• Four Generations of Farmers
    Dec 12 2024

    Jerome Desmond is a fourth-generation farmer milking a herd of 250 mainly Holstein-Friesian cows across 400 acres with his wife Majella and his son Brian in Garryhesta, Ovens, Co Cork. He joins the pod to talk about how they are meeting the challenge of reducing the environmental impact of dairy farming while also ensuring it remains an attractive career path for generations to come.

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    29 mins
  • The Future of Farming
    Dec 12 2024

    NDC Farm Advocacy Manager Majella McCafferty talks to young Co Cork farmer Paul Sheehan about taking over the family farm, working hard to meet environmental targets and ensure dairy farming continues to be both profitable and sustainable, and the technology that helps him to have a better work-life balance than previous farming generations.

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    26 mins
  • Growing Green Gas
    Jun 7 2024

    Following the publication of the Government's National Biomethane Strategy, Jeremy Probert talks to Declan Murray, CEO of Biocore Environmental, about the role of biogas anaerobic digestion plants in converting organic farm waste into renewable energy. How likely is a rollout of biogas facilities, what role would farms and rural communities play in the process, what are the main obstacles, and what are the potential benefits for Irish dairy farmers?

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    36 mins
  • Milking It For All It's Worth: International Women's Day 2024
    Mar 8 2024

    To highlight this year's International Women’s Day, celebrated worldwide on 8th March, the NDC has produced a special podcast featuring four young women making strides in farming and agriculture. RTE Presenter Kathryn Thomas chats to NDC Farm Ambassador Nicole Keohane; agri influence and farmer Sophie Bell; Anna Daly, Member relations Manager at Tirlan; and Frances Nash, Grain Operations & Quality Manager at Dairygold.

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    32 mins
  • Measuring Methane
    Nov 20 2023

    In this special podcast about the science behind dairy farming, Teagasc Research Officer Dr Ben Lahart joins host Jeremy Probert to talk about his recently-published research, which suggests that the amount of methane emitted by Irish cows is actually significantly less than previously believed.

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    24 mins
  • Solving The World’s Biggest Jigsaw Puzzle
    Nov 15 2023

    In this special podcast about the science behind dairy farming, VistaMilk PhD researcher Rose Edwin joins host Jeremy Probert to discuss her work profiling Irish soil and its implications for soil fertility, plant growth, environmental sustainability, and human health. Rose's goal is to map the microbiome of soil but with trillions of microbes in the soil, piecing them together is like trying to solve the world’s biggest jigsaw puzzle.

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    33 mins
  • Wireless Comms for Cows
    Oct 31 2023

    Nadeem Rather, a PhD researcher at Tyndall Institute in Cork, joins the pod to talk about his work developing of a completely new material that will allow the transmission of data without any electronics or batteries – and its implications for monitoring the health of cows in Ireland’s dairy farming system. A special podcast about the science behind dairy farming, published in collaboration with VistaMilk SFI Research Centre.

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    31 mins
  • Rise of the Bionanomachines
    Oct 3 2023

    Host Jeremy Probert is joined by Dr Lee Coffey, Jennifer Drohan, and Dr Daniel Martins to talk about how the development of bionanomachines which use living bacteria to deliver molecular communications could benefit the health of animals and, potentially, humans. A special podcast about the science behind dairy farming, published in collaboration with VistaMilk SFI Research Centre.

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    33 mins