facilitate the smooth transition of ewes on to late pregnancy diets.

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

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

On the final OviCast of 2020, Ciarán Lynch covers out wintering on forage crops with Teagasc advisor James Doran and BETTER Farm participant John Doyle.

James begins by explaining the potential yield of the different crops and how they fit into the system. He outlines key management tips when grazing these crops to avoid digestive upsets and other health concerns. He also highlights potential issues around clean livestock policy and what actions can be taken.

In the second half of the podcast, presenter Ciarán catches up with John Doyle who is farming in Ballindaggan in Co. Wexford. John has been out wintering on forage crops on an annual basis for a long number of years and he outlines the changes that have occurred in the type of crops he has sown during that period.

He discusses the crops he has in this year, how he manages ewes and lambs on them, in particular the transition of ewes indoors before lambing. He also discusses the impact of sowing date and prevailing weather on the potential crop yield.

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

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