#Farming Columns

The latest opinion and analysis from the Irish Examiner's farming section.

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

BrianReidy.jpg
Brian Reidy: Feeding and management of livestock once indoors
Dairy farming: Cows in the milking parlor are milked
Brian Reidy: Reducing the dry period to lower milk production costs
Unnecessarily long dry periods will cost you a lot of money this winter, advises ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy

Fri, 31 Oct, 2025

Dairy farm cows indoor in the shed
Brian Reidy: Remember, no one can feed a dry cow for free
At the current milk price, if cows are in good condition, keep them milking, writes independent ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy

Thu, 09 Oct, 2025

Paula Hynes: Rivers running free as Storm Amy hits 
Paula Hynes: Rivers running free as Storm Amy hits 
It was a miserable 48 hours as the rain returned with a bang during storm Amy

Sun, 05 Oct, 2025

Exhibition / new tractors lined up next to each other in a row
Lighten up: Auld Lehane's top 10 budget proposals to help struggling farmers
With Budget 2026 closing in faster than the plastic being stretched over a freshly-made silage pit, Denis Lehane has a shortlist of measures to encourage farmers to stick with the job

Sun, 05 Oct, 2025

Lighten up: Ould Lehane has finally found his element in Positive Ageing Week
Lighten up: Ould Lehane has finally found his element in Positive Ageing Week
The Early Retirement Scheme was just like the car scrappage scheme — but we old lads are totally different now, writes Denis Lehane

Thu, 02 Oct, 2025

Stephen Cadogan: How artificial intelligence is even challenging the sheepdog
Stephen Cadogan: How artificial intelligence is even challenging the sheepdog
The robot moves easily among trees and obstacles in the pasture, detecting the poultry. It returns to a dedicated charging station and notifies the farmer of task completion or alerts them in case of any issues. It also deters wild predators.

Tue, 30 Sep, 2025

Paula Hynes: The people in our overworked health system deserve a lot of praise
Paula Hynes: The people in our overworked health system deserve a lot of praise
Paula Hynes thanks the dedicated, highly skilled people who looked after her while she undertook tests in hospital last week and looks forward to Millstreet

Mon, 29 Sep, 2025

For Sale by Owner
Kieran Coughlan: Is the Irish land market dysfunctional?
From a national perspective, is it desirable that any Tom, Dick or Harry can buy land and put it to whatever use they wish, or even no use at all, asks rural accountant Kieran Coughlan.

Fri, 26 Sep, 2025

John Deere 6920 Tractor and Mower cutting Grass for Silage on a Farm in the UK
Brian Reidy: What are your feeding options for stock for the coming winter?
As we head into October, attention will turn to preparing for housing and the winter-feeding plan

Tue, 23 Sep, 2025

Putting five-star bulls to the test for finishing performance in Youghal
Putting five-star bulls to the test for finishing performance in Youghal
The bulls we choose for the autumn herd will be selected with two things in mind: improving both the maternal and terminal traits of the herd, write Waterford suckler farmers Eamon and Donnchadh McCarthy

Tue, 23 Sep, 2025

1998 Robert Redford stars in "The Horse Whisperer."
Lighten Up: Robert Redford and the bullock whisperer
For a farmer, whispering is part and parcel of rural life, writes our Auld Lehane in this week's Lighten Up

Tue, 23 Sep, 2025

Paula Hynes: Maize season makes me wish our contractor had airplanes
Paula Hynes: Maize season makes me wish our contractor had airplanes
While I'm glad Ryanair was not given the task of planting and harvesting our maize, given the delayed flights we have recently experienced, I know our contractors CCS would have as usual given an efficient service

Mon, 22 Sep, 2025

Silage being prepared in a round bale wrapper
Brian Reidy: Is there time for one more cut of silage before winter rolls in?
Grass will obviously need a bit of a longer wilt at this time of year, particularly if it is being baled, as grass dry matters are currently between 13% and 15%, advises independent ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy

Tue, 16 Sep, 2025

CTAOP's Night Out 2021: Fast And Furious
Denis Lehane: A hairy time at the ploughing
From DĂĄithĂ­ Ó SĂ©, to Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones, you can never tell who will come bounding out of a Portaloo door or squelching around a muddy corner, writes Denis Lehane in this week's Lighten Up

