The Dairy Edge
- Folgen
- 714
- Erscheint
- mehrmals pro Woche
- Letzte Folge
- 13. Nov. 2026
Über den Podcast
The Dairy Edge is Teagasc’s dairy podcast for farmers with the latest information, insights and opinion to improve your dairy farm performance. Visit the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
Folgen 714
Your Weekly Grass10 Update
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions that need to be done, including:Keep an eye on closing cover as AFC dropsAssess % area grazedRead more from the latest …
Shownotes
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions that need to be done, including:
- Keep an eye on closing cover as AFC drops
- Assess % area grazed
Read more from the latest Grass10 newsletter at:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-10thNov
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
Bluetongue and midge borne viruses update with Conor McAloon
Conor McAloon, Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology and Director of the Centre for Veterinary Epidemiology and Risk Analysis (CVERA) at UCD joins Stuart Childs to give us an update on Bluetongue and other midge …
Shownotes
Conor McAloon, Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology and Director of the Centre for Veterinary Epidemiology and Risk Analysis (CVERA) at UCD joins Stuart Childs to give us an update on Bluetongue and other midge borne viruses in Ireland currently.
Conor says he had not seen any convincing evidence that blue tongue overwintered in Ireland from 2025 and believes that the 2026 cases that are being picked up were more likely linked to infected midges arriving from the UK during the summer.
While this was good from the point of view of it not hitting during the early stages of the breeding season, he expects infections that occurred during autumn to bring a risk of abortions and calves with congenital or neurological problems in spring 2027.
Conor says that vaccination matters, but plans may need to change: vaccination was a sound decision for the herds that chose it albeit no vaccine is 100% effective, it did protect the herds that did go that route. An annual booster for now, pending more information, will be required in 2027 but vaccination advice will have to be adapted each year potentially as different disease risks emerge and recede.
He finishes by saying be prepared and make decisions with good advice: midge-borne disease incursions are likely to become more common and farmers should take an adaptable approach to animal health.
He stresses working with vets and advisers, weighing vaccine costs against potential losses and the labour of managing sick or affected animals as key in helping people make the decisions necessary for their own 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
Your Weekly Grass10 Update
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions that need to be done, including:Assess % area grazedMonitor average farm coverGraze priority groundRead more from the …
Shownotes
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions that need to be done, including:
- Assess % area grazed
- Monitor average farm cover
- Graze priority ground
Read more from the latest Grass10 newsletter at:
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
Dry Cow Minerals: Avoiding the Common Mistakes
Aisling Claffey, Teagasc ruminant nutrition specialist, joins Stuart Childs to discuss the importance of dry cow minerals to the success of your calving season.Aisling explains that magnesium is key …
Shownotes
Aisling Claffey, Teagasc ruminant nutrition specialist, joins Stuart Childs to discuss the importance of dry cow minerals to the success of your calving season.
Aisling explains that magnesium is key. Pre-calving minerals need to supply enough magnesium to support the cow’s ability to mobilise calcium around calving. She also highlights the importance of vitamins—particularly vitamin D and the role it has for milk fever prevention also.
Consistency is vital with minerals. Missing minerals for a day or two can matter, especially when many cows are close to calving. As people are getting better at their soil fertility, Aisling believes people should test silage for minerals annually as silage potassium can vary from year to year and as this may interfere with magnesium absorption, farmers need to be aware of the feed that they are feeding.
Milk fever can have wider consequences. Low calcium can affect muscle function, calving and rumen contractions, and intake. It is known as a gateway disease with transition-cow problems as well as mastitis all likely to follow so prevention is important and key to this is a good mineral fed consistently.
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
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions that need to be done, including:Average farm cover droppingAssess AFC on farmAssess % area grazedImplement on-off …
Shownotes
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions that need to be done, including:
- Average farm cover dropping
- Assess AFC on farm
- Assess % area grazed
- Implement on-off grazing
Read more from the latest Grass10 newsletter at:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-27thOct
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
Best Practice when Drying Off - A Practical Guide
As we come towards the end of the lactation, getting the drying-off process right is important to ensure good udder health and set cows up correctly for the next lactation. This week, James Dunne is joined by …
Shownotes
As we come towards the end of the lactation, getting the drying-off process right is important to ensure good udder health and set cows up correctly for the next lactation.
