Teagasc Mayo webinars - improving performance on beef and sheep farms this winter
By John Conroy, drystock advisor, Teagasc Westport
DUE to the current level 5 Covid restrictions, Teagasc has been unable to host their usual on-farm events or winter seminars. Therefore, Teagasc Mayo have decided to put together two online events in the form of webinars which will take place on Monday, November 23 (beef), and Wednesday, November 25 (sheep).
They will deal with winter management on beef and sheep farms with the aim of improving animal performance and hopefully increased margins for farmers.
These webinars will be available through a link which will be sent out to Teagasc Mayo clients in a text before the event is due to start. They will then be able to click on the link and this will bring them straight into the live event.
This link will also be available on the Teagasc Mayo website, and Teagasc Mayo Facebook and Twitter pages.
If farmers have any questions about winter management they can send in their questions through the chat function on the webinar or they can post a question to any of the social media channels and these will be answered live on the evening.
The first event will take place on Monday, November 23, at 8 p.m. where winter management on beef farms will be discussed. The importance of controlling internal and external parasites such as worms, fluke and lice will be discussed and the vital role parasite control plays in animal performance and thrive. The whole area of winter feeding on beef farms will be addressed, looking at the opportunities to reduce costs and increase live weight gain on farms this winter.
The second event will take place on Wednesday, November 25, at 8 p.m. where the focus will turn to sheep and the management of the ewe in mid-pregnancy. Again, parasites such as fluke and worms will be up for discussion and how to get on top of them this winter to prevent any health issues developing in your flock. The importance of vaccinations will be discussed and how to get the best value from them.
This event will also look at silage quality issues and how to interpret silage test results. Concentrate feeding and what to look out for when purchasing meal or concentrates will also be discussed.
The winter period is the most expensive period on beef and sheep farms in the year as winter costs account for up to 75% of variable costs on farms. We encourage all farmers to tune in to pick up some advice on how to get better value from their investments over the next couple of months.