Dairy

Feeding your stock this winter

By EDMOND CURTIN, B.Arg.Sc Dry cow: Cows in the wrong body condition score (BCS) need to have this rectified 2-3 weeks before calving starts. From then on a greater proportion…

To continue to milk or not to milk that may very well become the question?

Inevitably a time will come when grass runs out but before we consider the economics of continuing to milk, we must firstly recognise that it will cost the same to…

Why use DIGEST-IT?

DIGEST-IT: increases nutrient recovery, improving the fertiliser value of slurry, reduces ammonia emissions and odours, breaks down solids, reducing the time required to agitate and pump slurry, grows more, better…

The importance of knowing your silage quality

Silage quality is key to good animal performance, reducing winter feed costs and increasing profitability during the housing period. Right now, you cannot change the quality of your silage but…

The Value of Additional Concentrate Feeding

Your cows have a base line concentrate requirement, needed to meet her current milk yield and to build a grass wedge. Additional concentrates on top of this requirement will deliver…

Maximise your Late Lactation Milk Revenue with Autumn Extend

Nutrition Matters

Important supports available to Members

12th August 2024 2024 has been very challenging, particularly from a weather perspective, resulting in reduced grass growth rates, milk volumes and fodder reserves on farm. Dairygold Board and Management…

August Advice

As we enter the month of August there are a number of key areas that need to be reviewed on dairy farms and decisions that are taken…

Take Action Now on Winter Fodder Stocks

Key Takeaways Do a fodder budget – Assess whether you need to take extra bales or third cut to fill your winter fodder stocks – Grass growth is…

Dairygold Agribusiness helping you overcome the current weather challenges

Heavy rain has made grazing conditions next to impossible in the short-term. The forecast for the coming week is showery with little improvement expected in ground…

Low Milk Protein

Milk proteins at farm level are currently approaching the yearly low point for milk protein. Every 0.1% increase in milk protein annually is worth c.€5000 for the…

Dairygold Prime Milk Replacer Range

The key ingredient in Dairygold’s Prime Elite calf milk replacer range is Imunopro®, a concentrated Whey Protein, is carefully balanced to ensure the optimum level of amino acids, fatty…

Don’t miss out on a potential €13,500 additional milk revenue

Year to date our average cow has produced c.4000 ltrs of milk. There is a lot of valuable milk yet to flow. With a 3 % weekly decline from…

Managing a reseed

Our main aim with post sowing managements are: Establish the new ley, 2. Encourage tillering, 3. Prevent weed establishment It can take up to 12 months for the new crop…

Building Grass across the month of September

Grass Growth in August was poor, a lot of farms now find themselves behind target for grass as we start the month of September. We need to build grass covers…

ACT NOW to match grass supply with growth

In times of slowed grass growth, we need to cut grass demand to ensure we keep a minimum cover of grass on our farm, that we maintain cow intakes and…

Why multi-species swards are becoming so popular

More and more farmers are sowing multi-species swards, containing a mixture of grass, legumes and herbs. Germinal’s grass and forage expert Niall Laffan tells us why and describes the latest…

Act Now to Maximise the Length of your Grazing Season

Right down we have 14% less grass on farms than we should have. If we do not act now we will run out of grass earlier than planned. We need…

Spread Nitrogen Now to Maximise Grazing Season

Pasturebase data has shown us that its not uncommon for many dairy farmers to end up with a lower supply of grass than they would like entering into the autumn….

It’s Time to Check Your Slats – Farm Safety

Catherine Hurley, B.Agr.Sc, Agri Sales Support Advisor Slats and manhole covers are not lifetime items, they need to be replaced before they fail. The expected lifespan of them is about…

Replenish Land After Taking Out Surplus Bales

Liam Stack, M.Agr.Sc, Ruminant Technical Manager After taking out surplus grass as bales, it’s important to replace what we’ve taken out in terms of N, P + K to ensure…

How to Make Good Quality Bales

The principles of making baled silage are the same as pit silage: 1) Remove all air and maintain air-free through to feedout 2) Reduce silage pH (level determined by the…

How to get the most from feeding concentrates at grass

Liam Stack, M.Agr.Sc Ruminant Technical Manager There is a balancing act that must be done by farmers when feeding concentrates at grass to the dairy herd. Farmers need to…

Now that the closed period is over… should I spread?

