Sheep farming

The latest sheep farming news and sheep prices from the Irish Farmers Journal. Keep up to date with all farming and production news developments in the sheep farming sector.

News
Organic feed demand surpasses 50,000t
Darren Carty
Only a fraction of Ireland’s organic feed requirement is produced domestically, with the Department of Agriculture hoping for an increase in tillage participants in the latest intake.
Organic feed demand surpasses 50,000t
 
 
Land use policy among main topics at Teagasc/CAFRE uplands symposium
Sheep
Land use policy among main topics at Teagasc/CAFRE uplands symposium
Increased liver fluke risk in north and west, Department warns
Beef
Increased liver fluke risk in north and west, Department warns
Poor farm viability risks future of uplands areas
Sheep
Poor farm viability risks future of uplands areas
My Farming Week: Seán O’Brien, Carheens, Belclare, Co Galway
Sheep
My Farming Week: Seán O’Brien, Carheens, Belclare, Co Galway
VIDEOS
MANAGEMENT
Sheep Management: high risk of liver fluke in high percentage of sheep flocks
Darren Carty
Sheep Management: high risk of liver fluke in high percentage of sheep flocks
The Department of Agriculture’s and AFBI’s liver fluke forecast are warning farmers to be aware of a high risk of disease at present.
Sheep Management: sheep dip disposal, silage quality and drafting lambs
Darren Carty
Sheep Management: sheep dip disposal, silage quality and drafting lambs
Sheep should remain on lands where there is no risk of dip coming in contact with watercourses for at least 24 hours, and spent dip should be disposed of correctly.
MARKETS
Sheep Trends: kill drops to just 37,719 head
Darren Carty
Sheep Trends: kill drops to just 37,719 head
Last week’s kill was over 21,500 head lower than the corresponding period week in 2023, with over 40,000 fewer sheep slaughtered in the last fortnight compared with 2023.
Sheep mart comment: top stores selling upwards of €3.70-€4/kg
Darren Carty
Sheep mart comment: top stores selling upwards of €3.70-€4/kg
The recent lift in grass growth rates and vibrant finished lamb trade is instilling more life into the market for store lambs.
GRASS & FEEDING
The Grass Week: ground firm but grass running out
Martin Merrick
The Grass Week: ground firm but grass running out
While ground conditions are excellent for the most part, it will be a lack of grass that will force any stock indoors.
The Grass Week: graze hard while the going is good
Martin Merrick
The Grass Week: graze hard while the going is good
Conditions for the most part are favourable, so farmers should use this opportunity to get wetter paddocks grazed off.
BREEDING & HEALTH
Big Bang Export Sale Booms at 10,000gns
Rachel Gallagher
Big Bang Export Sale Booms at 10,000gns
Balmoral Park has its fourth annual Big Bank Export Sale.
Full clearance at the Ballyhibben Charollais production sale
Rachel Gallagher
Full clearance at the Ballyhibben Charollais production sale
Blessington mart has its Ballyhibben Charollais flock reduction sale.
FARM PROGRAMMES
Tullamore bulls - decision time: finish or sell weanlings?
Adam Woods
Tullamore bulls - decision time: finish or sell weanlings?
Adam Woods takes a look at the 2024 born bull weanlings on Tullamore farm as the farm decide whether to finish or sell on
Sowing cover crops in Co Louth
Kelsey Daly
Sowing cover crops in Co Louth
Gareth Culligan’s goal is to enhance soil structure and health through the use of cover crops, while also providing food for pollinators throughout the winter, writes Kelsey Daly.
Tullamore Farm: sheep mating progresses as suckler herd weaning completed
Contributor
Tullamore Farm: sheep mating progresses as suckler herd weaning completed
Farm manager Shaun Diver gives an update on what’s happening on Tullamore farm, as breeding progresses well in the ewe flock while the last of the beef calves have been weaned.
Producing nutrient-dense food in west Cork
Brendan Dunford
Producing nutrient-dense food in west Cork
Steve Collins’ lifelong dedication to fighting malnutrition has taken him all over the world and lives on through his current ‘passion project’– a small hill farm in west Cork, writes Brendan Dunford.
Selective dry cow therapy at Lisduff HolsteinsSPONSORED
Selective dry cow therapy at Lisduff Holsteins
John O’Sullivan milks approximately 400 pedigree Holstein Friesian cows in Whitechurch, Co Cork. He farms alongside his father John Snr, his brother Victor and farm manager Dave McGrath.
Bennettsbridge Limestone’s Cubicle Lime: boosting cow comfort and milk yield SPONSORED
Bennettsbridge Limestone’s Cubicle Lime: boosting cow comfort and milk yield
Bennettsbridge Limestone’s Cubicle Lime is a unique disinfectant-style product which has been formulated using a blend of superfine limestone powder and hydrated lime.
Protect your calves: a new approach to cryptosporidiosis controlSPONSORED
Protect your calves: a new approach to cryptosporidiosis control
Neonatal calf diarrhoea or calf scour is consistently the number one cause of death in calves less than one month of age in Ireland.
Turning waste into opportunity: how anaerobic digestion benefits Irish farmersSPONSORED
Turning waste into opportunity: how anaerobic digestion benefits Irish farmers
Agriculture has always been at the heart of rural Ireland, providing food, livelihoods and community cohesion.
For daily news, mart prices and ePaper access from 6am on Thursday, subscribe for just €1 SUBSCRIBE