This week, James Dunne is joined by Padraig O’Connor from Teagasc to go through best practice when drying off, from planning and preparing cows to carrying out the process and managing cows in the days afterwards.
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
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions that need to be done, including:Prioritise grazing residualsUpdate autumn grass budgetPrepare for changing weatherRead …
Shownotes
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions that need to be done, including:
- Prioritise grazing residuals
- Update autumn grass budget
- Prepare for changing weather
Read more from the latest Grass10 newsletter at:
https://pasturebase.teagasc.ie/Grass10%20Weekly.pdf?=20261023
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
Winter Feeding Efficiency with Martina Gormley
Martina Gormley, dairy specialist in Athenry, Co. Galway, joins Stuart Childs to discuss a survey on winter feeding practices that she completed with a number of farmers across the country over the winter …
Shownotes
Martina Gormley, dairy specialist in Athenry, Co. Galway, joins Stuart Childs to discuss a survey on winter feeding practices that she completed with a number of farmers across the country over the winter period 2025/26.
The first thing Martina highlights is that winter feeding takes significant time. The survey of more than 70 dairy farmers found an average of 14 hours per week spent feeding silage, with wide differences between farms. Average time was six minutes per livestock unit per week.
Some things can influence the speed of feeding out such as farm layout and equipment. Limited feed space, using several yards, transporting silage and handling bales with unsuitable equipment were common sources of creating extra work.
Around half of farmers said they lacked enough feed space, and 40% of the people surveyed were still using a fork or similar tool at some stage during the feeding process.
A starting point for farmers is to time their own feeding routine and target the main bottleneck. Some of the main options that will improve speed are improving feed space, using suitably sized grabs or bale-handling equipment be that a bale slice or bale unroller.
Obviously, having silage closer to livestock will also lend to the speed of feeding and is something to factor in for any future developments.
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
National Farm Survey 2025: The Irish Dairy Figures Explained
Teagasc economist, Trevor Donnellan, joins James Dunne to discuss the latest National Farm Survey results for 2025, focusing on the Irish dairy enterprise. Trevor explains why Teagasc conducts the National Farm …
Shownotes
Teagasc economist, Trevor Donnellan, joins James Dunne to discuss the latest National Farm Survey results for 2025, focusing on the Irish dairy enterprise.
Trevor explains why Teagasc conducts the National Farm Survey, outlines the key figures for farm income and production costs, while also exploring the changing structure of Irish dairy farming.
Plus he highlights the main differences in high vs low margin farms. Finally we discuss how 2026 will look significantly different to 2025.
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
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions that need to be done, including:Prioritise grazing residualsUpdate autumn grass budgetApply lime while ground conditions …
Shownotes
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions that need to be done, including:
- Prioritise grazing residuals
- Update autumn grass budget
- Apply lime while ground conditions are suitable
Read more from the latest Grass10 newsletter at:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-13thOct
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
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions that need to be done, including:Prioritising grazing residuals as we head into the final rotationFarms should begin the …
Shownotes
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions that need to be done, including:
- Prioritising grazing residuals as we head into the final rotation
- Farms should begin the final rotation early-mid October
- Updating autumn grass budget
- Grass growth will be between 40-50 kg DM/ha/day over the next weeks
- As closing begins on farm set the farm up to graze 60% by early November
Read more from the latest Grass10 newsletter at:
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
Last Rotation: Setting Up for the Spring
As we head into the final grazing rotation of the year, there’s plenty for farmers to be thinking about in terms of grazing the final round - the grass budget, closing paddocks and getting the farm set up …
Shownotes
As we head into the final grazing rotation of the year, there’s plenty for farmers to be thinking about in terms of grazing the final round - the grass budget, closing paddocks and getting the farm set up correctly for next spring.
So, to talk us through where things are at and what farmers should be focusing on over the coming weeks, James Dunne is joined by Teagasc grassland researcher Mike Egan.
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
September Evaluation Update & the COW Index with Margaret Kelleher, ICBF
Dr. Margaret Kelleher, Genetics Operation Manager at ICBF, joins Stuart Childs to discuss the most recent update in September and to learn more about the COW index that farmers should be using more in their …
Shownotes
Dr. Margaret Kelleher, Genetics Operation Manager at ICBF, joins Stuart Childs to discuss the most recent update in September and to learn more about the COW index that farmers should be using more in their herd to identify the cows that require career changes!
