Search Results ... (60)
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Cattle breeding
Cattle breeding
Thousands of farmers in Ireland are engaged in pedigree breeding of cattle, with their purebred stock registered in the herdbook of their chosen breed. The numerically largest pedigree breed is the Irish Holstein Friesian Association (ww.ihfa.ie) with over 3,000 breeders (pictured). Eighteen beef breed societies are participants in the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (www.icbf.com). The following are the main beef breeds, as well as their country of origin and year of first importation: Angus (Great Britain, 1843); Aubrac (France, 1992); Blonde d’Aquitaine (France, 1974); Belgian Blue (Belgium, 1980); Charolais (France, 1964); Hereford (Great Britain, 1775); Limousin (France, 1972); Piemontese (Italy, 1982); Parthenaise (France, 1997); Saler (France, 1997); Shorthorn (Great Britain, 1882) and Simmental (Austria, 1971).
Copyright Irish Farmers Journal
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Barley
Barley
Barley is used in the production of feed for cattle and pigs. A proportion of the crop in Ireland is also specially grown as “malting barley” to be used to make beer and whiskey by the brewing industry. Pictured above are combine harvesters gathering the crop.
Copyright Irish Farmers Journal
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Meat factory
Meat factory
Over 1.4million bovine animals were slaughtered at approved export meat plants in 2010. This consisted of 664,000 steers, 444,000 heifers and 337,000 cows. The product is sold in a range of formats to Irish and international customers. Irish beef processors now have a substantial presence in the retail markets of the UK and Continental Europe (www.bordbia.ie).
Copyright Irish Farmers Journal
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Teagasc Oak Park
Teagasc Oak Park
Teagasc Crops Research Centre in Oak Park, home to the National Centre for Arable Crops Research. Situated on 225 hectares, the centre’s main objective is to support the arable crops sector of Irish agriculture. Teagasc is a national organization providing integrated research, advisory and training services to agriculture and the food industry.
Copyright Irish Farmers Journal
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Feature: Farming in Ireland
Feature: Farming in Ireland
The Farming in Ireland section provides an overview of different types of farms as well as sustainability and technology in modern farming practices.
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Maize
Maize
Irish farmers grew over 22,500 hectares of maize in 2010, the vast majority of which was for use as feed for livestock. It is harvested and ensiled in a silage pit where the crop, including the cob, ferments. The highly nutritious silage is mainly used by dairy farmers who milk cows through the winter, as it is an excellent feed for lactating cows. A high proportion of the Irish crop is sown under plastic, in order to ensure that it gets sufficient heat in the Spring time.
Copyright Irish Farmers Journal
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Glenisk
Glenisk
Glenisk in Co Offaly use up to 90% of the organic milk produced in Ireland for their range of dairy products, including yogurt and fresh milk. It is run by the Cleary family at Killeigh in Co Offaly. The company sources organic milk from around 50 Irish dairy farmers that are certified organic. This means no chemicals, pesticides or antibiotics are used in the production of milk or any other ingredient.
Copyright Irish Farmers Journal
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White horse in a field
White horse in a field
A white horse in a field in Leitrim.
Image courtesy of Angela McMorrow
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Straw
Straw
Straw is the stem of the cereal plant left over after the grain has been removed from the cereal crop when it is cut by a combine harvester. Straw is usually collected and compacted for transport in the form of round or square bales. Most straw is bought by livestock farmers for use as winter feed or more commonly as a bedding material to keep animals warm and dry during when indoors on concrete floors. Wheaten straw is used by the mushroom industry to create the growing compost. Straw can also be shredded and left in the field, where it adds value by increasing the organic matter content of the soil.
Copyright Irish Farmers Journal
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Three bullocks in a field.
Three bullocks in a field.
Beef bullocks pictured at Teagasc Grange Research centre in Co Meath. Padraic Colum (1881-1972), in his poem, “A Drover”, talks of walking his cattle to “Meath of the pastures”. The county was and still is regarded as the premier county for fattening cattle. Young stock born in the suckler herds of the west often complete their days in Meath or neighbouring Kildare, where dry, level land offers plentiful grass and the required grain crops for finishing diets. “To Meath of the pastures, From wet hills by the sea, Through Leitrim and Longford, Go my cattle and me.”
Copyright Irish Farmers Journal