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Teagasc Grassland Science Researcher, Mike Egan, joins James Dunne to discuss some of the common questions regarding establishing and managing grass clover swards.    Mike outlines the benefits for farmers but also discusses the challenges and learnings that have been seen throughout the Clover 150 commercial farm trial.     The correct chemical nitrogen strategy is outlined and why clover content should be the key deciding factor rather than fertiliser price when it comes to reducing nitrogen inputs.    Mike also outlines what farmers should be doing now with regards to assessing their own farm clover content and he also identifies opportunities to establish clover on farms 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

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher explains how walking the farm will allow you to assess what your grass supply is (AFC).   If you are below target AFC 650kg DM/ha: -       Reduce demand on the farm to lift AFC to 650kg DM/ha. This may require grazing additional land (silage ground, replacement heifer area) -       Increase feed supplementation (ration, silage) -       Remove surplus animals -       Hold rotation length using these options to ensure growth isn’t further hampered   Walk the farm more frequently as grass growth and grazing conditions can and will change fast.   There is also huge variation in fertiliser and slurry applied to date across the country owing to ground conditions and grass covers.  A focus should be put on getting nutrients where possible to ensure production is on track for the year ahead   Meanwhile, the featured farmer is Declan Flynn from Kilmallock, Co. Limerick.   Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:https://bit.ly/Grass10-14thApril   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

Mark Treacy, Dairy Specialist in Teagasc Clonakilty, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss management tips for April.   Mark explains that dairy farms are in various positions: some have moved too quickly into second-round grazing, others are well-balanced with remaining first-round grass, and some (especially on heavy ground) are delayed due to poor weather conditions.   He then outlines the solutions such as housing some or all of the herd in order to get grass cover back up to where they need to be which might only take a week, or where there is a lot of grass on farm, tackling it from a number of angles including grazing, silage immediately once opportunity arises or longer term silage in some cases.   Mark also spoke about the need for silage ground to be fertilised but to have cutting date influence the amount applied. With slurry application to most of this ground not an option, the advice is to cut early and return the slurry then. This will result in the same total yield with better quality than a large application of N for first cut now thus delaying the cut date.   Finally, Mark spoke about the need to follow up on problem cows ahead of the breeding season as it is creeping up on farmers now.   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, John Maher explains why a flexible approach has to be applied on farm to begin the 2nd rotation and particular caution needs to be taken on farms that are starting the 2nd rotation to ensure AFC stays above 650 kg DM/ha.   Walk the farm on a more regular basis as growth increases.  Average farm cover needs to stay above 650 kg DM/ha.  Take action by reducing demand if your cover drops below 650 kg DM/ha.   Meanwhile, the featured farmer is Michael Leahy from Co. Kilkenny.   Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:https://bit.ly/Grass10-7thApril     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

Water quality continues to be a major focus for the agricultural industry, and while farmers are already making changes on farm, there is increasing emphasis on how practical actions can improve water quality outcomes at catchment level.    In this episode, Pat Dillon from Teagasc joins James Dunne to discuss the Better Farming for Water campaign.    Pat explains what the Better Farming for Water campaign is aiming to achieve, why a catchment approach has been taken and the practical actions dairy farmers can take to make a difference.    We also discuss concepts such as nitrogen use efficiency, nitrogen surplus, stocking rate and how all of these interact with water 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

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses why, due to the challenging conditions in spring 2026, a flexible approach has to be applied on farm to begin the 2nd rotation.   By early April, dry farms should have about 60 units (75 kg N/ha) of N applied (combination of fertiliser and slurry) and most farms need to assess regrowths on the first 3 paddocks grazed for the next 2-3 weeks.   Meanwhile, the featured farmer is Kieran Kennedy from Nenagh, Co. Tipperary.   Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:https://bit.ly/Grass10-31stMarch      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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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