Carrick-on-Shannon is location for event next Tuesday
The theme of this year’s Teagasc National Beef Conference is ‘Sustainable Beef Farming: Pathways to a greener future’ to reflect the changing environmental landscape in which farmers play a key role.
The conference, which will be held in the Landmark Hotel, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, takes place on Tuesday, 19th of November.
It commences with Session I at 5 pm chaired by Tom Coll, Teagasc Drystock Advisor, Mohill and will focus on ‘Innovating for Efficiency: Smart farming in the Irish beef sector’.
Dr Peter Doyle, Research Officer, Teagasc Grange will outline the impact of red and white clover on animal performance in suckler calf-to-beef production systems. Dr Patrick Forrestal, Senior Research Officer from Teagasc Johnstown Castle will discuss some practical nutrient management solutions that beef farmers can implement on their farms to increase efficiency, reduce costs and address environmental pressures facing the sector.
Dr John Donlon, Research Officer, Teagasc Grange will outline ways to control pneumonia in suckler weanlings.
There will be an interval with refreshments before we begin Session II at 7.15 pm where the theme will be ‘Harnessing Innovation: Future proofing Irish beef farming’.
This promises to be a very interesting and informative session and will be chaired by Alice Doyle, IFA Deputy President and member of the Teagasc Authority.
Eoin Ryan, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, will discuss the risks for Irish cattle farmers in relation to bluetongue.
Martina Harrington, Programme Manager, Future Beef Programme, Teagasc will outline Innovations on the participants of Future Beef Suckler Farms.
Shane Pearson, Design Your Life Coaching, will outline ways for farmers to stay resilient on farms through stressful times of the year.
The conference will conclude at 8.45 pm and there will be local Teagasc advisers on hand if you want to discuss any scheme or technical issues on the night.
On the night there will be an opportunity for farmers to meet with member of the Teagasc Organic team, Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme and Signpost Programme to discuss any queries you may have.
The Teagasc Future Beef and DairyBeef500 teams will also be in attendance at the conference with updates from both programmes.
As the 19th of November is ‘International Men’s Day’ there will be a focus on the night on farmer health and wellbeing. There will be a number of health professionals with information stands present.
This year’s conference celebrates the five-year anniversary of the Teagasc ‘Beef Edge’ podcast, which has recently released its 250th episode and garnered over 215,000 listens. The podcast provides the latest news, information, and advice to enhance beef farm performance. You can listen to all episodes on the Teagasc website www.teagasc.ie/podcasts or through platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.
Announcing details of this year’s conference, Teagasc Head of Drystock, Pearse Kelly, commented: “This year at the National Beef Conference we have focused on providing the latest research and best advice for beef farmers on ways to implement sustainable technologies on beef farms and how we can take advantage of these drivers globally.
“We hope that the conference will offer an opportunity for constructive discussion of these issues. On the night attendees will have an opportunity to meet and talk with members of staff from a number of departments in Teagasc and wider health and wellbeing professionals. The conference is free for to all and will be well worth attending”.
