Farming Columns

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#Farming Columns

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

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

<p>Becky Hynes cleans off a newly born Charolais bull calf. Picture: Andy Gibson</p>

farming

Paula Hynes: Traceability and a record-breaking DNA programme make Irish agri-food stand out

There is so much talk about food traceability at the moment, and Ireland really is a step ahead when it comes to the traceability of cattle, as we will most likely be the first country in the world to have a fully DNA-tested national herd

Auld Lehane's advice for frugal farmers on Valentine's Day

<p>Denis Lehane taking to the floor with Posh Spice for an energetic 'Siege of Ennis', apparently... </p>

farming

The Beckham wedding... Finally, auld Lehane discloses what he saw that night

Bricklayer laying another brick in the wall on construction site for sturdy wall

farming

Ask a solicitor: Is it worth it to risk building a home on family land without title?

manure robot inside farm full of spotted milk cows in holland

farming

Brian Reidy: Why feed space, water, and cubicles matter for early lactation

Cows in a fresh grassy field on a clear day

farming

Kieran Coughlan: Cashflow pinch is on its way

Rachel Martin: Bord Bia row is no longer about beef — it’s about who agri policy is for

Rachel Martin: Bord Bia row is no longer about beef — it’s about who agri policy is for

At the risk of sounding like Shania Twain, little about the Bord Bia and Larry Murrin controversy has impressed me much this week. As things stand, Mr Murrin is due to appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture in the coming days.

Wed, 04 Feb, 2026

A farmer holding a handful of freshly cut silage, showing the texture and quality of the forage used for livestock feed. Capture

Brian Reidy: Why dry matter intake is key to early lactation performance

Maintaining fresh-cow dry matter intake is one of the secrets to keeping cows healthy and productive throughout lactation, writes independent ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy

Tue, 03 Feb, 2026

Moines House

Ask a solicitor: Turning a derelict farmhouse into a home — how the vacant property grant applies

To qualify, the property must have been vacant for a minimum of two years immediately prior to the grant application

Tue, 03 Feb, 2026

Rachel Martin: Standards must come top down

Rachel Martin: Standards must come top down

I used to think it would be a bad job to be caught in a supermarket with a trolley full of produce that didn’t align with what I wrote about for a living.

Wed, 28 Jan, 2026

Paula Hynes: What advice would I give a 20-year-old wanting to farm?

Paula Hynes: What advice would I give a 20-year-old wanting to farm?

It's been a truly international week for Paula and the gang on the farm in Aherla — and beyond

Tue, 27 Jan, 2026

Portrait of an agronomist with a tablet in front of the agricultural machine

Ask a solicitor: My job is changing – and I'm worried what is coming

A genuine redundancy must be based on the role being eliminated, not the person, writes rural solicitor Karen Walsh

Mon, 26 Jan, 2026

Paula Hynes: Celebrating a calf poo

Paula Hynes: Celebrating a calf poo

There is a saying in farming that where there is livestock, there is dead stock. Sometimes animals die, and we as farmers feel they shouldn’t have, but when we come across an animal like little Pat, which is fighting to survive, we give it our best shot and give it all the help in the world.

Tue, 13 Jan, 2026

Man looking at beef steak in supermarket aisle

Mercosur: A 1.5% oversupply that could cost Irish beef hundreds of millions

The EU consumer wants cheaper food. It is a misnomer to think consumers are broadly willing to pay a premium for food produced under higher standards, writes rural accountant Kieran Coughlan

Mon, 12 Jan, 2026

The Statue of Liberty over the Scene of New york cityscape river side which location is lower manhattan,Architecture and buildin

Lighten Up: Auld Lehane... On the ground in New York City

New York... it's like Macroom on a fair day, only multiplied by 10, writes our Auld Lehane from the 'Big Apple'

Mon, 12 Jan, 2026

Man Signing Last Will & Testament

S Ask a solicitor: The biggest mistakes people make when drafting a will

Starting the process is often the hardest step, writes rural solicitor Karen Walsh

Mon, 12 Jan, 2026

Woman injecting semaglutide in her abdomen

Stephen Cadogan: A slimmer appetite but better food – the challenge for agri-food

The significant rise in the number of consumers using weight-loss drugs has implications for Ireland's food industry as users' appetites for previously loved foods changes

Wed, 07 Jan, 2026

Paula Hynes: Snowy roads, new calves and the on farm challenge

Paula Hynes: Snowy roads, new calves and the on farm challenge

Danske Bank are the main sponsors of the RUAS Winter Fair, so when livestock classes were cancelled at the show due to the bluetongue outbreak in Northern Ireland, it was fantastic to see them step up for the on farm challenge, writes Aherla dairy farmer Paula Hynes

Tue, 06 Jan, 2026

Retired man looking at cattle grazing in a field

Ask a solicitor: No will, no spouse, no children — who inherits the farm?

In intestacy, the estate is distributed in a fixed order, depending on which relatives are alive at the time of death, writes solicitor Karen Walsh.

Mon, 05 Jan, 2026

Close-Up Of Text On Table

Kieran Coughlan: Are you ready for auto-enrolment? Key steps for agri-food employers

Auto-enrolment is a new scheme designed to ensure that most employees who do not currently have access to an employer pension scheme will be contributing toward their own personal pension fund, writes rural tax adviser Kieran Coughlan

Wed, 31 Dec, 2025

Young woman's first day working at a burger restaurant

Stephen Cadogan: Can wild venison really threaten the beef market?

