David Buckley from the Department of Agriculture is on this week’s OviCast to discuss key aspects of the new National Sheep Welfare Scheme.    David first gives an overview of the scheme, we discuss eligibility, reference numbers and the application procedure.    David then takes us through the various tasks explaining how they would work and what documentation is required for each.     We finish up discussing the payment dates, administrative checks and the help desk contact details.    For...

Sheep Specialists, Michael Gottstein and Damian Costello, are on this week’s OviCast to discuss some of the key management tasks to do on farms at present.    We discuss fertiliser application, planning for silage and grazing management and we look at the scenarios where supplementation is needed.    In the second half we switch to dealing with the various health challenges highlighting the continued risk of grass tetany, treating for Nematodirus and Coccidia. We also discuss the challenge...

Dr. James O’Shaughnessy from the Department of Agriculture’s Central Veterinary Research Laboratory in Backweston joins us on the latest OviCast to discuss this year’s Nematodirus forecast.    James first explains the condition, symptoms and we discuss the high risk periods around the country.    We discuss treatment, some of the factors that may lead to a higher challenge on farms this spring, and we also discuss the potential risk of concurrent infection with coccidia.   For more...

For this week’s OviCast, we discuss grazing management with Dr Philip Creighton.    With the challenging conditions we discuss the grazing situation around the country, opening covers and the impact of delayed fertiliser application on grass growth.    Philip discusses managing supplies, targeted supplementation where supplies are tight and grazing strategies that can be implemented in the coming weeks. We also discuss fertiliser application rates when conditions allow for grazing and...

Sheep and Schemes editor from the Irish Farmers Journal, Darren Carty, is on this week’s OviCast to talk about the current sheep trade.    With prices hitting new highs we chat about the trade at the moment.    Darren talks to us about the hogget trade this spring, the start of the early lamb hitting the market and niche markets for milk lamb.    We discuss what’s driving trade, what’s happening on international markets and speculate for what may be in store in the coming months.    We finish...

Grass tetany is one of the challenges in early spring and on this week’s OviCast, Teagasc Sheep Specialist, Damian Costello, talks to us about this in more detail.    Damian explains how it occurs, the pre-disposing factors and high risk periods.    We discuss the symptoms and treatment in acute cases and Damian describes the various preventative measures and how these can be implemented on farms.     Read more about it here: https://bit.ly/Grass_Tetany_24   For more episodes from the OviCast...

Sheep specialist, Michael Gottstein, is on this week’s OviCast to discuss some timely advice for hill flocks in the run up to lambing.    Michael discusses some of the key areas to focus on this spring highlighting how ewe condition is a challenge.    We discuss the basics of nutrition and some of the feeding strategies that might be employed.    We finish up on to discuss some health areas that require attention in the lead into lambing.     For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit...

When focusing on improving fertiliser use efficiently, one often overlooked aspect for the return on investment is the fertiliser spreader itself.    For this episode of OviCast I’m joined by Teagasc machinery specialist, Francis Quigley, to take us through some of the practical considerations around this piece of equipment.    Francis explains many aspects from basic maintenance checks before the season commences, to correct set-up on the tractor and its impact that can have on the spread...

For this week’s OviCast, we catch up with Dr Frank Campion to get an update on the BETTER farm sheep flocks.  We discuss this year’s scanning results, dealing with issues and benchmarking performance. We move on to ewe condition score on the farms at scanning and since tupping and discuss the practical steps farmers can take to manage this.  We finish up discussing grass supplies, preparing for lambing and culling problem ewes.  For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page...

For this week’s OviCast, we’re joined by Seamus Fagan from the Department of Agriculture’s regional veterinary lab in Athlone.    As a follow-on from his talk at the recent Sheep Conference, we discuss the importance of records to highlight flock health issues on farm and to help provide a better flock history, particularly in the case of abortion. We discuss the submission process and the timeline for results.    We also discuss some of the challenges seen in the lab this spring with a...

For this week’s OviCast, I’m joined by my Teagasc colleague, Catherine Egan, host of the Beef Edge podcast, as we discuss financial management tips on drystock farms with Teagasc Financial Specialist, Kevin Connolly. Kevin first explains the benefits of completing a profit monitor and we discuss what data is required and the ways to simplify this process.  Kevin takes us through the information the profit monitor can generate and how it can be used to highlight key areas to focus on, allowing...

For this week’s OviCast we head west to Corrandulla, Co. Galway to hear from sheep and beef farmer Michael Forde who is a participant on the BETTER farm programme.  Michael first discusses his farming system and some of the challenges of a managing a fragmented farm.  We chat about the impact of a difficult 2023 on lamb performance, sales and ewe condition and how he managed the flock this winter.  Plus we discuss the steps he has taken to address ewe condition since housing, this year’s...

