With the recent announcement to the changes in the upper derogation limit from 250 to 220 kg of organic nitrogen per hectare, this week’s Dairy Edge podcast is joined by Eddie Burgess, Catchment Specialist from the Agricultural Catchments Programme, who gives the background and sequence of events that led to the decision being made; while Joe Patton, Teagasc’s Head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer, discusses the options available to affected farmers. 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 podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, James Dunne, is joined by Michael Dineen, Senior Research Officer at Teagasc, to discuss the key messages from the National Winter Milk Open Day. To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to:https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/ For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ 

With the deadline for slurry spreading fast approaching, Mark Plunkett joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s episode of The Dairy Edge podcast with his tips and advice to maximise the nutrient uptake and productivity from slurry on farm. Mark urges farmers to make a plan to target the most appropriate fields for slurry application - slurry with low P and K indexes or have had silage cuts during the year.  Mark reminds farmers that this is the last opportunity to empty tanks ahead of the winter housing period. Furthermore, Mark says that the window for liming fields is now open. Lime remains a cheap fertiliser product, especially with access to funding from the National Liming Programme.  Benefits of liming include building optimal soil fertility, nitrogen mineralisation and increased grass productivity. 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 podcast version of the Let’s Talk Dairy webinar series, James Dunne, is joined by Ciaran Hearn, from PastureBase Ireland, to discuss the tools to keep grass in the diet longer this autumn To register for future Let’s Talk Dairy webinars go to:https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/lets-talk-dairy/ For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

John Maher and John O’Loughlin from the Grass10 campaign join Emma-Louise Coffey on the latest Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the key learnings from farm visits for Grass10 competition applicants. John Maher explains that these farms are good at basic grassland management as well as demonstrating excellence in nutrient management and biodiversity. John O’Loughlin highlights the sources of nitrogen from mineralisation, organic fertilisers, chemical fertilisers and alternative pastures such as white clover. The trend in use of chemical fertilisers is declining due to improved nutrient management and regulation. John also explains that farmers need to continue to make better use of slurry and incorporate legumes into pasture swards to maintain grass productivity.For more information on the Grass10 competition visit:https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/grassland/grass10/grassland-farmer-of-the-year-/ 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