OviCast

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Latest Episodes:

Sheep market focus and outlook for 2021 Feb 09, 2021

Show notes

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/

Farmer Focus: John O’Connell – Scanning, feeding and managing ewes in Co. Leitrim Feb 02, 2021

Show notes

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/

Focus on Vaccination Jan 26, 2021

Show notes

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/

Feeding for late pregnancy Jan 19, 2021

Show notes

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/

Fluke control at this stage of the season Jan 12, 2021

Show notes

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/

Housing and feed management Jan 06, 2021

Show notes

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/

Out wintering on forage crops Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

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/

Using scanning results Dec 22, 2020

Show notes

With many farmers pregnancy scanning their flocks during the coming weeks we discuss how to best make use of this information with sheep specialist Damian Costello. Damian starts by discussing the flock performance at scanning, some factors that influence it and benchmarking against targets. He then discusses the options for empty eyes and follow-up actions where issues occur before moving on to talk in more detail about using the results as part of a feeding plan for late pregnancy and how to put a practical plan in place for a flock. For more episodes from OviCast, visit the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast/

Silage sampling Dec 15, 2020

Show notes

A key step in late pregnancy nutrition for ewes is knowing the feed value of silage being used. In this episode of the OviCast podcast, sheep specialist Damian Costello joins Ciarán Carroll to explain the process of silage sampling in more detail, from the equipment needed to the process of taking the sample itself. Damian then highlights the importance of getting a representative sample and why it’s necessary to take a number of samples where silages from different harvest dates are being used. He moves on to discuss the preparation of that sample for sending and how to make use the results once you receive them. Finally, Damian encourages anyone who hasn’t taken a sample to do so to know the feed value of the silage their using. For more episodes from OviCast, visit the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast/

Health and Safety focus Dec 08, 2020

Show notes

Health and Safety Specialist Francis Bligh joins Ciarán Lynch on the latest episode of OviCast with advice on safety around machinery and on farm. Firstly, Francis discusses the HSA figures for accidents that have occurred in agriculture and the particular trends in the sheep sector during the previous 12 months - a stark reminder of the dangers encountered in the industry. Francis highlights some of the steps that can be taken to improve personal safety and how to reduce the risk of zoonotic infection from livestock. He then discusses safety around machinery and safe transport on roads, with Francis highlighting some of the risks associated with ATVs in particular. Francis then moves on to farmyard safety offering his advice on some areas to focus on during the winter months and he also outlines the TAMS grants and capital allowances available for investments in farm safety equipment. Finally, he finishes up by discussing farmers’ own health and mental wellbeing with Francis offering some sound advice in this area. For more episodes from OviCast, visit the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast/

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