The Dairy Council for Northern Ireland, in partnership with CAFRE, AgriSearch and UFU is organising an industry-wide Dairy Conference to raise awareness of how data and research can inform decisions to improve on-farm profitability and sustainability

Dairy farmers will have the opportunity to see how breeding decisions can improve genetic gain, herd longevity and efficiency at a UK Dairy Carbon Network (UK-DCN) farm walk in Islandmagee on 3 September 2026.

Measurement drives decisions at GrassCheck farm walk. Farmers heard how grass data, clover research and targeted parasite control can strengthen on-farm resilience.

It is well recognised within the NI dairy industry that increasing the number of silage cuts taken each season can improve forage quality. Silage digestibility (D-value) declines by approximately 3.3 percentage units for every one-week delay in harvest date, highlighting the importance of timely harvesting.

CliBeef, also known as ‘Climate friendly beef production’, is a €5.75m cross-border initiative funded by PEACEPLUS, aimed at helping farmers produce more climate-friendly beef, was launched on Thursday 7 May, at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) in Hillsborough.

Data-Driven Sheep Farming Sheep farmers are invited to an AgriSearch GrassCheck farm walk on the farm of John and Alexander Martin, Greyabbey, on Thursday 9th July at 7.00 pm, where the focus will be on how data is improving flock performance, grassland management and farm profitability

AgriSearch has strengthened its leadership team and organisational structure to ensure it is well positioned to support Northern Ireland's beef, sheep and dairy sectors through a period of increasing challenge and change.

The second UK Dairy Carbon Network (UK-DCN) on-farm event in Northern Ireland will take place on Tuesday 7 July 2026 at 11am, hosted by Ciaran and Brian McNaughton on their farm outside Corkey.

SCOPS urges vigilance as recent wet weather increases parasite risks in lambs After a period of wet weather preceded by a hot, dry spell across many parts of the UK, SCOPS (Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep) is urging sheep farmers to be extra vigilant when monitoring parasite burdens in lambs.