OviCast

Francis Gonely who is running a hill and lowland system in Co Sligo joins Ciarán Lynch for the latest Farmer Focus episode of OviCast.

Francis is a participant in the BETTER Farm Sheep Programme and talks through the system he is running and the changes he has made over the past number of years.

The hill flocks have seen numbers increase and a change in breeding policy that saw replacement blackface ewe lambs purchased. Francis discusses the changes, settling in the new stock and the plans for the flock going forward.

During the same period he has increased his lowland flock and implemented a paddock grazing system and he discusses the initial challenges faced in managing grass supplies whilst still lowly stocked and how he has improved management and output with increased ewe numbers.

Finally, there’s a discussion on lambs’ finishing, the store lamb trade this autumn and the option of carrying over lambs to finish in the New Year.

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

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

With the breeding season underway for many flocks, on this week’s OviCast, Ciarán Lynch catches up with sheep specialist Damian Costello to discuss mating management.

Damian starts by outlining the final checks that should be conducted on the breeding flock of ewes and rams. He then delves into ram management in a bit more detail emphasising the importance of addressing any issues that may cause infertility.

Following on from that, Damian explains the benefits of raddling, the options available and correct application procedure before discussing single sire mating vs. group mating, rotating rams between groups, ewe:ram ratio and a number of practical steps to guard against the risk of using an infertile ram.

Damian also offers his tips on joining ewe lambs and ram choice for the task before he finished with a summary of his key tips for management during the mating period.

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

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

Quad bikes are an extremely useful machine on many farms and on this episode of OviCast, Ciaran Lynch is joined by Francis Quigley machinery specialist, who chats about basic maintenance and some general advice on safe use and how to keep quads in good working order.

Francis starts by discussing the importance of correct tyre pressure and why it should be monitored and adjusted to suit the needs of the specific task the quad is being used for, he also highlights the need to periodically assess tyre wear.

Francis then discusses oil and filter servicing, checking brakes and general mechanical maintenance as well as matching up quad bikes to suitable towing equipment and highlights some important considerations in this regard.

Finally, he explains the importance of checking the controls regularly and addressing any issues.

To add some context to the messages Francis highlighted, particularly around safety, have a look at the following recently produced clip:

http://bit.ly/QuadSafetyVid

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

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

Michael Gottstein, Teagasc’s Head of Sheep joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss fluke control this autumn.

Michael begins by describing how liver fluke affects the sheep and what the high-risk periods for fluke infection are.

He then moves on to discuss control options with Michael explaining the difference between the various categories of flukicide that are available and why not all are suitable at particular stages of the year.

As with other anthelmintics, resistance is an issue, which is discussed in a bit more detail with Michael offering his views on how this could be delayed on farms.

There is a discussion then on rumen fluke and what risk it poses on sheep farms before finishing up with Michael summarising the key points to consider in relation to fluke on farms for the coming weeks.

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

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

Dr Tim Keady joins Ciaran Lynch on this episode of OviCast to discuss in detail the subject of joining ewe lambs - a topic of relevance to many sheep producers this year.

Tim starts by discussing the increased interest in joining ewe lambs this season as well as some of the common practices observed on farms.

Tim presents results from his studies at Athenry on joining ewe lambs. We discuss the influence of ewe genotype and the effect of weight at joining on productivity. Tim outlines key aspects of mating management including, time of joining, duration of the joining period and use of the ram effect.

He then discusses the impact of lambing ewe lambs at 1 year old on their performance when lambing at 2 years of age. Finishing up Tim highlights the need to managed ewe lambs correctly to maintain performance.

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

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

Denis O’Riordan, one of the BETTER farm programme participants in Co. Cork, joins Ciaran Lynch on the latest episode of OviCast giving an insight into his farm and the system he is managing.

Running a 350 Blackface ewe hill flock, we discuss current management on the farm, his plans for selling lambs, selecting and managing replacements as well as breeding decisions for the flock.

Finally, he also discusses some of the changes he has made since joining the programme.

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

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

Drs Philip Creighton & Frank Campion join Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss some key aspects of forage crop management.

Philip begins by discussing the importance of assessing the yield of the crop and he also outlines how to work out the expected carrying capacity. As good utilisation is vital, Philip outlines how to approach setting up grazing divisions and manage these in difficult conditions.

On the subject of divisions Frank highlights the importance of fencer setup and takes us through how they are transitioning lambs on to the various crops in Athenry. He also highlights the importance of shearing lambs prior to grazing forage crops.

Finally, Frank outlines the on-going trial assessing the performance of hill bred store lambs when grazed on forage crops.

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

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

Dr Philip Creighton joins Ciarán Lynch on the latest episode of OviCast to discuss management of autumn reseeds.

Philip starts by discussing current conditions and the limitations of late reseed being established in September. He then moves on to discuss grazing management, opening covers and residuals as well as management during the current difficult grazing conditions.

Philip emphasises the importance of having a clean reseed and shares his insights on post emergence spray as well as fertiliser application.

Finally, Philip explains when a reseed should receive its final grazing and why it’s important to consider how it fits into the closing plan for the farm.

For more information go to:

https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/publications/2017/Reseeding-booklet.pdf

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

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

Dr Tim Keady joins Ciarán Lynch on the latest episode of OviCast to discuss the effects of autumn shearing on the performance of ewes, ewe lambs and store/finishing lambs.

With the cost of shearing versus return from wool at a low point, Tim starts off by emphasising why it’s important for producers to get a performance benefit from it where possible.

Tim takes us through the results of many studies conducted in the area, examining fertility traits, subsequent progeny performance, growth rate and carcass gain. He then outlines where the measurable gains are and dispels some of the perceived performance benefits.

Aside from the performance differences they also discuss management benefits to shearing at this stage of the season finishing up with Tim’s views on how late in the season he would consider shearing.

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 this week’s OviCast to discuss the importance of getting ewes in the right condition at joining.

Frank outlines how to assess condition, what it equates to in terms of live weight and the time needed to increase ewe condition.

There is also a discussion on the factors influencing condition managing thin ewes separately and culling ewes that fail to improve in ewe condition.

Finally, Dr. Campion explains the carryover effects of condition at joining on the productivity of the ewe the following year.

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

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