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
Factories get €1.7m to process organic produce
Barry Murphy
Beef and dairy processors will be able to draw down funds from the new Organic Processing Investment Grant Scheme.
 
 
Pedigree
Second sale set for spring superstars
News
Organic sector gets €1.5m Brexit reserve funding
Pedigree
Sheep champions crowned at Balmoral
News
Ewe numbers back 1.3% in 2022
VIDEOS
MANAGEMENT
Darren Carty
Sheep Management: blowfly strike, grass management and nematodirus reminder
A number of shearing contractors and farmers have reported cases of blowfly strike in adult sheep in recent days, raising awareness for the need to carry out regular checks.
Darren Carty
Focus must remain on production efficiencies
While fertiliser and concentrate costs are slowly reducing, a focus should remain on keeping input costs in check and exploiting other production efficiencies than can help underpin performance.
MARKETS
Darren Carty
Camera at the Mart: 95% clearance at Cooley Sheep Breeders ewe with lamb sale
The trade for ewes with twin lambs at foot ranged from €150 to €270, while single-lamb lots ranged from €140 to €233.
Darren Carty
Sheep Trends: trade steadies after recent pressure
Base quotes for Thursday are unchanged, with lambs trading in the main from €7.90/kg to €8.00/kg, with top prices including bonuses rising to €8.10/kg.
GRASS & FEEDING
Martin Merrick
Silage season hits drystock farms
First cut silage has begun on many drystock farms, with good reports on both yields and quality.
Martin Merrick
Five steps to managing swards mid-season
Swards have started to become stemmy out on some farms as the heading date for many perennial rye grass species approaches.
BREEDING & HEALTH
Darren Carty
Sheep Management: scald, animal identification errors and shearing progress
There have been variable reports of scald in flocks in recent weeks, with swift action required to prevent an escalation of cases.
Darren Carty
Time to consider external parasite control options
Farmers are understandably looking at where cost savings can be made, but external parasite control is important in underpinning performance and safeguarding animal welfare.
FARM PROGRAMMES
Adam Woods
Dairy cross cows working hard in Newford
Adam Woods reports from the Newford Suckler Demonstration Farm open day held earlier this week
Ellen Durkin
In pictures: hive of activity across the Footprint Farms as the weather improves
Sunny spells across the Footprint Farms have meant crops have got their final fungicide, as well as single farm payments and SCEP applications being submitted.
Ellen Durkin
Installing owl boxes in Co Waterford
Footprint Farmer Pádraig Connery has put up a couple of owl boxes on his farm in the past couple of weeks.
Darren Carty
Newford Farm update: low level of repeat breeding activity
Breeding appears to be progressing nicely, with only a handful of animals receiving a repeat insemination in the fourth week of the breeding season.
SPONSORED
Steady cattle and sluggish sheep trade so far in 2023
Mark Zieg, Bord Bia beef, meat and livestock manager, and Seamus McMenamin, sheepmeat and livestock manager, look at trade.
SPONSORED
Multiple Bord na Móna auctions boast over 400 lots of machinery this May
Wilsons Auctions prepares once again to offer bidders a huge selection of tractors, machinery, tyres, motorbikes, equipment and more surplus assets on behalf of the iconic Irish company Bord na Móna.
SPONSORED
Farm safely – look up and look out for electricity poles and wires
ESB Networks Public Safety Manager Michael Murray is reminding farmers to take necessary safety precautions with overhead wires, poles and stay wires ahead of the busy forage saving season.
SPONSORED
Over half a million acres of farm land mapped using FREE mapping tool
All farmers in Ireland and the UK can now map their farms for free in a matter of minutes, thanks to a service launched by Herdwatch, the leading farm management software used on over 18,000 farms.
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