Charles Chavasse, a vet with the animal health company Zoetis, spoke about best practices to keep new arrivals healthy in a cattle herd at the recent beef finishing masterclass at Lisbeg Farms, Eyrecourt, Co Galway.

Also speaking at the event was Joe Burke, who is charge of the beef sector at Bord Bia. Irish Farmers Journal digital editor Thomas Hubert asked him for his view of the market this coming year, and how farmers should prepare for it - from prices to specifications.

The upcoming British referendum on EU membership presents the prospect of a Brexit scenario. Northern Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture Michelle O’Neill told Irish Farmers Journal Northern Ireland editor David Wright about the risks this poses for agriculture in Ireland, north and south.

Also in Northern Ireland, figures released in the past few days show that farm incomes in the region have suffered a dramatic 41% fall in the past year. David Wright met Alan Irwin, a dairy farmer at the heart of this crisis.

Energy generation is often presented as an alternative way of making money, and it was discussed at two conferences this past week – one on bioenergy, and another one on solar power, where Irish Farmers Journal news journalist Odile Evans spoke with Michael Quirk, the chairman of Energy Cork.

The European scheme LEADER has funded hundreds of projects in rural Ireland over the years. Many organisations depending on it are coming up for renewal, and their managers are worried about government interference in the scheme. Irish Country Living editor Mairead Lavery met one of them: Declan Rice, CEO of Kilkenny LEADER Partnership.

Irish Country living’s health correspondent Margaret Hawkins has an interview with a woman suffering from early onset dementia in this week’s edition. She told consumer editor Ciara Leahy about the signs that can help you detect the disease and the consequences it can have on people’s lives.


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