The Dairy Edge

We’re reposting one of the most popular episodes from last year with Laurence Shalloo, Head of the Animal and Grassland Programme in Teagasc Moorepark, who joined Stuart Childs to discuss the future challenges facing the dairy industry.

Laurence starts by acknowledging that there is a constant state of flux in the world now and that we are constantly adapting to change. This is no different to what we did in the run-in to ...

Fermanagh man, Rodney Elliott, who is farming in the US state of South Dakota, joins James Dunne for the second part of his interview discussing recruiting and managing staff, herd breeding objectives, animal performance and herd nutrition.

He also offers insights into what he has learned along the way and why he is as passionate about dairy farming today as he was 20 years ago.

Image: https://www.midwestdairy.com

For mor...

Fermanagh man Rodney Elliott, who is farming in the US state of South Dakota, joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge. 

In the first of a two part interview, Rodney outlines how he went from farming 140 dairy cows in Maguiresbridge, Co Fermanagh to operating two large scale dairy units in the US. 

He describes how the business has grown over time, some of the challenges met along the way and how he overcame them. 

Rodn...

For this week’s episode of the Dairy Edge, in conjunction with Catherine Egan of the Beef Edge and Ciaran Lynch of OviCast, we talk to John Donlon, veterinary lecturer in Atlantic Technological University about bluetongue.

John first describes the disease and explains how it presents in sheep, cattle, alpacas and other cloven hooved animals.

He then explains how, in reality, the risk period should have passed at this stage...

For this week’s final Grass10 grazing management update of the year, John Maher discusses current grazing advice, including opening cover targets and fodder assessment, plus he looks back on the grazing year in review.

Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:

https://bit.ly/Grass10-9thDecember2025  

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.tea...

We’re reposting an episode from October with Teagasc Dairy Specialist, Patrick Gowing, who joined James Dunne on the Dairy Edge to discuss how to best manage surplus cash, build financial resilience, review production costs, and ensure farmers are best prepared for 2026.

As 2025 draws to a close, it will be remembered as one of the best farming years in recent memory due to strong milk prices, increased stock values and go...

Teagasc hosted the National Dairy Conference last week in both Clonmel and Cavan, and the theme of the conference was, ‘Pathways to Progress’, with key sessions on milk price and key farm performance priorities, collaborative farming arrangements and driving further progress in Irish dairy breeding. 

James Dunne caught up with Joe Patton, Martina Gormley and Stuart Childs to gain an insight into some of the main messages f...

Edmund Motherway, from Ladysbridge, near Midleton, was the Overall Winner of the Student Section of the Sustainable Grassland Farmer of the Year Awards and he joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge.

Edmund was always interested in farming as a child, however, due to the scale of the home farm, he didn’t think he had a future in farming. A transition year placement at a nearby father and son partnership opened his ey...

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses current grazing advice, while the featured farmer is Mike Ahern from Ballyduff, Co. Waterford.

Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter and subscribe for weekly updates at:

https://bit.ly/Grass10-18thNov25

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...

Joe Patton, Head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer in Teagasc, joins Stuart Childs on the latest Dairy Edge to preview the upcoming Dairy Conferences.

With sudden drops in milk price catching many farmers off guard and even many of those who work in the area of forecasting prices, Joe explains, however, that the best-performing farms remain the best ones regardless of price cycles.

Farmers shouldn’t overhaul their system each ti...

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses current grazing advice and setting up for the spring, while the featured farmer is Gerry Finneran, Carrignavar, Co. Cork.

Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter at:

https://bit.ly/Grass10-11thNov25

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 ...

Philip Murphy, Catchment Coordinator for the River Blackwater, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss applying water quality and addressing it.

Philip explains that his role focuses on addressing agricultural pressures on water quality across the wider Blackwater catchment, beyond the already targeted high-priority areas, through providing clear, consistent advice to farmers and advisors, helping to raise...

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses current grazing advice, while the featured farmer is Will Griffin, Co. Carlow.

Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter at:

https://bit.ly/Grass10-4thNovember25 

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 current grazing advice and closing up for early spring grass.   

The featured farmer is John Payne, from Co. Longford who is targeting a closing AFC of  800 kg DM/ha on Dec 1st.

Read more from this week’s Grass10 newsletter at:

https://bit.ly/Grass10-28thOctober2025

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc...

Teagasc Dairy Specialist, Patrick Gowing, joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss how to best manage surplus cash, build financial resilience, review production costs, and ensure farmers best prepared for 2026.

As 2025 draws to a close, it will be remembered as one of the best farming years in recent memory due to strong milk prices, increased stock values and good weather for most parts. This means that dai...