The Dairy Edge Teagasc

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week. 
 
As growth rates are static and behind target for late June, Joseph also discusses grazing management and he has a grazing update from 2023 winner of the SGFOY Patrick O’Neill from Co. Longford.
 
Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-25thJune
 
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

DairyBeef 500 Programme Co-ordinator, Alan Dillon, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss late breeding season bull choice.
 
Alan explains that late born calves are as much a hassle for the beef farmer as they are for the dairy farmer as they don’t fit into any system, so a defined breeding season is important to eliminate May/June calves as they are of no value to dairy beef farms nor to dairy farmers.
 
Alan then outlines the criteria for bull selection at this stage of the season with high carcass weight >10kg for traditional breeds such as Angus and Hereford and a minimum of 20kg for the continental breeds. The focus must be to deliver a quality calf that has potential to deliver a return. 
 
Gestation length and calving ease are the other two important criteria for dairy farmers particularly at this stage of the season where the objective must be to get the cow calved as early as possible at this late stage.
 
Alan says there are buyers for most calves throughout the season with a variation similar to that of calving start date to when calves are bought across the country. Dairy farmers should try to use the best beef genetics either through AI or the stock bull they buy to generate calves of quality to move into dairy beef systems. 
 
In the future CBV will have a significant role to play in deciding the value of the calf but all calves can leave a return as long as the purchase price is right. 
 
Alan advocates developing a relationship with a local buyer to ensure calves move off the dairy farm for a reasonable price and in an orderly fashion rather than being at the mercy of the market each week. This is very useful for the calf buyer as they have animals that have a health history behind them so dairy farmers should try to develop these relationships ahead of the calving season when time will be hard to come by.  Using a good beef animal is as easy as using a bad one and is to the benefit of the industry as a whole.
 
Finally, Alan invites all farmers to attend the BEEf2024 Open Day in Grange, Co. Meath on June 26th, to see all things dairy beef with something for everyone.
 
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, Niamh Doyle discusses PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week. 
As growth rates are lower than average, Niamh also discusses tips to increasing your AFC and she has an update from featured farmer, John Phelan, Co. Waterford.
 
Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: 
https://bit.ly/Grass10-18thJune
 
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

Given the significant increase in input costs on dairy farms since 2021, along with the increased feed budget costs this spring due to poor weather, good cash flow management has never been more important to ensure the efficient running of the farm business. 
 
Dairy farmer Sean O’Donnell joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge to outline how he manages the financial aspect of his dairy business to ensure the correct financial decisions are made in an informed manner.
 
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 PastureBase data, Dry Matter % and Predicted grass growth, rainfall & soil temperatures for the week. 
 
As growth rates suffer on Irish dairy farms, Joseph also discusses grazing management and he has a grazing update from Enda Armstrong from Co. Galway.
 
Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-11thJune
 
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

Terry McElvaney, Veterinary Inspector at the Veterinary Medicines, Antimicrobial Resistance, Byproducts and TSE Division, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss residues in milk.
 
Terry first explains the role of the division in which he works and how it is important in facilitating trade.
 Terry says that the division tests 15,000 samples annually and carries out 70,000 tests on these samples for many different types of residues in order to report to the EU on our compliance with the regulations around the use of veterinary products in animals that go into the food chain.
 
He says that while a miniscule percentage of samples test positive each year, this year there has been an increase in the positives associated with Ivermectin and Levamisole, active ingredients in wormers and flukicides.
 
Terry advises farmers to test before treating and to ensure the right product is used at the right rate at the right time. 
 
Observing withdrawals is important and people need to carefully record dates of administration to ensure those withdrawals are observed. Terry also warns people that stock will often calve ahead of time and when that does happen, the withdrawal period still needs to be observed.
 
He finishes by recommending people avoid unnecessary use of any veterinary medicinal products when possible and where they have to be used, to get good advice on the product to use.    
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