This week’s Teagasc lowland sheep conferences will take place as planned and have not been affected by storm Éowyn.

There were fears that Tuesday night’s conference taking place at 7pm in the Ard Rí House Hotel in Tuam, Co Galway, may have been affected by the aftermath of the storm, with large parts of Galway and the surrounding counties without power.

However, Teagasc has confirmed that the event will go ahead as planned, with the second of two lowland sheep conferences taking place on Thursday 30 January in the Knightsbrook Hotel, Trim, Co Meath.

Agenda

A range of sheep production issues will be addressed at the conference by speakers from the UK, Teagasc and the Department of Agriculture.

The opening talk will be on low stress handling for shepherd and sheep by Miriam Parker.

The Welsh woman set up Livestockwise, a company that provides specialist advice in the area of animal handling and slaughter.

Seamus Fagan from the Department of Agriculture regional veterinary laboratory (RVL) will make a presentation on the findings from the thin ewe scheme.

The RVLs and Teagasc undertook the study to provide information on the causes of ill thrift/poor body condition score in ewes. It investigated ewes from flocks where thin ewes were a substantial problem, despite receiving adequate nutrition.

Teagasc sheep research officer Dr Frank Campion will deliver a paper on the importance for sheep producers to pay attention to ewe body condition score (BCS) and how to use this assessment to inform management decisions.

Grassland nutrition researcher at Teagasc Athenry Sarah Woodmartin will speak about botanically diverse swards and how they play an important role in enhancing the environmental sustainability of pasture-based sheep production systems.

Woodmartin's PhD research focused on the addition of clovers or herbs to a perennial ryegrass sward in an intensive sheep production system.

Feed intake and digestibility, animal performance, sward quality, methane output and meat-eating quality were monitored for the duration of the study.

A demonstration of the Department's sheep app to notify farm-to-farm movements will also take place.

The conferences will be addressed by Teagasc senior management.

Director of research in Teagasc Professor Pat Dillon will speak to sheep farmers on Tuesday in Tuam, while Teagasc director Professor Frank O’Mara will address the conference on Thursday in Trim.

Both events will kick off at 7pm.