Margaret explains that September evaluations were relatively stable, as they tend to be at this time of year in the seasonal system that we have here in Ireland, but ICBF continues to receive and update large volumes of data, including milk records, calving records, factory data, mart data and genotypes on a daily basis that they then gather together and add to the existing information to update the details of the animals on the database. This is a job that takes about 2 months to do and as soon as an update is published, ICBF start on the process for the next update almost immediately.
We then moved to the main core of today’s conversation, the COW (Cow’s Own Worth) Index which Margaret outlined as a live herd-specific tool that ranks cows using current performance, predicted future performance and replacement cost. Where good data is entered, this index can be used by farmers to identify the bottom 10–15% to be considered for culling. It has the advantage of pulling milk performance, calving date and future potential together to help cut through the noise when trying to make culling decisions.
For the tool to be most effective, accurate recording of information is essential. Milk recording, fertility and scanning data have a major impact, while recording mastitis, lameness and temperament would make the Cow Index more accurate and useful for the individual farmer. EBI is the tool to use to identify the most profitable cows to breed from, COW is for culling decisions.
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
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions that need to be done, including:Prioritise grazing residualsMonitor growth rates and update grass budgetRead more from …
Shownotes
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions that need to be done, including:
- Prioritise grazing residuals
- Monitor growth rates and update grass budget
Read more from the latest Grass10 newsletter at:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-29thSeptember
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
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions that need to be done, including:Assess farm cover and growth ratesDo grass budget to plan supplementationMake the best …
Shownotes
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions that need to be done, including:
- Assess farm cover and growth rates
- Do grass budget to plan supplementation
- Make the best use of organic nutrients
Read more from the latest Grass10 newsletter at:
https://pasturebase.teagasc.ie/Grass10%20Weekly.pdf?=20260924
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
Managing cashflow: what dairy farmers need to consider
Cash flow is always an important part of running a dairy farm, but in a year like 2026, keeping a close eye on the money coming in and going out has become even more important.While milk price remains behind …
Shownotes
Cash flow is always an important part of running a dairy farm, but in a year like 2026, keeping a close eye on the money coming in and going out has become even more important.
While milk price remains behind the levels experienced in recent years, farmers are also facing significant increases in costs due to both geopolitical issues in the Middle East and also the prolonged dry spell.
So, how should farmers be looking at their cash flow, what are the warning signs that a cash deficit could be developing, and what practical steps can be taken before it becomes a bigger problem?
Patrick Gowing, Teagasc dairy specialist who has a particular focus on farm financial management joins James Dunne to look at cash flow on dairy farms in 2026, how farmers can identify potential pressure points, and what options are available to manage them.
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
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions that need to be done: Set a 35 day rotation lengthDo grass budget - phase out silage supplementationMake the best use of …
Shownotes
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions that need to be done:
- Set a 35 day rotation length
- Do grass budget - phase out silage supplementation
- Make the best use of watery slurry
Read more from the latest Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-15thSept
https://bit.ly/Grass10-18thSeptember
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
Countrywide update with Joint Programme Advisors, John McCabe, Seamus Kearney & Sean Callan
John McCabe, Seamus Kearney and Sean Callan, Advisors on the Teagasc Aurivo, Teagasc Tirlán and Teagasc Lakeland joint programmes, join Stuart Childs to give a more countrywide feel for the situation on farms …
Shownotes
John McCabe, Seamus Kearney and Sean Callan, Advisors on the Teagasc Aurivo, Teagasc Tirlán and Teagasc Lakeland joint programmes, join Stuart Childs to give a more countrywide feel for the situation on farms around Ireland currently following the recovery in grass growth in the last few weeks.
The impact of the drought varied significantly by region with the west generally less affected, while parts of the Lakelands, due to the geography of the catchment, and especially the south and east experienced major reductions in grass growth and farm cover which in turn led to substantial supplementary feeding.
Seamus explains that the winter fodder shortages are the main concern and that although grass growth and farm covers have recovered, many farms in the Tirlán catchment have used large quantities of silage and meal during the summer.
