There is no evidence of any adverse effect on the health or productivity of dairy cows who are kept close to Ireland’s pharmachem hub in Cork Harbour, a major new study has found.

The Netherlands had to get rid of 11% of its dairy cows due to its phosphate surplus, which can be traced back to their large imports of feed.

The beef crisis overshadowed the recent strike by the collectors of livestock which die on farms.

With beef prices at their lowest level in over a decade, it is obvious among those with cattle to finish this winter that there are more questions being raised than ever before about the economics of investing in feeding stock to slaughter next spring.

The overhang of finished cattle left in the aftermath of factory gate protests by farmers continues to affect processing, and prices.

The fight against misinformation claiming livestock is the biggest cause of climate change was ratcheted up at last week’s Alltech One 19 conference in the US.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, has criticised French handlers who were filmed allegedly abusing Irish cattle in Cherbourg.

I hear Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger is going under the knife this week. His heart is giving him trouble.

They say no two years are ever the same and that is certainly true with 2019 so far.

The change in the weather earlier this week was about as welcome as Conor McGregor at the St Patrick’s Day parade in Chicago on Sunday.

I met a lady in Cookie O’Callaghan’s Saturday night who had a crow to pluck with me.

Specialist beef farmers received strong cross-party backing at last week’s Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, with several TDs and senators warning that a hard Brexit would wipe out already struggling cattle farmers.

A huge national dairy herd cull in the Netherlands since 2016 has brought the country’s runaway phosphate production from livestock manure under control.

A grant scheme which has paid over €1m to dairy farmers in the last three years has been re-launched.

Beef, dairy, and tillage seem to be the big winners in the Organic Action Plan 2019 to 2025. For beef, the plan aims to “increase organic cattle production from 0.8% of total cattle in 2016 to 1.6%”.

I have had numerous calls recently from cattle farmers about their Bord Bia assurance audits, and what steps they can take to pass.

The old people talk about the trouble they used to have with going to the fair.

Cattle imported into Ireland totalled 15,708 in 2016, 12,648 in 2017, and 8,478 in 2018, up to October.

I have visited a lot of my autumn calving customers over the last few weeks.

The number of registered liquid milk dairy farmers in Ireland has dropped significantly in recent years, falling from 3,113 to just 1,901 in 15 years.

Reducing livestock numbers is of course likely to be much easier politically than, for example, asking the French people to pay more for fuel, writes Stephen Cadogan.

I suppose it was bound to happen! We are all running out of grass.

The search for alternatives to veterinary antibiotics in treating mastitis in dairy cows continues, and perhaps one of the most unconventional solutions is low-intensity shockwave technology, already proven and used worldwide in human medicine.

Spring calvers around the country are fast approaching their dry period.

The Department of Agriculture has issued full details of the incentive measure of up to €2.75 million for tillage farmers to produce additional feed this autumn.

Cattle deaths on farms soared in April and March, increasing 22% and 30% compared to the 2017 levels, according to the latest information from the Department of Agriculture.

Work load phenomenal for farmers whose wells have dried up, says Ger Quain

Breandán suggested he might buy the calves when his father decided to switch from suckers to calf rearing

An investigation is underway after a train hit a herd of cattle on the rail line near Tullamore in Co Offaly yesterday.

We need a smaller beef herd and an emphasis in dairy on premium products like cheese and ice-cream, writes Victoria White

Still no major increase in temperatures but it looks like there is the promise of double figures by next week. Even if some weather models are predicting a white Easter!

Milk is the white gold of the rural economy, with the recent ICOS National Conference in UCC hearing that dairy expansion from 2016 to 2020 will result in a €2.7 billion economic impact for rural Ireland.

With New Zealand’s new Agriculture Minister saying his country “may have got close to the maximum number of cows”, and countries like Ireland coming under increasing pressure to decouple agricultural growth from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the question of who will feed growing global populations gets more relevant by the day.

A man who lost his way while searching for missing cattle was found safe following a multi-agency operation in Co Tipperary last night.

The Global Dairy Trade auction on October 17 will be closely watched by all in the dairy industry, for signs of a weakening global market, following a surprise 2.4% fall in the overall GDT price index at last Tuesday’s auction.

Jill Smith, a Co Cork dairy farmer, isn’t retiring, but her herd is — to a sanctuary in England.

Ireland may be well placed to take advantage, as restrictions on veterinary medicines in livestock farming increase.

A swan had to be rescued from a herd of cattle that struck and trampled on it in the grounds of Blarney Castle in what the estate’s garden manager described as a “surreal” scene.

Cattle prices from €4 to €4.50/kg and mid-season lamb prices of €5 to €6.00/kg are essential to cover the cost of production on the most efficient farms, says IFA president Joe Healy.

A man has been found guilty of assaulting his neighbour in a row sparked by straying cattle, while his partner has been convicted of blocking the road with a car.

The methane emissions problem remains as acute, according to Richard Collins, who wonders, which creatures can help?