Research the Key to the Future of Beef Farming – Teagasc

Over 200 international grassland experts, attending the XX International Grassland Congress in UCD, visited the Teagasc National Beef Research Centre at Grange on Wednesday June 29. Welcoming the group Dr. Edward O’Riordan, Head of Centre at Grange, outlined the major role which Teagasc Grange played in serving the Irish beef sector over the past 47 years.

Dr. O’Riordan said “many of the now accepted production practices used on Irish farms were either originally developed at Grange or were imported from other countries and modified and adapted in Grange to suit Irish conditions.

Looking to the future he confirmed that the mission for beef research at Grange is to “enhance the profitability of beef farming and improve the competitiveness of the sector”.

Dr. O’Riordan outlined the important role of Teagasc with its integrated research and advisory structure, which greatly facilitated the transfer of new information from research to the farmer.

The beef research facility at Grange is comparable with any place in the world. During a tour of the facilities, the visitors were shown the latest research work on beef systems, cattle breeds, ruminant nutrition, meat quality, forage conservation and grassland. Work on animal health and welfare was also discussed during the visit.

Finally, the visitors were told by Dr. O’Riordan that the next few years could be a time of major change in beef farming in Ireland. Dr. O’Riordan said that these changes would be based on research. “The research outlined above would help farmers increase revenue and reduce costs while simultaneously producing quality beef within environmentally and animal welfare positive systems”, concluded Dr. O’Riordan.

Ends

Issued by

Larry O’Loughlin, A/Head, Public Relations Department, Teagasc

Tel. 059 9183408; 087 2562434; Email: loloughlin@hq.teagasc.ie