Brian McDonnell

Brian McDonnell Profile Picture

Brian McDonnell is from Raheny, Co. Dublin. He has an honours degree in Sustainable Agriculture from Dundalk IT. He has worked on dairy and beef farms in both Ireland and the UK, including Teagasc Grange and a large-scale 650-cow dairy farm which also had a 1,200 animal youngstock-rearing farm in Scotland. He has a keen interest in agriculture and particularly the dairy sector and in his spare time is active in local rugby and golf.

Hitting BCS targets to avoid calving issues
Hitting BCS targets to avoid calving issues

The body condition score (BCS) of cows should be one of the main factors that determines when a cow is...

Getting your farmyard winter ready
Getting your farmyard winter ready

As the winter housing period kicks off on farms and cows begin to settle into their winter housing accommodation, there...

What kind of labour will suit your dairy farm best?
What kind of labour will suit your dairy farm best?

Labour continues to be an issue on many Irish dairy farms, with good help hard to find and even harder...

National dairy herd: How many cows are in your county?
National dairy herd: How many cows are in your county?

By now everyone is well aware of the expansion that the national dairy herd has experienced since 2015. The Irish...

Grass clover swards are a win-win for farmers
Grass clover swards are a win-win for farmers

Grass clover swards were originally seen as a way of increasing milk solids from cows, but the use of clover...

Reduced nitrogen rates impact on grass quality
Reduced nitrogen rates impact on grass quality

Grass quality is vitally important on a dairy farm to maintain production and milk quality, while also reducing production costs....

Enniscorthy Mart sees lively calf trade at weekly sale
Enniscorthy Mart sees lively calf trade at weekly sale

Enniscorthy Mart saw a bigger entry of calves this week with over 100 on offer at the Wexford mart’s weekly...

Maintaining silage quality during the winter period
Maintaining silage quality during the winter period

The housed period has begun on farms, with silage pits now being opened to feed stock for the winter ahead....

Milk Price Tracker: Rise continues for October supplies
Milk Price Tracker: Rise continues for October supplies

The latest Milk Price Tracker – brought to you by Agriland and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) – details milk prices from the most...

Quality stock remain in demand at autumn dairy sales
Quality stock remain in demand at autumn dairy sales

The autumn dairy sales have seen the demand for high quality stock continue from the spring sales and even 2020...

Top call of €1,650 at Tullow Mart dairy sale
Top call of €1,650 at Tullow Mart dairy sale

Tullow Mart played host to the retirement dairy sale of Robert Hatton this week (Wednesday, November 24), with online buyers...

Marteye to host Cremona elite dairy sale in Italy
Marteye to host Cremona elite dairy sale in Italy

Marteye is set to host the elite dairy sale at the Cremona dairy auction which will take place in the...

Arla Foods develops ‘revolutionary’ milk separation technology
Arla Foods develops ‘revolutionary’ milk separation technology

Arla Foods has unveiled what it describes as “revolutionary” technology that allows the company to separate milk into different protein...

Correct stocking rate key to dairy farm performance
Correct stocking rate key to dairy farm performance

Stocking rate being key to economic and environmental performance on dairy farms, was one of the take aways from day...

National Dairy Conference: Future of dairy breeding programme
National Dairy Conference: Future of dairy breeding programme

Yesterday (Tuesday November 23) marked the first day of the Teagasc National Dairy Conference, which is being held virtually. The...

‘Pathway’ to reducing emissions outlined at National Dairy Conference
‘Pathway’ to reducing emissions outlined at National Dairy Conference

The recently released Climate Action Plan outlined the emission reduction targets for each sector, including agriculture. Speaking at the first...

Tullow Mart set to host dairy sale of 50 cows
Tullow Mart set to host dairy sale of 50 cows

Tomorrow (Wednesday, November 24) Tullow Mart will host the retirement dairy sale of the herd of Mr. Robert Hatton. In...

Treating dairy cows for parasites at drying off
Treating dairy cows for parasites at drying off

Internal parasites of ruminants can impact the performance of cattle at any age and should be dealt with if they...