The Dairy Edge

Ruth Fennell, Collaborative Farming Specialist, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss the various collaborative farming options that exist.

Ruth outlines the options that range from contract heifer rearing, nutrient sharing, machinery trading and land leasing to more commonly thought of collaborative farming options such as registered farm partnerships and share farming. Effectively, collaborative farmin...

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses current grass growth and predicted grass growth.  Plus the featured farmer is Arthur Sweetman from county Wexford.

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:

https://bit.ly/Grass10-26thAugust2025

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-productio...

George Ramsbottom, Head of the Teagasc Signpost Advisory Programme, joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss how Irish dairy farmers can improve their farms’ carbon footprint. 

George outlines how there is a dedicated team of 21 climate advisors available through the Signpost Advisory Programme to offer farmers help and advice on how they can improve the environmental credentials of their own farms.

For more ...

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses current grazing advice as some farms are dealing with low grass supply. He also focuses on reviewing where fertiliser use needs to be.

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:

https://bit.ly/Grass10-19thAugust2025

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 Ed...

Emma-Louise Coffey, Programme Co-Ordinator for the Farm Manager Apprenticeship Programme, joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss why young, skilled dairy farmers are important for the industry and what the farm apprenticeship course can offer both host farmers and aspiring young dairy farmers.

For more information go to:
https://teagasc.ie/education/apprenticeships/farm-manager/

For more episodes from the...

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses current grazing advice as we approach autumn build-up of grass and while some farms, particularly in the southern coast, are very tight on grass supply. There is also a grazing update from Sean Phelan, from Kilkenny who is investing in grazing and currently on target for autumn build-up.

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:

https://t.co/d7P7FYlZi5

Fo...

John Maher, Teagasc Grass10 Programme Manager, joins Stuart Childs to discuss the current PastureBase figures and he explains the idea of autumn build-up and autumn grazing management.

Firstly, John outlines the figures for the week explaining that on the majority of farms, there is currently way too much grass and that action needs to be taken to manage this situation sooner rather than later. 

He also talks about the imp...

It was another hugely successful Open Day at Moorepark this year with the theme of ‘Innovating for the Future’ showcasing the latest technology and insights into Irish dairy farming.
 
For this bonus episode from the Dairy Edge, Stuart Childs and James Dunne used the opportunity to speak to some of those in attendance, including Denis Drennan from ICMSA, the IFA’s Francie Gorman and Minister for Agriculture, Martin H...

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses current grazing advice as grass supply increases on farms and he has a grazing update from Chris Cahill, Co. Westmeath.

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:

https://bit.ly/Grass10-29thJuly

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-produc...

Muireann Conneely, Teagasc dairy researcher who specialises in animal welfare, joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge.

Muireann discusses the impact of lameness on Irish dairy farms, detecting and dealing with lameness issues and putting prevention measures in place at farm level.

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...

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, Joseph Dunphy discusses current grazing advice and he has a grazing update from Eoin Corrigan, Co. Meath.

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter:
https://bit.ly/Grass10-22ndJuly

 
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

Conor Hogan, Teagasc’s People in Dairy Programme Manager, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss share farming as an option for generational renewal.

Conor discusses the importance of managing time to keep the length of the working day in check and also the importance of getting time off or away from the farm also. This can be helped by being structured in the way work is approached.

This element of work ...

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, as rainfall amounts start to increase, Joseph Dunphy discusses current grazing advice and he has a grazing update from Joe Morrissey, Co. Cork.

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: 

https://bit.ly/Grass10-15thJuly

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-produc...

Teagasc dairy specialist, Pat Gowing, joins James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss farmyard infrastructure and why good planning and design are key to ensuring good animal performance, ease of management and allow for future development. 

Teagasc are running a series of events looking at good farmyard design and investment and Pat outlines what will be discussed across these events nationally.

For more informatio...

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, as we enter July, Joseph Dunphy discusses current grazing advice and he has a grazing update from Sean Barry, Co. Limerick.

Link to this week’s Grass10 newsletter: 

https://bit.ly/Grass10-8thJuly

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 LastCastMed...

Emma Dillon, economist and senior research officer with the National Farm Survey joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss the recently published preliminary results for the 2024 survey.

Emma explains how the survey works and how the 300 or so dairy farms that supply data to the survey are used to create a representation of the dairy farms across the country and how they adjust their survey to ensure it cont...

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses current grazing advice as some farms are coming into a surplus in grass supply while others, particularly on the southern coast, are tight on grass supply. 

John also reviews where fertiliser nitrogen use is at and what should be left for the rest of the grazing season, plus there is a grazing update from Enda Armstrong from Galway, who is currently gr...

ICBF business analysts, Mark Waters and Gearoid Slattery, join James Dunne on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss the National Genotyping Programme, how it has performed to date, the benefits of genotyping, some the challenges that have been faced and the opportunity for new participants in the next phase of the programme.   

We are also joined by Cork dairy farmer Sheena Murphy who outlines her experience of being in the pr...

For this week’s Grass10 grazing management update, John Maher discusses current grazing advice as some farms are coming into a surplus in grass supply while others - particularly in the southern coast - are tight on grass supply.

John also has a grazing update from Mike Ahern, from Co. Waterford, who was announced as the Sustainable Grassland Farmer of the Year 2024. The Moorepark Open Day is also discussed.

Link to this w...