Dairy Research Ireland is funding a number of multi-annual research programmes and several one-off research projects. The programmes for which funding is sought are evaluated taking account of need for the research, capability of the research organization, potential value of the output of research to farmers, how the results will be disseminated and if it is innovative.
The largest part of the annual funding allocation is for the Production Research Programme which is conducted by Teagasc. The current programme is for the period 2017 – 2021. The main elements of the Programme are;
A new programme has been agreed for the 5 years 2017 – 2021, which is subject to a review after 3 years.
A copy of the programme can be downloaded from elsewhere on this website.
The second main Programme receiving funding is for Food Research, which is conducted by the Teagasc Food Research Centre. This Programme is for the period 2017 – 2021, subject to review after the first 3 years. This is covering;
Also see report for 2013-2014 which is also carried in the Publications part of this website – Teagasc Dairy Levy Food Report 2013-2014 (2)
Funding is provided for the research programme for the Development of a high-output grass-based spring milk production system. This research programme commenced at the beginning of January 2019, and is for an initial 3 year period. It will then be reviewed, and may be continued for a further period, depending on progress.
The aim is to
The research will
Dissemination is via
Funding is provided for a Calf Housing & Pneumonia Project which will run for a 4 year period, commencing at the beginning of 2019.
Key questions which this project will address for dairy farmers, vets and advisors will be:
1. How can we use modern technology to better assess calf housing?
This project presents a novel additive treatment of farm slurry to (1) significantly reduce GHG and toxic gas (ammonia and hydrogen sulphide) emissions from milk production and during slurry storage, while (2) enhancing the value and energy potential of the treated slurry for anaerobic digestion and (3) providing an enhanced slurry-fertiliser for grass production, reducing the requirement for mineral fertilizer.
NUIG has developed Methanogen Inhibiting Reactive Species, which is an innovative platform technology to eliminate GHG emissions from organic residues and animal manures.
In preliminary laboratory and pot-scale work carried out at NUIG, after 14 weeks of storage, treated dairy manures
The product is safe and generates no environmentally harmful residues and contains only food-safe ingredients.
Preliminary work has been carried out, which confirms the findings at lab scale in NUIG, and has identified a final formulation for pilot testing at the instrumented slurry storage facility in Johnstown Castle. This facility will allow for replicated, control testing and will generate data suitable for international publication. Two portable gas analysers are available to allow the technology to be tested on two working farms.
This project commenced in September 2020, and is expected to be completed at the end of October 2021.
The project commenced in February 2021, and is a four year project. Science Foundation Ireland provides the bulk of the funding and Dairy Research Ireland provides the industry contribution.
The new National Climate plan aims to reduce GHG emissions from the State by 51% by 2030, and this poses a considerable challenge for Irish Agriculture. Enhancing soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration and reducing soil-based CO2 emissions offers the potential to reduce emissions whilst maintaining productivity and to further reduce the C footprint of Irish agricultural produce.
Agricultural soils are currently reported as a net source of carbon emissions due to historic drainage of peat soils for agricultural use. Correct management of drained peat soils provides an opportunity to reduce emissions and protect our largest carbon sink, with over a billion tonnes of carbon stored in these soils.
Enhancing C sequestration also offers value for money, with abatement from organic soils alone representing savings ranging from €109m to €327m over the period 2021-2030. National data are required to better quantify soil carbon emissions and sinks from agricultural land, enable mitigation measures that increase carbon sequestration to be included in the national inventory, and enable Ireland to benefit from the 2018 EU Effort Sharing Regulation.
Accurate estimates of net emissions from our drained organic and CO2 sinks associated with mineral soils is essential to enable the sector to achieve the ambitions set out in the Programme for Government, and the EU Farm to Fork communication strategy, as well as having the potential to create a very positive narrative around emissions in agriculture for the dairy sector.
Changes in SOC in response to land use change or land management change are small relative to background SOC levels and it can take a number of years to verify measurable levels.
The project will involve Soil C Monitoring on a variety of soils and management types, CO2 Flux monitoring, Field Scale monitoring for mineral soils, remote sensing and activity data and ecosystem modelling of Carbon, Nitrogen and water cycles, building on the recent investment in this area by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The outputs will be
Modelling of C sinks and sources will allow for a move to Tier 3 land management factors. Refinement of the models will allow for the development of more accurate decision support tools for farmers in terms of relating sward management decisions to enhanced C sequestration.
This project, to be undertaken by Teagasc, was approved for funding in March 2021.
The project will establish a methodology to use Assisted Reproductive Technologies to intensively select for genetic improvement in dairy bulls and beef breed bulls suitable for use in the dairy herd. This is necessary to continue rapid genetic gain in the face of greater sexed semen usage, which will diminish the number of male dairy calf births.
It will also test the economic feasibility of using embryos with greater than 75% beef breed genetics on dams not suitable for generating replacement heifers. The aim is to transform the dairy herd calf crop to a combination of high genetic merit dairy female calves and premium quality beef calves.
There will be three complimentary studies
This project was approved for funding in March 2021, and the National Dairy Council is also contributing to the project.
The research study will be conducted by Dr Juan Trujillo Wurttele from Cork University Hospital. He is a specialist in paediatric allergies and sought support for a preliminary study to retrospectively look at data collected from three hospitals, all using different protocols to treat CMPA.
From his observations he has seen that controlled exposure to cows’ milk is associated with better outcomes, and that complete avoidance is associated with less favourable growth and development. The study will analyse the data which could verify these observations, and this study could provide data which could enable Dr Trujillo build his research into a bigger intervention.
The findings will be published in a high impact journal, will be presented at an international conference, be disseminated to health professionals and outcomes highlighted in the media.
