Teagasc will host two National Sheep Conferences this month which will focus on nutrition management in the run up to lambing, family farm transfer, and flock health.
The conferences will take place at 7:00p.m on Tuesday, January 23, in the Athlone Springs Hotel, Co. Roscommon, and on Thursday, January 25, in the Clanree Hotel in Letterkenny, Donegal.
The opening address in Letterkenny will be delivered by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue. Teagasc director, Prof. Frank O’Mara will open the conference in Athlone.
National Sheep Conferences
The importance of properly managing ewe nutrition during pregnancy, including the consequences on flock performance, will be discussed by Teagasc researcher Dr. Tim Keady.
Ifac’s Martin Clarke will discuss the succession challenges facing Irish farm families, including tax, structures, income security, and opportunities for planning.
Clarke will also outline the key considerations and strategies to simplify the process of farm transfers at the conferences, according to Teagasc.
The conferences will include a session on flock health, which Teagasc said is key to achieving high animal welfare, performance, and high levels of profitability in Irish lamb production systems.
Occasionally flocks will face various flock health challenges and how the owners deal with these challenges in terms of diagnosis and management differs widely, Teagasc said.
Seamus Fagan from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) regional veterinary laboratory in Athlone will discuss the steps involved in diagnosing and managing these issues.
Sheep farmers John O Connell from Leitrim, Patrick Dunne from Wicklow, and Brian Keane from Wexford will also share their on-farm experiences of three different flock health issues.