Calving has kicked off or is on the verge of doing so on many farms over the next few weeks and, while driving about, you will notice cows re-emerging from their winter quarters. It feels like the last three weeks have been shrouded in mist. Out in Ardfield it has […]
Well Brexit has finally come to pass. The knock-on effects will become clearer with time. Perhaps they would be more obvious if the UK’s time outside the EU began in a world free of Covid-19. However, with travel restricted and extra logistics already required, it’s a bit tricky to pick […]
Soil, Silage and Dung – or ‘the three S’s’ as they might be colloquially referred to on farms! Diagnostics has become routine on the farm over the last few years. Of the three, soil sampling is going to become a more routine operation on a lot of farms, as it […]
Nigel Daunt, nominated by Bandon Co-op, is a finalist in the NDC and Kerrygold Quality Milk Awards – known as the ‘Oscars of the Dairy World’ You’re a new entrant to dairy, what influenced your decision to change enterprise? I was always mad into farming. Mum and Dad had a […]
The three big-ticket uncontrollables affecting farmers of late remain Brexit, CAP and Covid. In comparison to other parts of the economy, farming has been less affected by the lockdowns imposed this year. The most noticeable impact has been felt at marts. For now mart ringsides will be empty because of […]
After the washout in August, the weather in September was a bit more pleasant, giving tillage farmers an opportunity to get back into fields and salvage any crops they weren’t able to harvest earlier. That said estimated losses are in the region of 15 to 20 per cent. While the […]