Brian McDonnell

Brian McDonnell Profile Picture

Technical Dairy Specialist

Brian McDonnell is from Raheny, Co. Dublin. He has an honours degree in Sustainable Agriculture from Dundalk IT. He has worked on dairy and beef farms in both Ireland and the UK, including Teagasc Grange and a large-scale 650-cow dairy farm which also had a 1,200 animal youngstock-rearing farm in Scotland. He has a keen interest in agriculture and particularly the dairy sector and in his spare time is active in local rugby and golf.

Grass quality key to profitable milk production

Dairy

Grass quality key to profitable milk production

On dairy farms, improving sward productivity is important, with good quality grass remaining the key to profitable milk production. Grass...
DeLaval unveils new sequential bailing milking parlour

Dairy

DeLaval unveils new sequential bailing milking parlour

DeLaval has unveiled a new sequential bailing milking parlour, with the global unveiling of the parlour on the farm of...
Sizzling top price of 14,000gns at Summer Sizzler

Dairy

Sizzling top price of 14,000gns at Summer Sizzler

Last Saturday (July 3), the Summer Sizzler dairy sale took place on the Maineview Farm of Andrew and Caroline Kennedy...
Minimising contamination of silage crops

Dairy

Minimising contamination of silage crops

Soil contamination is something that is not often talked about, but it can have negative impacts on forage intakes and...
Could contract rearing be used to control Johne’s disease?

Dairy

Could contract rearing be used to control Johne’s disease?

A recent report from Animal Health Ireland (AHI) suggested that contract rearing could be an effective way of preventing the...
Dairy Focus: Prevention better than cure in Co. Antrim

Dairy

Dairy Focus: Prevention better than cure in Co. Antrim

In this week's Dairy Focus, Agriland made the trip to meet the McLean family on their dairy farm near Straid, Co. Antrim. Roy,...
Time to start thinking about drying off autumn-calving cows

Dairy

Time to start thinking about drying off autumn-calving cows

Autumn-calving cows are approaching the end of their lactations and are now at the point where farmers may be considering...
Alltech ONE: ‘The dairy story is not told well enough’

Dairy

Alltech ONE: ‘The dairy story is not told well enough’

During the Alltech ONE event, Dr. Torsten Hemme, the CEO and founder of the International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN) - gave...
Rejuvenating swards: Which option is best?

Dairy

Rejuvenating swards: Which option is best?

Maintaining grass quality during mid-season grazing is important. Farmers can maintain quality by entering ideal grazing covers of 1,300 -...
Body condition scoring in autumn-calving cows

Dairy

Body condition scoring in autumn-calving cows

While spring-calving herds are mid-way through their milk production season, most autumn-calving herds are approaching the end of theirs. Cows...
Is your stock bull fit for purpose?

Dairy

Is your stock bull fit for purpose?

Most spring-calving dairy herds typically start breeding in early May, so by now most farmers should have completed four weeks...
Wilting silage – is it worthwhile?

Beef

Wilting silage – is it worthwhile?

Wilting is one of the most important steps when making high quality silage - wilting increases the dry matter (DM)...
Time to get maximum benefit out of your fertiliser

Dairy

Time to get maximum benefit out of your fertiliser

Although in many parts of the country land is tender at best, in other parts ground is in reasonable condition....
Environmental considerations for silage storage

Dairy

Environmental considerations for silage storage

As silage season approaches, now is the time to consider the environmental risk of silage effluent, to avoid a pollution...
New Jobs Agrirecruit Farming Jobs
See More Jobs