The Beef Edge

DairyBeef 500 advisor, Tommy Cox, gives some top tips to manage your dairy beef system in the coming weeks and Teagasc advisor, John Kilboyle, previews the National DairyBeef 500 Open Day on the farm of Keith and Olivia Lowry taking place on the 9th July in Co Galway.
 
Tommy outlines the key grassland management tips for dairy-beef farmers currently and into July and August, particularly in a year with variable growth rates and weather conditions. 
 
He discusses the liveweight gains farmers should be targeting for grazing cattle over the summer months, and how can they monitor performance effectively. 
 
Tommy explains the different options for farmers to consider before introducing concentrates to grazing cattle, and what factors should influence that decision. 
 
He also warns about some of the main animal health risks during late summer particularly lung worm, including parasites and respiratory issues, and what preventative measures should be taken.
 
The National DairyBeef 500 Open Day takes place on Keith and Olivia Lowry’s farm  just outside Tuam, Co. Galway on 9th July @ 6:30pm. 
 
Operating a predominantly early-maturing steer system on 30.6 hectares of free-draining land, the farm has undergone significant development in recent years with a strong focus on grassland management, calf performance, animal health and infrastructure improvement. 
 
The farm currently rears both autumn and spring-born dairy-beef calves with 80 calves being reared on the farm and John explains how the Lowrys put a strong emphasis on sourcing calves from a small number of trusted dairy farms and the benefits this has meant in terms of calf performance, health and overall management. 
 
A lot of investment has gone into grazing infrastructure, with the new paddock system, roadway and water network which has improved grass utilisation, production and labour efficiency. 
 
John also discusses how reseeding has been a key part of the farm development plan and the benefits in terms of silage quality and animal performance.
 
Topics to be discussed on the evening include:
·      Calf sourcing and rearing strategies
·      Calf health and vaccination programmes
·      Grassland management and grazing infrastructure
·      Silage quality and winter feed planning
·      Labour-efficient farming systems
 
This is a great opportunity to meet with the DairyBeef 500 team. Teagasc advisors and industry stakeholders and sponsors of the DairyBeef 500 programme Corteva, Drummonds, Liffey Mills, Munster Bovine, MSD Animal Health and Volac.
 
Further details available at:
https://teagasc.ie/event/dairybeef-500-farm-walk-keith-and-olivia-lowry/
 
For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge
 
Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com

Teagasc Researcher, Peter Doyle, and Grass 10 advisor, Nikki Kennedy, join this week’s Beef Edge to discuss the grazing demonstration at BEEF2026which is taking place at Teagasc Grange.
 
Nikki outlines how the demonstration focuses on pre-grazing and post-grazing sward heights. 
 
Many farmers are facing difficult decisions this year due to variable grass growth and Nikki outlines the key indicators that farmers should monitor to maximise cattle performance.
 
The grazing demonstration compares grass-only and grass-clover swards and Peter discusses the performance differences that are being achieved and the potential fertiliser savings from incorporating white how grass-clover swards which also help improve environmental sustainability.
 
For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge
 
Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com

Teagasc ASSAP programme manager, Cathal Somers, and Teagasc Specialist with the Signpost Programme, Mark Plunkett, discuss the importance of lime and soil fertility and the impact it can have on water quality, production and profitability.
 
Water quality continues to be a major focus for farmers and Cathal outlines the main pressures affecting water quality on beef farms and the eight key actions in the Better Farming for Water campaign.
 
Mark highlights how farmers have invested heavily in lime over recent years and the impact this is having and what further gains are possible from improving soil fertility.  Mark also describes how farmers can assess the health of their own soils.
 
At the BEEF 2026 Open Day there will be demonstrations of practical ways to improve soil health and water quality.
 
Further details at:
https://teagasc.ie/event/beef2026/
https://teagasc.ie/animals/beef/grange/beef2026-open-day/
 
 
For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge
 
Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com

Teagasc researchers, Paul Smith and Emily Roskam, discuss the latest research on growing and finishing cattle, how this is being implemented on farms and look ahead to the upcoming National Beef Open Day, BEEF2026, taking place on July 1st at Teagasc Grange.
 
Emily says the biggest opportunities to improve feed efficiency in growing cattle without increasing costs on farm is through good grassland management and silage quality. Teagasc research shows that increasing concentrate levels increases liveweight gain and carcass gain. This is hugely influenced by the dry matter digestibility being fed in silage and Emily highlights the various feed rates depending on silage quality and animal type.
 
The national age at slaughter remains significantly higher than that achieved on research and top-performing commercial farms and Paul discusses the main barriers preventing farmers from finishing cattle at 22–23 months of age. Many listeners will have heard of the Beef Quest project, Paul outlines some of the key findings.
 
At the BEEF 2026 Growing and Finishing village a central feature of the event will be a live cattle handling and finishing demonstration, facilitated by Teagasc specialist and advisory staff alongside factory procurement personnel. 
 
Farmers will see first-hand the key areas to assess when selecting animals for sale, including the correct and incorrect levels of carcass fatness and the fat scores and grades required under the Quality Payment Scheme (QPS).
 
Nationally, a relatively high percentage of cattle are being slaughtered at excessively high fat scores. This represents an economic cost through the use of grazed grass, silage or concentrate on animals with declining carcass performance efficiency. Selecting animals at the appropriate fat score is a must have skill for all farmers finishing beef animals. 
 
Frank O’Sullivan, vet at Teagasc Grange, will outline key animal health considerations, while space allowance will be covered, including the correct areas required and their impact on performance. 
 
Nutritional factors will also be discussed, focusing on winter and finishing diets.
 
Further details at:
https://teagasc.ie/event/beef2026/
https://teagasc.ie/animals/beef/grange/beef2026-open-day/
 
For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge
 
Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com

Teagasc Research Technologist, Edwin Carroll, and Future Beef Programme Manager, Martina Harrington, are on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to give an update on the suckler beef research taking place in Teagasc Grange and how this is being implemented on the Future Beef Programme farms.  Plus they preview the upcoming National Beef Open Day - BEEF2026 - taking place on July 1st in Teagasc Grange.
 
Edwin gives an insight into the Maternal and Derrypatrick herds at Teagasc Grange whilst Martina outlines the key factors that underpin profitable suckler beef production systems.
 
Martina and Edwin also discuss the most important drivers of suckler herd profitability, particularly breeding performance.
 
Silage quality has a huge impact on winter performance and Edwin discusses how silage harvesting is going and removing surplus bale,s with Martina highlighting the benefits that the Furture Beef farmer participants are seeing in implementing a paddock system.
 
On July 1st call to the Suckler Beef village where you can find out about:
·      Research trial updates from Teagasc Grange
·      Breeding the ideal suckler cow
·      Synchronisation to improve fertility & labour efficiency
·      Herd health: cows & calves from birth to weaning
·      Derrypatrick and Maternal Research Herds
·      Newford Demonstration Herd
 
Further details at:
https://teagasc.ie/event/beef2026/
https://teagasc.ie/animals/beef/grange/beef2026-open-day/
 
For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge
 
Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com