Fodder budgets have identified shortages of approximately two bales per cow on the lighthouse farms, making early feed purchasing and planning essential. Meanwhile, some of farms on the Lakeland programme have significant surplus but with wet starts and ends to the year more common, it may well be needed in the future.
The key message is to quantify and act early. Farmers should complete fodder budgets, manage the final grazing rotation carefully, assess grazing infrastructure and improve if possible or plan to improve in the future to maximise opportunities to get cows to grass even in challenging conditions.
Where deficits have been identified, consider options such as buying fodder, using meal to stretch existing supplies, and/or removing underperforming/empty cows earlier to protect winter feed stocks.
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
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions to be done: Set a 35 day rotation lengthDo a grass budget to reduce supplementationConsider limingRead more from this …
Shownotes
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions to be done:
- Set a 35 day rotation length
- Do a grass budget to reduce supplementation
- Consider liming
Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-8thSeptember
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
Back to Grass: Managing Dairy Cow Nutrition After the Drought
Teagasc ruminant nutritionist, Aisling Claffey, joins James Dunne to discuss managing dairy cow nutrition as we move out of the drought conditions. With many cows having been fed increased levels of silage and …
Shownotes
Teagasc ruminant nutritionist, Aisling Claffey, joins James Dunne to discuss managing dairy cow nutrition as we move out of the drought conditions.
With many cows having been fed increased levels of silage and concentrate, the return to grass needs to be managed carefully.
We’ll discuss how farmers can make decisions around reducing silage and concentrate, what to monitor in cow performance, and also what to look out for with young stock grazing outside blocks.
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
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions to be done for this week: Set a 30-35 day rotation lengthMake a farm specific fertiliser/slurry planDo a fodder available …
Shownotes
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions to be done for this week:
- Set a 30-35 day rotation length
- Make a farm specific fertiliser/slurry plan
- Do a fodder available budget
Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-1stSeptember
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
Fertiliser Advice for September
Dr. David Wall, Enterprise Leader of the farms and estate at Teagasc’s Environment Research Centre in Johnstown Castle, joins Stuart Childs to discuss the timing of fertiliser applications over the coming weeks …
Shownotes
Dr. David Wall, Enterprise Leader of the farms and estate at Teagasc’s Environment Research Centre in Johnstown Castle, joins Stuart Childs to discuss the timing of fertiliser applications over the coming weeks to maximise the return from nutrients applied while minimising the risk to water quality.
This is particularly important in drought-affected areas, where low grass growth and reduced nutrient uptake have increased the risk of nutrient losses.
David first addresses the concept of calendar farming, explaining that fertiliser deadlines are driven by declining nutrient uptake rather than soil trafficability. As daylight levels fall, grass growth and nutrient demand naturally decrease. Applying additional nitrogen above crop requirements will not generate extra growth and, particularly from mid-October onwards, will instead increase the risk of nutrient losses.
Following the recent drought, David says farmers should make the most of natural soil mineralisation over the coming weeks. With moisture returning while soils remain warm, mineralisation can supply approximately 1 kg N/ha per day, potentially supporting around 35 kg DM/ha per day of grass growth.
Lime also has an important role to play. Correcting soil acidity can improve nutrient availability and help release significant quantities of soil nitrogen over time, which can then support further grass growth.
Despite the temptation to apply heavily now that the drought has broken, David advises farmers to use fertiliser and slurry sparingly and avoid over-application. In drought-affected areas where growth has resumed, applications of around 20–25 kg N/ha from fertiliser or slurry can provide additional growth on top of what soil mineralisation is already supplying.
Slurry should also be prioritised where appropriate, particularly where tanks need to be emptied before October. David recommends applying slurry regularly over the coming month ahead of the closing period commencing on October 1st.
This approach will help maximise the return from the nutrients applied, reduce the risk of losses to water and also help spread contractor workloads over the coming weeks.
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
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions to be done for this week: Do a fodder available budget If fodder reserves are below target, take actionAssess paddocks …
Shownotes
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher highlights the top actions to be done for this week:
- Do a fodder available budget
- If fodder reserves are below target, take action
- Assess paddocks individually for grass growth
Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-25thAugust
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
Joe Patton on dealing with the feed & fodder situation
Joe Patton, Head of the Teagasc Dairy Knowledge Transfer programme, joins James Dunne with an update on the current situation on dairy farms across the country following the prolonged period of dry weather.Joe …
Shownotes
Joe Patton, Head of the Teagasc Dairy Knowledge Transfer programme, joins James Dunne with an update on the current situation on dairy farms across the country following the prolonged period of dry weather.
