OviCast

Catherine Egan, host of the Beef Edge podcast, joins us on this week’s OviCast as we catch up with Grass10 advisor, Niamh Doyle, to get an update on the current situation and discuss management tips in the coming weeks.

Niamh first highlights the factors that have limited grass growth over the last number of months. 

She also comments on the long term Nitrogen fertiliser type trial at Teagasc, Johnstown Castle, which provides an insight as to how different fertiliser types/formulations have performed under the same conditions and with N appli...

This week we talk to Dr Orla Keane about monitoring the parasite challenge in lambs. 

We discuss the challenge stomach worms poses from this point of the season onward with Orla talking about using faecal sampling to monitor worm burden, explaining the process, what’s being tested and what the results mean. 

Orla also discusses the thresholds for dosing and the factors that influence the rise in worm counts. 

We move on to discuss drench testing to determine dose efficacy and we finish up highlighting best practice around f...

On this week’s OviCast we’re taking a grazing focus and are joined by Philip Creighton. 

We discuss grass supply and sward quality and some of the factors that are influencing it at the moment. 

We move on to  discuss management options for the coming weeks and finish up the episode discussing fertiliser applications. 

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

Sheep Specialist, Michael Gottstein, joins us on this week’s OviCast to discuss weaning options on farms. 

We discuss the current situation on farms, challenges with grass quality and why weaning now is beneficial. 

Michael explains the weaning process with some useful tips and management of the ewes and lambs post-weaning. 

We finish up discussing some of the areas we need to address at the moment from parasite burden to mineral supplementation to tackling lameness. 

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show p...

Jayne Harkness-Bones, Depot Manager with Ulster Wool, joins us for this week’s OviCast to discuss the factors that influence the quality of wool, the challenges in the marketplace in recent years and what happens to the wool from purchase until it reaches market. 

We talk about shearing, wool handling and storage, with Jayne highlighting some simple practices to make the process easier and improve the quality of the wool harvested. 

In the latter half of the podcast, Jayne who is also a council member of the Irish Grown Wool Council, discus...

Seamus McMenamin, sheep sector manager with Bord Bia, joins us on this week’s OviCast as we look at the lamb trade. 

Seamus discusses factory throughput this year to date; we discuss what’s been happening with international trade; falling ewe numbers in the UK and Europe and the impact that this could have on lamb trade this summer. 

We finish up discussing trends in demand and attracting younger consumers. 

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sh...

With blowfly strike a risk on farms, for this week’s OviCast we’re joined by sheep specialist Damian Costello to discuss the risk factors, how it occurs and treatment options available to farmers.  

For more information: 

https://www.teagasc.ie/news--events/daily/sheep/put-a-plan-in-place-to-deal-with-blowfly-strike.php

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

For this week’s OviCast, we’re also joined by Catherine Egan, host of the Beef Edge podcast, as we catch up with Co. Roscommon beef and sheep farmer, Olivia Hynes.  

Oliva starts by giving us an overview of her system, we discuss breeding and the use of AI in her suckler herd, lamb performance this spring and some of the challenges it has posed. 

We discuss mixed grazing, grassland management and investing in grazing infrastructure, before finishing up with Olivia highlighting the three things she has focused on that have had an i...

For this week’s OviCast, we’re joined by Terry McElvaney, Veterinary Inspector with Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, to discuss some issues that have occurred with flukicide residues in lamb carcasses. 

We discuss the problems encountered and the follow up investigations with Terry explaining some of the issues caused and issues they have encountered. 

We also discuss the key areas to focus on when using anthelminthic and antibiotics to avoid these type of issues occurring.  

Details of licensed veterinary products can be found on the HPRA v...

Environmental specialist, Tim Hyde, is on this week’s OviCast to discuss fertiliser limits on farms. 

We discuss how the introduction of the fertiliser register has put purchased fertiliser more in the spotlight on farms. 

Tim explains the implications of this, how farmers can work out their stocking rate and what the limits are on farm. 

We discuss the importance of soil sampling, how this impacts your fertiliser limit and the importance of a fertiliser plan. 

We finish up discussing some changes to slurry spr...