Our fertiliser world is a changing. We now need to focus more on nitrogen use efficiency, ammonia and nitrous oxide emissions. As part of their marginal abatement curve Teagasc have…

Why now is the best time to get your soil tested

Louise O’Connor, Agri Technical Graduate As we face into December, most farmers are running through their winter checklist. However, one of the best things you can do during this period…

Using Alfalfa to improve milk output and liveweight gain

Colman Purcell, Nutritionist Dairygold Quality Feeds Traditionally we value forages based on their net energy and digestible protein content. We usually confine our efforts to these nutrients as we assume…

Maintaining Milk Lactose

Maintaining milk lactose Milk lactose is lower this year than previous years. Milk lactose is affected by stage of lactation and energy nutrition. Despite the good grass growth lactose is…

The Importance of Autumn Fertiliser

In August soils release their own organic N naturally. On lowly stocked farms (< 170kg organic N/Ha) that have enough winter forage this may provide sufficient N to build grass…

Why silage ground often has the poorest level of soil fertility and how to fix it

Catherine Hurley Recent grass silage tests that have been carried out have shown poor protein levels in the winter fodder in many cases, so much so that the feed may…

Kerva for Grain Enhanced Feed

Benefits of Kerva treated grain for feed ✓Treating grain with KERVA produces nutritionally enhanced feed (increased protein content by 30% approx.), reducing the need for additional protein in the diet…

Dairygold Joint Program Monitor

Dairy Sustainability Day

Dairy Sustainability Day was held on the farm of Trevor and Olive Crowley this year, winners of the Reduce Carbon footprint category at Bord Bía’s Origin Green Farmer Awards in…

Gold Assure Grass Seed Brochure

Dairygold Grass Seed Brochure_.

Managing your Automatic Calf Feeder

Whether you have or haven’t gotten your feeder up and running for the season yet, here are a few key points to keep in mind.

Once a Day Feeding- Calf Milk Replacer

Dairygold’s Calf milk replacer specialist talks about once a day feeding Dairygold’s Prime Elite milk replacer range.

Guide to Catch Crops

James Bourke B.Agr.Sc has given a breakdown of the most popular catch crops this 2018, Westerwolds and Forage Brassicas. Click Read More to see more information.

I have not made a 2nd cut of grass silage, what can I do?

Click Read More to see what options are available to you if you have not yet made a second cut of silage. Dairygold have also developed a tool to calculate the amount of silage that you could potentially preserve from August to October by feeding extra concentrates to lower feed demand which is available to download.

How much grass silage will wholecrop silage replace?

Diarmuid O’Riordan IASIS, TMR Area Sales Manager with Dairygold Agri Business gives a breakdown of how much grass silage your crop of wholecrop silage will replace. Click Read More to see if wholecrop can be fed to dry cows, the value of wholecrop silage vs grass silage and the requirements to meet the milking cows needs.

How much grass silage will maize replace?

Alan Ryan B.Agr.Sc, TMR Area Sales Manager with Dairygold Agri Business gives a breakdown of how much grass silage your crop of standing maize will replace. Click Read More to see if Maize can be fed to dry cows, the value of maize silage vs grass silage and the requirements to meet the milking cows needs.

Dairygold Grass Extender Options

Dairygold Nutritionist Colman Purcell has given an outline of the grass and fodder extender options available through Dairygold Agribusiness. Please click Read More to see options available to you.

Short of grass right now, what are your options?

Liam Stack M.Agr.Sc, Ruminant Technical Manager, Dairygold Agribusiness gives a concise breakdown of what your options are if running out of grass during this dry spell.

Spring Fertiliser Advice by John Maher, Teagasc Grass 10 Manager

John Maher, Teagasc Grass 10 Manager, Moorepark has given fertiliser advice for application of N, P and K fertiliser this challenging spring.

Ensure optimum health of your livestock this Spring with Superchoice Minerals

When it comes to animal nutrition, Superchoice Minerals are your guarantee for great quality and value. This product range has been formulated to meet the upper end of Teagasc’s recommended mineral levels and has been formulated to meet the needs of Irish dairy cows, cattle and sheep.

Chemical Control of Ragwort in Grassland

Weather Forecast Settings

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