Mon, 15 Sep, 2025

Thanks to all the volunteers at Inniscarra
Thanks to all the volunteers at Inniscarra
Farming is like a merry-go-round, with baby calves on the farm again. Autumn breeding season is just around the corner, and it is hard to believe we will be breeding the show heifers soon, writes Aherla dairy farmer Paula Hynes

Mon, 15 Sep, 2025

Paula Hynes: Black pudding in Cork and Belgium
Paula Hynes: Black pudding in Cork and Belgium
Kasey’s dam calved with a lovely heifer calf by Vierra Sting. It’s our second Sting heifer calf this autumn, and we also had a Chocochip heifer calve with a Blondin Classic heifer calf

Wed, 10 Sep, 2025

Brian Reidy: Can any of these calves selling for €500+ make a profit?
Brian Reidy: Can any of these calves selling for €500+ make a profit?
Calves have been selling at record prices in 2025, but is it possible for them to make any money? Independent ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy gives his take

Wed, 10 Sep, 2025

Counting Money Hands Holding Euro Bills, Examining the Value of Cash and Currency Assets
Lighten Up: The ploughing... like Cannes, only better!
With this year's newfound wealth, the Ploughing is going to be like the Venice Film Festival, only without the boats, and a lot more boots, writes our auld Lehane in this week's Lighten Up

Mon, 08 Sep, 2025

Paula Hynes: Lights, camera, action - 'My Story, Georgie'  hits the screens
Paula Hynes: Lights, camera, action - 'My Story, Georgie'  hits the screens
When you're filming real life, and especially with animals involved, you can’t really do a take two, writes Paula Hynes

Wed, 03 Sep, 2025

AFC Championship Game: Buffalo Bills v Kansas City Chiefs
Lighten Up: Why our Auld Lehane reckons Taylor Swift could get married in Ireland
I never thought we'd be complaining about cattle being too expensive, but here we are, writes Denis in this week's Lighten Up.

Sat, 30 Aug, 2025

Senior man with grandaughter gardening in the backyard garden.
Kieran Coughlan: Budget must balance protecting Agricultural Relief with curbing abuse
Beneficiaries who avail of Agricultural Relief see the taxable value of the gift or inheritance of 'agricultural property' (including farmland, buildings, stock) reduced by 90%

Fri, 29 Aug, 2025

Paula Hynes: I'm on an Azores high amid this busy show season
Paula Hynes: I'm on an Azores high amid this busy show season
In the middle of a busy show schedule — including Cavan this week and Inniscarra later this month — Paula enjoyed a visit from farmers working in Portugal's Azores Islands

Wed, 20 Aug, 2025

LAND ASSECHEE LOT ET GARONNE
Drought again beginning to bite in the South and East
The drought conditions are particularly serious on dairy farms where good grassland managers had been wrapping surplus grass which had gone too strong

Fri, 15 Aug, 2025

Farmer at work.
From one in four to one in 25: Ireland’s shrinking farming workforce
There are 108,450 working in 'agriculture, forestry, and fishing' in 2024, according to the Central Statistics Office's Labour Force Survey.

Fri, 15 Aug, 2025

Dairy cattle in a grassy field and blue sky
Kieran Coughlan: New uncertainty in nitrates derogation demands strategic thinking
For farmers currently in derogation, it would be worthwhile scenario-planning what actions to take if the derogation is lost or unavailable in their catchment, writes farmer and rural accountant Kieran Coughlan

Wed, 13 Aug, 2025

Paula Hynes: We are simply a showing family
Paula Hynes: We are simply a showing family
We take one show at a time, we discuss show teams as a team, and decide who travels and who needs a rest. The close friends we have made, we compete against each other in the ring, but outside the ring, we are a show family, and we’ve got each other's backs

Wed, 13 Aug, 2025

BET Awards 2025 - Show
Lighten Up: Ageless Mariah Carey - A new 'hero' of Irish farming
The greatest problem in Irish farming today, bar finding a wife, is ageing, so anti-ageing queen Mariah Carey could be the new hero Irish farmers need, writes our auld Lehane in this week's Lighten Up

Mon, 11 Aug, 2025

Cows in a field, Orkney, Scotland
Making weaning in the suckler herd low stress
When weaning calves, reducing stress must be your priority. Stressed weanlings are much more prone to illness, such as pneumonia, writes ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy

