Aidan Brennan

Dublin, Ireland

Dairy Editor at Irish Farmers Journal

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Articles

Meet the beef finalists in the Sustainable Grassland Farmer of the Year awards

6 days ago | farmersjournal.ie | SImon Byrne |Simon P. Byrne |Co. Kildare |Aidan Brennan

Peter and Simon ByrneCastledermot, Co KildareFather-and-son combination, Peter and Simon Byrne from Castledermot in Co Kildare are showing the way when it comes to dairy beef production. Peter purchased the 138ac farm in 1988, where he grew crops and kept suckler cows up to 10 years ago. The Byrnes then got out of sucklers and into dairy calf-to-beef, with the enterprise going from 100 calves reared per year five years ago, to 160 calves reared per year now.
Meet the beef finalists in the grassland competition

1 week ago | farmersjournal.ie | SImon Byrne |Simon P. Byrne |Co. Kildare |Aidan Brennan

Peter and Simon ByrneCastledermot, Co KildareFather-and-son combination, Peter and Simon Byrne from Castledermot in Co Kildare are showing the way when it comes to dairy beef production. Peter purchased the 138ac farm in 1988, where he grew crops and kept suckler cows up to 10 years ago. The Byrnes then got out of sucklers and into dairy calf-to-beef, with the enterprise going from 100 calves reared per year five years ago, to 160 calves reared per year now.
Dairy management: weather changes, breeding replacements and reseeding

1 week ago | farmersjournal.ie | Aidan Brennan

WeatherThe weather over the last few days is more typical for the time of year. Cold and wet isn’t good for grass growth but in one sense it might help keep a lid on high growth rates. It’s also a high risk time for grass tetany. Many of the farms that were growing 60kg and 70kg per day last week are down to 40kg per day this week. As a result some paddocks that were intended to be cut for short term silage have now come back into the grazing mix.
Dairy Trends: GDT index increases by 1.6%

1 week ago | farmersjournal.ie | Aidan Brennan

The big news this week was the positive Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction result, where the index increased by 1.6%. The main mover was whole milk powder (WMP), which increased in price by 2.8% and constitutes over half of all product sold at the GDT. In contrast, skim milk powder (SMP) which represents about one quarter of all product sold at the fortnightly auction decreased in price by 2.3%.
Dairy heifer numbers falling globally

1 week ago | farmersjournal.ie | Aidan Brennan

The number of female dairy heifer calves born so far this year is back 12.1% on 2024 and is back 15.4% on 2023 levels. This is a staggering decrease in the number of dairy animals that are eligible to become first calving heifers in two years’ time. At 292,337 dairy heifer calves born up to 1 April, that represents a potential replacement rate of just 18% based on a total dairy cow population of 1.6m cows.
Dairy heifer calves back over 12% on 2024

1 week ago | farmersjournal.ie | Aidan Brennan

The number of female dairy heifer calves born so far this year is back 12.1% on 2024 and is back 15.4% on 2023 levels. At 292,337 dairy heifer calves born up to 1 April, it represents a potential national replacement rate of just 18% based on a total dairy cow population of 1.6m dairy cows. Declining numbers This indicates that dairy cow numbers are likely to decline in Ireland over the coming years given normal mortality and infertility rates.
Dairy management: high risk for grass tetany

1 week ago | farmersjournal.ie | Aidan Brennan

With colder and wetter weather set to move in over the next week or 10 days, the risk of grass tetany in dairy cows, sucklers and sheep intensifies. Cows in peak milk production have a huge draw on minerals, both from their own reserves and from their feed. Magnesium is particularly important as a magnesium deficiency causes grass tetany, an acute disorder resulting in cow staggers and death if left untreated.
Critical steps for a successful breeding season

2 weeks ago | farmersjournal.ie | Aidan Brennan

It has often been said that there is more work in putting cows in calf, than there is in calving itself, so the next few months are going to be very busy on dairy farms. Like with anything, preparation is key, so take the time now over the next few weeks to be as prepared as possible. Maiden heifersMaiden heifers are the highest genetic merit animals on the farm, so the more heifer calves generated from them, the better.
Dairy management: keeping pre-grazing yields at the right level

2 weeks ago | farmersjournal.ie | Aidan Brennan

Grazing: It’s going to be tricky to manage grass over the next few weeks. On many farms down south the burst of growth has come, with many reporting growth rates of up to 70kg/day. Sharp frosts have tempered growth rates in the northern half of the country. Colder but showery temperatures are set to move in from next week, so I would expect growth rates to slow down as a result. The situation is that there is too much grass on many farms.
Dairy Trends: tariff tensions playing part in subdued market

2 weeks ago | farmersjournal.ie | Aidan Brennan

With the stock market in turmoil over tariffs and trade wars, dairy markets didn’t escape the volatility. With heightened fears of a global recession, the general sentiment in dairy markets took a dip. While it hasn’t really materialised into substantially lower prices for key dairy products, it has dampened expectations and the futures markets probably took the biggest hit.