Cows instead of horses to be the focus at Limerick Racecourse

COWS instead of horses will dominate the conversation in Limerick Racecourse at the Teagasc National Dairy Conference. 

The event, which will feature a number of local speakers, takes place next Wednesday, November 27.

The theme of the conference is Robust Dairying for Future Challenges and aims to deliver solutions to the future challenges faced by Irish dairy farmers. Following difficult grazing seasons in the last few years, the conference will address the challenges at farm level in the early session Achieving Grazing Objectives in Real World Conditions.

Aine Murray of Teagasc Moorepark and Donal Patton of Teagasc Ballyhaise will discuss managing grazing in challenging conditions. Limerick dairy farmer Michael Carroll, joint winner of the Nutrient Management Category of the Sustainable Grassland Farmer of the Year 2023, will then explain how he manages his farm to achieve the grazing targets at the different stages of the year with a particular focus on challenging periods such as autumn 2023 and spring 2024.

The difficult grazing seasons have also coincided with reduction in nitrogen allowances on Irish dairy farms and the second session on Nutrient Use on Dairy Farms – improving margins at lower environmental impact will address this concern. Patrick Forrestal, Teagasc researcher in Johnstown Castle, will examine the performance of protected urea. 

Professor Pat Dillon, director of research at Teagasc, will outline the main actions that dairy farmers need to take to address Irish water quality. Finally, multi-award winning Limerick dairy farmer, John Macnamara, Knockainey, will outline how he is trying to farm to deliver better nitrogen use efficiency. 

Workshops on a number of important topics take place after lunch. People attending will choose three options from the following six topics - Reducing TB risk in dairy herds; Meeting herd feed requirements for winter and spring; Lessons learned from the Clover150 Programme in 2024; Controlling Dairy Production Costs in 2025; Successful use of Sexed Semen in Irish Dairy Herds and Managing calves for better health outcomes.

Speaking at the launch of the conference, Stuart Childs, Teagasc dairy specialist said it has been a challenging 12-18 month period on Irish dairy farms due to weather challenges, associated impacts on animal performance, and the subsequent financial challenges from low output and low milk price. 

“Thankfully, the recent weather and upturn in prices has helped to improve overall sentiment on the ground. This conference is aimed at addressing issues that people encountered in the last 12-18 months, and are likely to encounter again in the future. We hope that farmers will take something from the day that will better equip them to deal with any of those challenges in the years ahead,” said Mr Childs.

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Also speaking at the launch, Teagasc regional advisory manager in Kerry/Limerick, Majella Moloney said: “We are delighted to welcome dairy farmers and industry personnel from all the country, and further afield, to Limerick for the Teagasc National Dairy Conference.

"The format of the day and the line-up of speakers will make for very interesting debate on the solutions to challenges facing the dairy industry over the next few years.  We encourage early booking to make sure you get the workshops of most interest to you.”

Book early as places are limited. For more info and to book go to the Teagasc website