Mon, 11 Aug, 2025

Paula Hynes: A-maizing maize and genetics insights
Paula Hynes: A-maizing maize and genetics insights
Do you know who cloned the first horse, or who revolutionised the global dairy breeding industry through sexed semen? Paula Hynes explains where you can find the answers

Wed, 06 Aug, 2025

Farm and milk truck arriving
Lighten Up: The milk lorry gives me the heebie-jeebies
The rumble of that truck, the air of panic, the struggle to finish a job I wish I had never started, all became too much to handle, writes our Denis in this week's Lighten Up

Mon, 04 Aug, 2025

Black and White Cow Up Close Grazing in an English Meadow
Milk production this August — there's still a long way to go until drying off
Keeping spring cows milking well must be high on the agenda, as they still have a long way to go before drying off, writes independent ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy

Fri, 01 Aug, 2025

Stephen Cadogan: Farmers cheer as von der Leyen’s EU budget faces collapse
Stephen Cadogan: Farmers cheer as von der Leyen’s EU budget faces collapse
Germany, the EU's largest member state and biggest funding contributor, was one of the first to shoot down her commission's €2 trillion long-term budget proposal

Wed, 30 Jul, 2025

Paula Hynes: The championship of dreams - and it's not the hurling
Paula Hynes: The championship of dreams - and it's not the hurling
A championship we had only dreamed of winning had now become a reality, as Rouge sizzles at National YMA Finals

Wed, 30 Jul, 2025

Áras an Uachtaråin
Lighten Up: Auld Lehane for president
Our Auld Lehane is busy packing his bags for a new life in Áras an Uachtaråin as Ireland's premier, in this week's Lighten Up

Sat, 26 Jul, 2025

Cow bonding with her newborn calf
Plan ahead now to get autumn calving off to a smooth start
Remember a cow in the dry period is like an athlete in pre-season and you must prepare the system for the season ahead, writes independent ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy

Fri, 25 Jul, 2025

Iowa Corn Field
Grain deals, straw steals: Now’s the time to buy smart
With soil temperatures well above normal, if we get more moisture, we can expect a supercharging of grass growth

Mon, 21 Jul, 2025

RICHARD HARRIS, THE FIELD, 1990
Denis Lehane: Glenroe and The Field taught me more about farming than any classroom
Richard Harris as The Bull McCabe taught me more about farming passion than any advice from a whiteboard ever did

Sat, 19 Jul, 2025

Paula Hynes: Do you have a beef with the cost of living?
Paula Hynes: Do you have a beef with the cost of living?
The next time you hear a politician or an MEP saying they have got your back, ask them what their stance on EU food security is, writes Aherla dairy farmer Paula Hynes

Fri, 18 Jul, 2025

Indoors chicken farm, chicken feeding, farm for growing broiler chickens
Is it the thin end of the wedge for flat rate Vat compensation scheme?
It has come to pass in the past week that minister for finance Paschal Donohoe has made the decision to remove the poultry broiler sector from the Vat flat rate addition scheme

Tue, 15 Jul, 2025

Paula Hynes: A truly great Yorkshire show
Paula Hynes: A truly great Yorkshire show
A successful show for Georgie and making memories that will last a lifetime

Mon, 14 Jul, 2025

LAND ASSECHEE LOT ET GARONNE
Grass under pressure as rain stays away for much of the country
The recent dry spell caused difficulties for many beef and dairy producers around the country. Grass growth slowed down dramatically on many farms, particularly in the south and east, writes independent ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy

Mon, 14 Jul, 2025

The Irish Post Awards 2024
Lighten Up: Flatley for president? Make Ireland dance again!
There's only one serious candidate to be Ireland's next president, writes Denis Lehane in this week's Lighten Up

Mon, 14 Jul, 2025

Row of brown cows staring over a wall
Brian Reidy: Weanling sales and managing grass for suckler performance
Some say successful beef and dairy enterprises are one-third breeding, one-third feeding and one-third management. But in truth, it's 100% management, writes independent ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy

Wed, 09 Jul, 2025

red wooden private property sign farm land no right of way no public access
Ask a solicitor: I live abroad and worry I might be targeted by squatters
It is important that landowners living abroad are not careless about the risks of adverse possession, writes rural solicitor Karen Walsh.

Wed, 09 Jul, 2025

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