The Beef Edge

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

DairyBeef 500 Manager, Alan Dillon, and Teagasc researcher, Jamie O’Driscoll give an update on the dairy beef research taking place in Teagasc Grange and how this is being implemented on the DB500 Programme farms.  Plus they preview the upcoming National Beef Open day BEEF2026 taking place July 1st in Teagasc Grange.
 
Alan and Jamie discuss the importance of the CBV when purchasing calves and the impact that it can have, with Alan outlining the importance of good grazing infrastructure, high quality silage and good calf rearing facilities.
 
On July 1st call to the Dairy Beef village as Jamie outlines all that will be on offer, including:
·      Profitable dairy-beef systems
·      Utilising the Commercial Beef Value (CBV)
·      Efficient calf-rearing practices
·      Maintaining calf health
·      DairyBeef 500 Demonstration Farms
·      Tipperary Dairy Calf to Beef Demonstration Far
 
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

Future Beef programme farmer, John Dunne, from Co.Offaly  is on the Beef Edge podcast this week to give an update into his suckler beef and dairy beef finishing systems, the breeding season, their grassland management and the upcoming National Beef Open Day taking place on 5th June.
 
John farms alongside his son James just outside Portarlington, operating a highly profitable and progressive beef system, combining 79 suckler cows with a dairy calf-to-beef enterprise where 140 dairy calves are purchased annually and brought right through to finish or stores under 24 months of age .
 
John discusses breeding season and the use of AI on the farm and the difficulty of managing grass in the current weather conditions. 
 
Silage will be harvested this week on the farm and John outlines the management of the dairy beef calves up to weaning and the importance of visually assessing calf health in addition to  the management of health and nutrition on farm. 
 
The farm borders the River Barrow catchment area and John explains the range of key measures being adopted on the farm to improve water quality.
 
The Future Beef National Open Day takes place on Friday 5th June @ 6:30p and fo further details go to: 
https://teagasc.ie/event/futurebeef-farm-walk-john-and-james-dunne/
 
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

Grass10 advisor Nikki Kennedy has the monthly grass update from around the country and tips for the month ahead.
 
Nikki highlights that drought conditions are being experienced in the east and she discusses management tips for grazing in the weeks ahead. With silage being harvested in the coming weeks Nikki describes the actions to ensure quality silage, whilst also assessing the categories of animals on the farm needing the different qualities.
 
Finally Nikki gives her top tips for the month ahead and has details on the upcoming grassland village at BEEF 2026 taking place 1st July in Teagasc Grange.
 
You can subscribe to the Grass10 newsletter here:
https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/grassland/grass10/grass10-enewsletter/
 
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