On this week’s OviCast we look forward to the Teagasc National Sheep Conference with Dr Philip Creighton previewing the topics being covered.    Philip discusses the times and locations of this year’s conferences and highlights the speakers and the topics they are covering.   These include ‘Nutrition during pregnancy: management and the consequences’, to ‘Simplifying farm transfers: key considerations and strategies’ and ‘Diagnosing and managing flock health issues - on farm...

With scanning complete on many flocks, on this week’s OviCast we chat to Sheep Specialist Michael Gottstein about making use of this information.    We start off talking about this year’s scanning results and move on to discuss the immediate management changes that can be made by setting up feeding groups.    Michael discusses why we need to divide them on the basis of scanned litter size and lambing date but also highlights the importance of assessing and managing ewe condition score this...

For this week’s OviCast, we hear from a recent Let’s Talk Sheep webinar with Sheep Specialist Damian Costello speaking about key management advice at housing this winter. Damian covered various aspects from some of the challenges faced this year to managing ewe condition to practical advice at housing. Damian also answers some audience questions on the topic. 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 talk to independent sheep and beef consultant, Dr Liz Genever, about an on-farm project she was involved in examining various bedding options. Liz gives us a background to the project, what bedding options they compared, how they set it up and what they examined. We discuss the levels of usage of the various bedding sources, labour input, ewe cleanliness and ultimately costs involved. We move on to discuss the suitability of each, a hybrid bedding model...

On this week’s OviCast we talk to Dr Tim Keady about the importance of silage testing and what the results mean.    Tim emphasises the importance of getting a silage test conducted correctly early to know the feed value of your winter forage.    He explains the variation in results nationally, what each of the measures mean and most importantly, the implications for feeding.    We discuss how the results could highlight areas to focus on for next year’s silage harvest.    We finish up with...

Veterinarian, Shane McGettrick, who is Laboratory Manager at the Department of Agriculture Regional Veterinary Laboratory in county Sligo is on this week’s OviCast to talk  about the fluke challenge this winter.    We start with Shane discussing what fluke-related issues they are seeing in the lab at this point in the season. We discuss the Department’s fluke forecast and how this may be a more challenging season for fluke.    We move on to discuss treatment with Shane highlighting the...

On this week’s OviCast we’re joined by post-graduate student, Mark Dolan, to discuss different aspects of management of forage brassicas.    Mark gives us some background to some of the work he has been involved in using forage brassicas to finish store lambs.    We discuss yields of the different crops, utilisation rates and the factors that influence them and how they have adapted management during periods of poor weather conditions.    We finish up discussing lamb kill out on the crops and...

Teagasc sheep specialists, Damian Costello and Frank Campion, are on this week’s OviCast to discuss the challenging grazing conditions in recent weeks that has put pressure on farms both in terms of lamb performance and grass utilisation and supply.    We discuss the option of housing remaining lambs for finishing indoors and also discuss some of the key factors to consider at housing, levels of performance, kill out percentages, nutritional requirements and feed management.    For more...

Darren Carty, Sheep and Schemes Editor with the Farmers Journal is on this week’s OviCast episode to look back on the trends in the national ewe flocks over the past decade and the implications of this for the sheep industry.    Darren discusses the change in ewe numbers, the regional shift and the impact this has had on the sector.    We discuss breeding sales this year, opportunities and resilience in the sector and finish the conversation with Darren highlighting some of the technical...

Fergus O’Rourke and Niall Conaty from Teagasc Ballyhaise Agricultural College in Co. Cavan join us on the latest OviCast podcast for an update on the flock.    We start with Fergus giving us a bit of background to the farm and flock.  Niall discusses the breeding plan, keeping an eye on ewe condition mating management.    With the difficult grazing conditions Niall discusses how they have adapted management to graze out heavier covers while we also discuss the closing plan for the farm and...

Dr Tim Keady joins us on the latest OviCast podcast to discuss joining ewe lambs and some of the factors that influence its success.  Tim discusses what the key drivers of the system are, we discuss the impact of joining weight and the influence that the ram effect can have.  Tim offers his insights on the duration of the breeding season and ram management during the mating period.  We discuss post mating management with Tim emphasising the importance of nutrition and the need to manage ewe...

As part of Sustainability Week, on this week’s episode of OviCast we chat to signpost programme participant, John O’Connell, to discuss how he has implemented the 12 steps to reduce gaseous emissions from his farming system.    We chat about the various measures he has implemented from addressing soil fertility to better grassland management.   John explains the importance of animal health planning for his breeding programme and we finish up discussing his experience of over-sowing clover and...