For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses current grazing advice as growth rates are expected to bounce back with rainfall received, plus he has a grazing update from Killian Brennan, Co. Cavan.

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:

https://bit.ly/Grass10-27thMay

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Teagasc Grass10 Programme Manager, John Maher, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss managing mid-season grass quality. 

John outlines the significance of getting grass quality right with 40% of the milk being produced in May, June and July.

He talks about why grass management is difficult, because it doesn’t grow consistently with as much grass growing in the last 7 days of the rotation, as it does in the first 14 days.

The main aim is to graze 1400 Kg DM/ha as this is the cover that optimises grass performance and cow performance and means the paddock is grazed well to facilitate good quality in subsequent rotations.

There are challenges in terms of management of grass quality currently with drier than normal conditions. However, people need to try to get back into the right cover as soon as they can if rain comes.

Nutrient status of paddocks is important and K is critical in water management in the plant, so some K and indeed S are important to deal with stress periods. 

Rainfall should bring a surge in growth and that will have to be managed but having nutrient status in control allows for a quicker return to normal as grass can deal with the stress better when nutrient status is adequate.

John finishes up by saying that it is important to walk the farm before the rain comes to know where you are at and then walk it again once the rain comes to reassess, with the objective being to get to the right pre-grazing yield of 1400 or 10cms in height as soon as possible to underpin midsummer milk production and milk price.

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, with rainfall amounts variable throughout the country, Joseph Dunphy discusses current grazing advice and has a grazing update from Michael Walsh, Co. Laois.

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:

https://bit.ly/Grass10-20thMay

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Costs over the last number of years in running a commercial dairy farm have increased significantly, albeit farm gate milk prices are higher than the long term average, and it’s important that investment decisions are made that benefit the business in the long term.  

Teagasc farm management specialist, Kevin Connolly, joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss and explain why farmers should make informed decisions when it comes to managing their farming business, managing cash surpluses and how to best complete an investment appraisal.

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

On this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses managing a surplus grass situation as soil moisture deficits begin to bite on some drier farms, plus he has a grazing update from Sean O Sullivan, Co. Cork.

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: 

https://bit.ly/Grass10-13thMay

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Dairy farmer, Paul Hyland, who runs the farm with his brother David near the village of Ballacolla, Co. Laois, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss silage quantity and quality.

They have an objective to provide 4-5 bales of quality silage to feed cows in the autumn and again in the springtime but also have a July reserve to be prepared for dry weather at that time of the year.

Paul discusses how they cut covers of 2500-3000 kg DM/ha, baling out at 4-5 bales per acre ideally until they have the reserve they need and then they will focus on main crop silage.

Interestingly, the Hylands always split their fertiliser applications to give themselves options with silage ground. Also they plan silage, targeting to cut younger, more recently reseeded ground for the quality silage.

Finally, Paul explains how the frequent cutting system that they employ on their farm delivers the same quantity of silage at the end of the year but far better quality than big bulky crops.

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses managing surplus grass currently on farm and he has a grazing update from Raymond Niblock, Co. Monaghan.

Link to this week’s newsletter Grass10 newsletter: 

https://bit.ly/Grass10-6thMay

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

Seamus Nolan, Teagasc’s Scheme Support Unit Specialist, who has a particular focus on the Target Agriculture Modernisation scheme, better known to many as the TAMS scheme, joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge.

Seamus discusses the recently announced nutrient storage investment scheme under TAMS 3 which offers farmers an increased rate of grant aid for nutrient storage investments on their farm.  

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses keeping a handle on pre-grazing yield as growth rockets throughout the country and he has a grazing update from Danny Bermingham, Co. Clare.

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: 

https://bit.ly/Grass10-29thApril

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com

The ICBF’s Dan O’Riordan joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss the ICBF Sire Advice Programme which remarkably has been around for 18 years!

Dan first explains what sire advice is and how it works to try and balance the milk and fertility sub-indices to deliver a balanced cow.

Dan also speaks about the benefits of the programme from preventing lethal gene mutation matches in the background, to checking inbreeding to maximising the beef merit of the calf whilst minimising calving risk to the cow with the objective being to deliver a live calf each time.

Finally, Dan highlights the numbers of sire advice being completed, how they have increased in the last few years but that there is scope for more. 

One of the other benefits of completing the sire advice is how it streamlines the breeding season for both the farmer and that AI technician with the decisions made in advance in relation to what cow is getting what bull and giving technical clear instructions on the same with options if necessary also. 

If people are interested in completing a sire advice for 2025, they can contact their advisor, breeding advisor or ICBF directly.

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com