Joe explains the results from the Teagasc National Fodder Survey, which were presented at the National Feed and Fodder committee meeting, and he outlines the priorities for affected farmers regarding winter feed, reducing herd demand, nitrogen fertiliser and seeking advice where needed.
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
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher explains that:All farms should complete a fodder available budget An action plan needs to be developed where fodder reserves are below targetFarms …
Shownotes
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher explains that:
- All farms should complete a fodder available budget
- An action plan needs to be developed where fodder reserves are below target
- Farms and paddocks need to be assessed individually for grass growth
Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-18thAugust
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
Staying on top of milk quality
Raymond Ryan, Milk Quality Advisor for the Limerick and Clare regions with Dairygold, joins Stuart Childs to discuss staying on top of milk quality.Raymond explains that milk quality in 2026 is generally …
Shownotes
Raymond Ryan, Milk Quality Advisor for the Limerick and Clare regions with Dairygold, joins Stuart Childs to discuss staying on top of milk quality.
Raymond explains that milk quality in 2026 is generally holding up, with cell count and TBC broadly similar to previous years, but drought and difficult weather have created localised problems.
Dirty conditions are the main risk, particularly for thermoduric bacteria and farmers should keep cows and parlours clean, manage sacrifice paddocks or cubicles carefully, ideally dry-wiping cows before milking. Making sure machine maintenance such as liners and rubberware has been done is also an important management step.
Raymond says that, where problems arise, early action and implementation of consistent routines are critical: monitor cell counts/TBC and act quickly on rises, ensure adequate water and nutrition, remove persistent high-cell-count cows where appropriate, and maintain proper plant washing with sufficient hot water, chemicals, temperature and turbulence.
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
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses: Doing a fodder available budget for your farmAssessing weed burden in recent reseedsTemperatures increasing again - water supply priority …
Shownotes
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses:
- Doing a fodder available budget for your farm
- Assessing weed burden in recent reseeds
- Temperatures increasing again - water supply priority for animals
Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-11thAugust
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
Trying to get time off - help others to help you
Eoghan Byrne, project manager in FRS farm services, and MTU Agriculture student, Cormac Harnett, who works as an operator with the FRS in Cork joins Stuart Childs to discuss how farmers can help themselves get …
Shownotes
Eoghan Byrne, project manager in FRS farm services, and MTU Agriculture student, Cormac Harnett, who works as an operator with the FRS in Cork joins Stuart Childs to discuss how farmers can help themselves get a bit of a break from the work by making it easier to work on their farm.
Both Eoghan and Cormac say that planning and communication are central by giving operators advance notice and clearly stating what needs to be done, how to do it on your farm and when it needs to be done. Farmers leaving checklists, notes on how to do different tasks where relevant and pre-visits from the operator can help avoid confusion or mistakes being made.
Cormac points out that having the farm equipment and materials ready means operators can get straight to the job, making the arrangement more efficient for both farmer and operator, saving time and money and making life a little easier for everyone as stress can be avoided by being prepared.
Eoghan finishes up the conversation by highlighting that many young operators want to progress in agriculture. Farm-relief work can provide experience and a potential pathway into farm management or collaborative farming, but both Eoghan and Cormac are clear that creating a positive, respectful workplace is important for attracting and retaining the next generation.
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
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses: Establishing recovery on paddocksCaution with fertiliser applicationAssessing fodder available on farm Read more from this week’s Grass10 …
Shownotes
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses:
- Establishing recovery on paddocks
- Caution with fertiliser application
- Assessing fodder available on farm
Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-4thAugust
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
Advisory Update: What's happening on the ground?
Emily Gowing, Teagasc Dairy Advisor based in Dungarvan, Co Waterford, joins James Dunne for an update on the current situation on farms in her catchment and she has some key pieces of advice for farmers over …
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Emily Gowing, Teagasc Dairy Advisor based in Dungarvan, Co Waterford, joins James Dunne for an update on the current situation on farms in her catchment and she has some key pieces of advice for farmers over the coming weeks.
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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