The Dairy Edge

Latest Episodes:

Donegal farmer Richard Starrett on championing high quality milk Jun 21, 2021

Show notes

NDC & Kerrygold milk quality award winner, Richard Starrett, and his Teagasc dairy advisor, Tommy Doherty, join Emma-Louise Coffey on the latest Dairy Edge podcast to give an insight into Richard’s farm system and how good management decisions over the last 25 years has culminated in recognition in the prestigious milk quality awards. Richard documents the growth in cow numbers from 70 cows in 1994 to 160 cows today and while expanding, he explains that he focused getting the basics right: grass growth, days at grass, high genetic merit cows and cow health as a means to maintaining a sustainable family farm business. Tommy acknowledges the huge achievement of Richard and the Starrett family and credits Richard as a leader in adopting key technologies such as selective dry cow therapy, use of LESS, protected Urea and automation such as auto calf feeders and batt latch. Richard explains he is using selective dry cow therapy for 5 years and in 2020, just 15% of the herd was dried off using antibiotics and the use and reliance on antibiotics has reduced significantly over this time. 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

Let’s Talk Dairy Bonus Episode: Nitrogen planning & application Jun 18, 2021

Show notes

Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available as a bonus podcast episode. In this webinar, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, is joined by Micheál O'Leary from PastureBase Ireland. Micheál discusses the changes that have been made within PastureBase particularly around Nitrogen planning. He also talks about the availability of a nitrogen planner in PastureBase which can help people to plan their Nitrogen planning. 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 practical steps to overcoming issues on farms with heavier soils Jun 14, 2021

Show notes

Teagasc researcher Pat Tuohy joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge to give an insight into the key issues that arise on farms with heavier soils and practical steps to overcome these issues. Pat explains that 30% of Irish soils are characterised as ‘heavy soils’ and are typically associated with drainage issues - a high water table or farms located in a high rainfall area. Consequently, heavy soils farm have a shorter grazing season and lower grass utilisation compared with farms on lighter, free draining soils. Pat documents the progress made on farms that have engaged in the Teagasc Heavy Soils Programme over a 10-year period. Average herd size increased from 80 to 105 cows, grass production increased from 8-10 tonnes to 12-13 tonnes annually and milk solids/ha increased from 850 kg to 1400 kg/year. Additional milk solids were achieved through a combination of increase in cow numbers and stocking rate, increased grass production and increase in extended grazing season and consequently, grass utilisation. For more information go to: https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/grassland/heavy-soils/ 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

Let’s Talk Dairy Bonus Episode: Fertiliser for second cut silage / surplus bales Jun 11, 2021

Show notes

Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available as a bonus podcast episode. In this webinar, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, discusses fertiliser requirements for second cut silage and also in terms of surplus silage taken off of milking platforms over the last couple of days. The level of grass growth is very high at the moment which as a result is creating the surplus silage. This emphasises two things: 1) We need to walk farms more regularly to try stay ahead of grass growth 2) Trying to eliminate those surpluses in the challenging weather conditions 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 rise of antimicrobial resistance and key practices to minimise the risk in your dairy herd Jun 07, 2021

Show notes

Dairy farmer Eamon Sheehan and Róisín Horan from Teagasc join Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast with an insight into the staggering rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among animal and human populations and key practices to minimise the risk in your dairy herd. Róisín explains that AMR is an ongoing concern, accounting for 700,000 deaths annually and has the potential to be more fatal than cancer by 2050 if growth in the level of resistance continues. Eamon considers some of the key focus areas to promote a healthy herd and minimise the risk of AMR including: selective dry cow therapy, the dairy cow diet during the dry period, colostrum in the first hours of life and creating a vaccination protocol. Róisín and Eamon recommend that farmers focus on getting the basics right such as good hygiene and biosecurity whilst also being proactive with monitoring animals to minimise disease and use the correct treatments where disease arises. For more information see: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/amr/ https://www.bovilis.ie/vaccination-planner/ https://www.nuffieldscholar.org/sites/default/files/reports/2017_IE_Eamon-Sheehan_Microbial-Management-And-Its-Importance-In-The-Dairy-And-Beef-Industry.pdf 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

Let’s Talk Dairy Bonus Episode: Weekly Fertility Report Jun 04, 2021

Show notes

Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available as a bonus podcast episode. In this webinar, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, is joined by Dan O'Riordan, ICBF who explains how to do the weekly fertility report correctly. The way to calculate the fertility report has thankfully changed since 2008 with the aid of the ICBF platform which gives a much more accurate result given that the figures inserted are correct. The two key things that you will need before calculating the weekly fertility report are: 1) Calving start date 2) Mating start date 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 targets to maximise grass utilisation and minimise costs during the main grazing season May 31, 2021

Show notes

Grass 10 advisor Joseph Dunphy joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s episode of The Dairy Edge to remind us of the important targets to maximise grass utilisation and minimise costs during the main grazing season. Joseph acknowledges the difficult grazing conditions experienced in recent weeks, particularly for farms in heavy rainfall areas and on heavier soils where on/off grazing techniques have been a feature of grazing management. He explains that growth rates have increased to an average of 66 kg DM/ha and this is projected to increase further in the coming week as temperatures rise. Joseph recommends that farmers maintain a pre-grazing cover of 1,400 kg and farm cover of 160-180 kg/cow. He explains that there is approximately 0.5 units of background Nitrogen available to support grass growth and therefore, farmers should follow the cows with a further 20 units of protected Urea with sulphur during June and July to support high grass growth. 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

Let’s Talk Dairy Bonus Episode: Grass Management May 28, 2021

Show notes

Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available as a bonus podcast episode. In this webinar, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, discusses grass management. Some topics up for discussion in this episode are: the national growth grass curve, number of covers this year to date, current farm situations, maximising grass for quality and utilisation and improving grass quality. 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

How to maximise pregnancy rates across the remainder of the breeding season May 24, 2021

Show notes

Doreen Corridan and Stuart Childs join Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s episode of the Dairy Edge to give advice on how to maximise pregnancy rates across the remainder of the breeding season and how to avoid a lull in calvings that arise during the transition from AI to the stock bull. Doreen highlights the increase in demand for the bull in groups of heifers, in particular where a synchronisation protocol and/or sexed semen is used. In this scenario, a high proportion of heifers may repeat in a 3-4 day window. A second round of AI should be considered to ensure high pregnancy rates early in the breeding season. Stuart explains that the fertility ‘MOT’ test that is carried out on the stock bull, while useful to make sure a bull is fertile, is only valid on the test day, but reminds us that we must monitor the stock bulls throughout the breeding season. Furthermore, Doreen identifies problems that can arise: excessive weight loss and lethargy in young bulls and lameness in mature bulls. To avoid a lull in calving when transitioning from AI to the stuck bull, both Stuart and Doreen recommend that you continue to AI cows that come in heat for at least 10-14 days while the bull settles in with the herd. The use of beef AI later in the breeding season offers the opportunity to use a panel of beef bulls to match to cows and heifers based on calving difficult while also selecting for shorter gestation length. 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

Let’s Talk Dairy Bonus Episode: Cutting For Quality Silage May 21, 2021

Show notes

Teagasc is running a weekly Let's Talk Dairy webinar series which is also being made available as a bonus podcast episode. In this webinar, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, discusses how to cut for the highest quality of silage. In the farming community, the trend seems to be that we forget about the time leading up to cutting silage and only emphasise the time when we are using it. As a result of this, we strategically plan for cutting silage but at the moment it’s not of much benefit to us. What we can control at the moment is the cutting date and the influence this can have on silage quality. 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

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