The Beef Edge

• Parasite control and anthelmintic resistance

  Teagasc Researcher, Orla Keane, is on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to discuss parasite control and anthelmintic resistance.  Orla highlights the importance of reviewing your farm health plan at this time of year and she discusses the project that she is involved in called the, ‘Managing Anthelmintic Resistance in Cattle Sustainably' (MARCS) project. MARCS is a collaborative project between Teagasc, University College Dublin, Queen’s University Belfast, Animal Health Ireland and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Its aims are to determine the extent of resistance to wormers on Irish cattle farms; identify major risk factors for the development of resistance so we can target mitigation strategies; and use models of worm population dynamics to apply sustainable parasite control to Irish farms. Farmers can participate directly or vets can recruit their clients as participants. Testing is the only way to know if a wormer is highly effective as other methods identify resistance too late. By participating in the MARCS project, valuable information about the anthelmintic resistance status of your farm or your clients’ farms will be obtained. The test for resistance is a faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT). This test involves collecting individual faecal samples from a cohort of calves before and after wormer treatment and submission of the samples to the laboratory. A short survey on parasite control practices must also be completed.  Full guidance on the testing protocol will be provided and the sample testing will be provided free of charge. If you are interested in testing for anthelmintic resistance on your farm or in recruiting your farmer clients to test for resistance, complete the form by clicking the button below, or contact [email protected] Click here to get involved in the MARCS project:https://form.jotform.com/243186865978377  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  

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• Fergal Maguire’s advice for milk replacer feeding

  Teagasc DairyBeef 500 advisor, Fergal Maguire, discusses key tips around milk replacer to maximise performance on this week’s Beef Edge podcast. Fergal explains the pros and cos around skim based or whey based milk replacer before outlining the concentrate of replacer and its components. Temperature of milk is very important, he says, as well as consistency of feeding at the same time daily.  Fergal also discusses the feeding of calves once a day after 4 weeks of age and how a farmer can best manage this transition to avoid any setbacks in animal performance.  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 

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• Calf housing tips to maximise performance

  Teagasc DairyBeef 500 advisor, Tommy Cox, discusses calf housing to maximise performance on this week’s Beef Edge podcast.  Tommy says that good ventilation, adequate space, good drainage and warm sheds that are clean and comfortable are essential.  Good ventilation to ensure air is fresh and no draughts are important. Natural ventilation is used in the vast majority of calf houses.  Tommy recommends to provide 2.0-2.3 m2 pen area per calf.  Good drainage is something that is often overlooked.  Tommy says that calves spend about 80% of their time lying down so they need a dry bed. A dry environment will also reduce the spread and growth of bugs. All calf houses should be built with a damp-proof course to prevent rising dampness. A slope of 1:20 in the calf pen area is recommended Calves perform best at 15-20 degree Celsius, but they don’t generate sufficient heat to insulate themselves from colder temperatures until after they are weaned. Deep beds of straw are effective in protecting calves from the cold. Hygiene is obviously very important. Floors and walls should be easily cleaned. 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 

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• Fertiliser application and the fertiliser register

  Continuing the two-part series on fertiliser application, Teagasc specialist Mark Plunkett from the Teagasc Signpost programme, joins Catherine Egan on the Beef Edge podcast to discuss fertiliser application and the fertiliser register. Mark reviewed 2024 regarding fertiliser usage and particularly chemical N.  There was a 10% increase, he said, compared to 2023. Chemical N use was at an all-time low in 2023 and in addition, 2024 proved to be a challenging grass growing year and was perhaps the reason for increased N use.   In 2024 the straight N market increased by 2% in 2024 to 58%.  Compound N market increased by 6% compared to 2023 and in 2024, 17% of the total N was Protected Urea (+4% on 2023).  There were 28,736 tonnes of phosphorus (P) applied in 2024.  Phosphorus reduced by 6.6% in 2024. There were 88,058 tonnes of potassium (K) applied in 2024 which was an increase of 7.45%.  The continued decline in the use of P is a real concern for soil fertility and N use efficiency on farm.  While the increase in K application is positive, Mark highlighted the importance of lime, especially as 65% of soils are deficient in lime; if lime was corrected on grazing ground there are multiple benefits.  Mark has also said that weather conditions played a huge part in poor grass growth last year and farmers should use protected urea in the year ahead. Fertiliser should be applied when ground is dry enough to travel on with tractor and spreader without causing damage.   Soil temperatures are above 5ºC and rising and with 4-5 days of dry weather forecast, you want fertiliser and slurry to stay where you spread it. Finally, Mark explained the benefits of using compound fertiliser based on a nutrient management plan and highlighted the importance of sulphur. 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  

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• February Grass Update

  Teagasc Grass10 advisor, Niamh Doyle, has her monthly update discussing grass management tips for the month ahead. Niamh discusses over-winter growth and the importance of assessing opening covers and the need to ensure conditions are suitable before spreading. Niamh also encourages anyone who has soil samples to collect to do so in the coming weeks to address soil fertility this year. 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

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