Dairy Advisor Update with Padraig McCormack, Moorepark
Padraig McCormack, dairy advisor at Teagasc Moorepark, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss what’s currently happening on the farms in his area. Padraig outlines the grazing situation in the area which is beginning to get back on track followed a prolonged spell of dry weather a month ago. Quality has been variable but people are looking at removing surplus in the coming week as growth is exceeding demand on average. Padraig spoke about fertiliser advice from nitrogen rates to sulphur and also P and K where surplus is removed. Padraig discussed breeding performance in his area which is looking good and he reminded listeners to plan a date to stop breeding prior to July 20th with it being the cut off to avoid May calvers in 2026. From his profit monitor meetings in the spring of 25, the justification for calving a cow in May is non-existent given the cost of keeping the cow and the return she will generate in her 2025 lactation. Padraig then tells us about the investments that his clients are considering with slurry storage on some people’s minds but clarity around storage requirements and planning is slowing movement in that area. Investing in things to make life easier is where it is at with people looking to avail of grants on heat detection systems, drafting gates and calf feeders. Finally, Padraig ends by telling us that currently, his groups are either planning or heading away on some visits away from their own farms. He suggests that people should plan to take holidays and plan to get a few days off when things quieten down once breeding is finished and he reminds listeners of the excellent day out that is the Moorepark Open day coming up on July 2nd. 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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18:17
Your Weekly Grass10 Update
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses current grazing advice as some farms are coming into surplus grass and he has a grazing update from John Phelan, Co. Waterford. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: https://bit.ly/Grass10-10thJune2025 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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10:24
Key management decisions for the performance of grass-clover swards
James Dunne is joined this week by Teagasc grassland science researcher, Mike Egan, to discuss the correct management of grass-clover swards to ensure high levels of pasture and animal performance. Mike also discusses the findings from the recent external assessment of Teagasc’s Clover and Multi-Species Sward Research Programme. 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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33:32
Your Weekly Grass10 Update
For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses current grazing advice as some farms are coming into surplus grass, plus he has a grazing update from Tim Walsh in Co. Kerry. Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:https://bit.ly/Grass10-3rdJune 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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5:52
Achieving high levels of farm performance in a sustainable manner - a farmer’s perspective
Irish dairy farms are making huge progress when it comes to improving their sustainability metrics, with the Teagasc/FBD Environmental Sustainability Awards highlighting the farms which are leaders in this regard. For this week’s Dairy Edge, James Dunne is joined by dairy farmer, Brendan Walsh, who was the overall winner in 2024. Brendan outlines how he farms to meet high levels of performance, whilst also keeping the long term sustainability of his system in mind. 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 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/
Ireland