This week’s news was dominated by a very uneventful Beef Summit update. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Simon Coveney chaired another session in Dublin Castle and complimented Michael Dowling on his report. Across the water, farming unions put increased pressure on retailers and processors around the dropping price for UK beef.

A plastic bag filled with cows’ hooves and five plastic bags of cow skin found in a Dublin take away were just some of the unusual items which were the subject of prohibition orders for May, the Food safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) reported  this week, but refused to be drawn further on details surrounding the case.

The countryside saw serious amounts of silage being cut during the week and yields todate have been super, but Teagasc is warning those yet to cut silage to be careful of quality. Here we outline some advice from Teagasc.

On the dairy side, the world demand for milk is showing no signs of abating with some 100 billion litres of milk required worldwide. Research into German dairy farmers shows the current milk price they are being paid is not covering their costs.

Changing weather patterns may hit wheat yields, according to a group of international researchers, includingRothamsted Research scientists in the South of England, has used a series of climate scenarios to predict the frequency and severity of weather extremes affecting wheat production across Europe in the next 50 years. The researchers found that probability of more than one of extreme events occurring during a wheat cultivation season is likely to increase.

Succession and inheritance was key at a Teagasc conference in Dublin this week, where attendees heard that young people see themselves as ‘guardians’ of the land for future generations, but also heard that gender roles still exist and sons are seen as the more obvious choice to inherit land.