The Dairy Edge

Latest Episodes:

The Future of Irish Dairy Breeding with Donagh Berry Mar 30, 2026

Show notes

Prof. Donagh Berry, Quantitative Geneticist at Teagasc Moorepark, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss the future of Irish Dairy Breeding Programmes.

Donagh first explains that breeding is all about numbers. With the uptake in use of sexed semen, the pool of dairy bull calves being born has shrunk and while this was part of the objective of using it in the first place, there is a side effect which has the potential to slow genetic gain in Irish dairy.

He outlines the type of numbers of calves that need to be born each year in order to maintain the genetic growth that Irish farmers have enjoyed since the late 2000s when genomics arrived.

In order to continue this, it will be important to have a structured breeding programme that will see Irish farmers work with the AI companies putting some of their best cows in calf to nominated bulls with a view to delivering the bulls of the future.

Failure to do so will see the progress made in the industry in the last three decades since the introduction of the EBI slow significantly.

However, Donagh is attempting to avoid this occurrence by bringing industry together during 2026 to discuss the situation, identify the solutions and get them implemented as quickly as possible.

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

Your Weekly Grass10 Update Mar 27, 2026

Show notes

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses why monitoring grass supply on farm is critically important at this time of the year; growth rates are predicted to be above average for the coming week so walk the farm and establish regrowth on paddocks grazed first in spring.

Plus, it’s important to get up to date with Nutrient applications – the aim is to have 60 units N/acre applied by early-mid April.

Meanwhile, the featured farmer is Michael Cunniffe from Fuerty, Co. Roscommon.

Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-24thMarch2026

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

ICBF Breeding Guidelines Mar 23, 2026

Show notes

Kevin Downing and Dan O’Riordan of ICBF join Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss the Spring Breeding Guidelines that will be arriving to farmers across the country this week.

Kevin explains how the scorecard included in the guidelines can be used to identify the herd strengths and weaknesses to allow people to see where they may need to target improvement.

He then discusses the importance of using enough dairy AI straws to ensure there are adequate numbers of replacements coming through to support the needs of individual farms. 25% is required in order to ensure that 18-20% replacement rates can be maintained as not all heifers will go the distance so some surplus will be needed.

He also spoke about the importance of using high DBI with high beef subindex beef sires to generate high quality dairy beef stock and emphasises the need to continue using AI until such time as there is sufficient bull power to meet demand.

Finally Dan spoke about how sire advice is now available on the HerdPlus app which will facilitate more people to use it.

He highlights the benefits of sire advice, balancing milk and fertility, avoiding inbreeding and lethal mutations and maximising beef merit while minimising calving difficulty risk, all making life easier for everyone involved.

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

Your Weekly Grass10 Update Mar 20, 2026

Show notes

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, with the weather improving and a significant decrease in rainfall expected, John Maher discusses the increase in grass growth rate.

There's now an opportunity to get more of the farm grazed:

· Get animals out (priority groups such as replacement heifers)

· Day and night grazing for dairy herd

It is especially important to prioritise grazing if:

· There is a low level of fodder available (do a budget!!)

· Quality of silage is poor

· Have a high feed demand

· Shortage of accommodation

As weather conditions improve, get fertiliser and slurry applied across the farm. Target 30/35 units N per acre to areas of the farm that have not yet received any fertiliser.

Meanwhile, the featured farmer is Liam Rochford from Co. Wexford.

Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-17thMarch

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

Adding value to the Irish milk pool with Conor Mulvihill, Dairy Industry Ireland Mar 16, 2026

Show notes

This week’s Dairy Edge is a special episode as it marks the 500th show of the podcast.

The first episode aired on 11th January 2018, when Emma-Louise Coffey was joined by dairy farmer, John Leahy, and Teagasc ruminant nutritionist, Brian Garry, to discuss preparing for the spring calving season and managing forage supplies.

Since then the podcast audience has grown significantly with the series now surpassing one million listens in total.

To mark the milestone, we’re taking a look beyond the farm gate to the wider dairy industry with James Dunne speaking to Conor Mulvihill, Director of Dairy Industry Ireland.

They discuss the remit of Dairy Industry Ireland withing the wider industry, the current market outlook, what ‘value-added’ really means for Irish dairy, the importance of the grass-fed story, and some of the key challenges and opportunities facing the industry.

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

Your Weekly Grass10 Update Mar 13, 2026

Show notes

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses the importance of getting animals out grazing and why on/off grazing is the best approach to get going.

Plus, getting the farm ready to move and having fertiliser ordered and in the yard will allow farms to take the opportunity spread when conditions allow

Meanwhile, Michael Smith from Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan is this week’s featured farmer.

Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-10thMarch

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

Keeping cows & calves healthy in March - a vet’s perspective Mar 09, 2026

Show notes

Marie Louise Ryan, veterinary practitioner with Mulcair vets covering the counties Limerick and Tipperary joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge to highlight what issues are raising their head at farm level when it comes to herd health on dairy farms at the moment.

Marie Louise also discusses what farmers can do from a management perspective over the coming weeks to ensure good cow and calf health throughout the month of March.

Topics covered include transition cow management, milk fever, displaced abomasums and calf management.

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

Your Weekly Grass10 Update Mar 06, 2026

Show notes

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses updated spring targets, getting the farm ready to move, and why on/off grazing should be used to maximise the level of grass in the diet.

Plus the featured farmer is Enda Walsh from Oranmore, Co. Galway.

Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-3rdMarch

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

March Management Tips with John Maher and Mike Bermingham Mar 02, 2026

Show notes

John Maher of Grass 10 and dairy farmer, Mike Bermingham, join Stuart Childs to discuss the challenges of grazing in 2026 and how to overcome them.

John explains how February has been wet and people have been holding off grazing in the hope of dry weather, however, the forecast is middling at best for the next few weeks so people will have to make a start for the good of the grass and the good of the cow.

Mike Bermingham is on a high north facing farm just outside Fermoy. He has experienced plenty of rain in the last few weeks like many others, but he is getting cows to grass most days and even some evenings now too.

Mike explains how he feels the effort to get the cows out is less for him than the work in the yard and this drives him on to get cows to grass at every opportunity.

Mike outlines how he is doing this and explains that the thought of what he will be paid on April 22nd for his March milk is a further incentive to get grass in every day if possible.

Mike finishes by saying that grass is the best feed available and nothing you can buy in the yard can compare to it.

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

Your Weekly Grass10 Update Feb 27, 2026

Show notes

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses being proactive and identifying what feed is available on the farm, dealing with the challenging conditions and why on/off grazing is the most important tool available to farmers at the present time.

The featured farmer is Shane Seymour from Nenagh, Co. Tipperary.

Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-24thFeb26

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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