Wild venison has replaced beef at several stadiums and event spaces in the UK and Ireland — but what does it mean for the beef market?

Wed, 31 Dec, 2025

Yorkshire Farm

Ask a solicitor: I was promised the farm, but it was left to someone else

When a person has committed years of their life to caring for property in reliance on assurances given to them, it feels deeply unjust to be left without security, writes rural solicitor Karen Walsh

Mon, 29 Dec, 2025

Two donkeys

Lighten Up: A girl's best friend — how Sophie Ellis-Bextor fell for an Irish donkey

T'was like a story straight out of Shrek, only with a pop giant instead of an ogre, writes our auld Lehane this week.

Mon, 29 Dec, 2025

Paula Hynes: A Parisian Christmas amid France's farmer protests

Paula Hynes: A Parisian Christmas amid France's farmer protests

The passion and flair the French have for food means they are very accepting of seeing their farmers protest, writes Cork dairy farmer Paula Hynes

Tue, 16 Dec, 2025

mechanical bull

Lighten Up: A Christmas rodeo at the mart

Ever a man to spot an opportunity, our auld Lehane has fixed upon a great scheme to further enhance our cattle marts standing in the world, in this week's Lighten Up

Mon, 15 Dec, 2025

Bluetongue outbreak

Paula Hynes: We need to use common sense when it comes to bluetongue

We must not be sucked into conspiracy theories, we need to be vigilant

Mon, 08 Dec, 2025

Young woman is stealing at store, shop, boutique at shopping mall. Shoplifting concept.

Lighten Up: Guarding Cork's Christmas knickers

Thirty years ago, if you were looking for Auld Lehane, you wouldn't find him out here on this farm in Kilmichael, busily carrying buckets across the yard to feed two hungry calves...

Mon, 08 Dec, 2025

Young pilot candidate receiving flight training meets with the tower

Lighten Up: Tractor pilots wanted

Auld Lehane, the self-declared Lord Byron of Irish farming, has a poem this week to lift the spirit, and indeed the finances, of the struggling farmer.

Tue, 02 Dec, 2025

Paula Hynes: The North's bluetongue scare has given us a dose of the Winter Fair blues

Paula Hynes: The North's bluetongue scare has given us a dose of the Winter Fair blues

Unfortunately, the bah-humbug of Christmas show spirit has come in the form of two suspected cases of Bluetongue in Northern Ireland, writes Aherla dairy farmer Paula Hynes

Mon, 01 Dec, 2025

Road transport. Lorry carrying liquid products traveling on the motorway.

Paula Hynes: It’s time to decide — volume game or value game for Irish dairy?

Dairy production globally is a volume game anyway. But if we adapt our cow type on farm, then so too do our dairy processors need to adapt, writes Cork dairy farmer Paula Hynes

Wed, 26 Nov, 2025

BBC Satellite Dishes, West London

There's some truth in the cattle mart rumours that Auld Lehane could soon be running the BBC

From chit-chatting to royalty to cleaning out the loo, there's no job our Auld Lehane says he wouldn't tackle, in this week's Lighten Up

Mon, 24 Nov, 2025

Lighten Up: Gabriel Byrne — the sexiest man in Irish farming

Lighten Up: Gabriel Byrne — the sexiest man in Irish farming

The 80s were a great time to be an Irish farmer. We were like Tom Cruise on a Massey, writes Denis in this week's Lighten Up

Sat, 15 Nov, 2025

Silage clamp on a dairy farm in England, United Kingdom

Brian Reidy: The causes and cures for heating in grass silage

Moulds can thrive in silage that’s not well managed, worsening the problem, advises independent ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy

Thu, 13 Nov, 2025

Paula Hynes: 15 years in Irish dairy farming

Paula Hynes: 15 years in Irish dairy farming

Imagine if you stood up at a farm walk 15 years ago and said beef prices would hit €8 a kilo in 2025 and the cost of producing a litre of milk from grass would rise to 42 cent and the EU would look to reduce dairy herds 10 years after allowing them to expand

Thu, 13 Nov, 2025

Video surveillance camera in the backyard of a country house

Lighten Up: A calving camera could save Oireachtas TV

There is a prevailing fear that Oireachtas news (at bedtime) could go the way of Bosco and Wanderly Wagon, writes Denis in this week's Lighten Up

Sat, 08 Nov, 2025

Close-up of maize forage outdoors

Brian Reidy: Feeding and management of livestock once indoors

2025 silages are a mixed bag, like any other year, writes independent ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy

Thu, 06 Nov, 2025

Farm View: The Commission needs to be careful what it wishes for on nitrates

Farm View: The Commission needs to be careful what it wishes for on nitrates

The Commission will need to reach its environmental targets by working with farmers, not by driving them off the land, writes Farming Editor Rachel Martin.

Wed, 05 Nov, 2025

King Charles III Records Podcast With Cate Blanchett And Dr Elinor Breman For Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's Seed Bank 25th Annive

Lighten Up: Nurturing the seed with Cate Blanchett

If you have some quirky-looking plant sprouting up in the back field that you think Kew Gardens, and indeed Cate Blanchett herself, would be interested in, why not give them a call?

Sat, 01 Nov, 2025

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