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Angus Woods Opinion Why all dairy farmers need to use only the best beef bulls if they want to avoid a reduction in the national herd

Spring-calving dairy herds are near the start of the breeding season, and the decisions of individual farmers about which bulls to use this year will shape future environmental policies.

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Angus Woods Opinion Brexit is the root cause of our sheep sector’s woes – and a long-term fix is needed

Lambing has been slow to get going this year, and along with a 0.2pc reduced scanning rate, I’m concerned that the effects of the prolonged drought last year are spilling over into this year.

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Angus Woods Opinion The sooner China re-opens for Brazilian beef, the better

Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Europe had an aggressive free-trade agenda. This resulted in the completion of trade deals with various countries and trading blocs worldwide.

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Angus Woods Opinion Farmers have nothing to lose? That’s just plain wrong – we have everything to lose

The number of groups claiming to represent Irish farms has increased significantly over the last 20 years.

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Angus Woods Opinion Why suckler farmers will end up paying a heavy price for their leaders’ actions

This spring sees farmers coming face to face with the implications of rapid policy changes. CAP reform, the new nitrates regulations, and emissions reduction targets, along with increased input costs and volatile commodity prices are all conspiring to make 2023 a year of significant challenges on farms.

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Angus Woods Opinion The new nitrates regulations affect nearly 50pc of Irish farmers – are you one of them? Do you know what you have to do?

I’m concerned that many dry-stock farmers are not keeping a close enough eye on the changes in the 5th Nitrates Action Plan (NAP) that will apply to them.

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Angus Woods Opinion An Cailín Ciúin has a lesson all farmers must heed

I recently watched the Oscar-nominated An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl), a thought-provoking Irish language film mostly set on a dairy farm in Waterford in the 1980s.

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Check out this simple, stress-free way to keep on top of your admin

In the last 18 months, the rapid rise in the cost of inputs has forced farmers to keep a close eye on the volume of key products they buy.

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Angus Woods Opinion Foreign investment funds will buy up more and more Irish farmland

Coillte’s link-up with a UK-based investment group has caused considerable anger among farmers and politicians.

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Fixing farming’s gender imbalance requires more than just lip service

There is a growing recognition that all sectors in agriculture need to make changes in order to establish gender equality. Just 13pc of farms are owned by women — one of many statistics that need to be addressed.

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Angus Woods Opinion Farm orgs need to self-analyse like our elite sports teams

For a sports-lover like myself, the festive period provides a feast of matches, to either watch on TV or even better, to see live.

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Angus Woods Opinion Why tillage is a riskier business than ever before

This will be a year of significant change on many farms across the country. Issues that have been causing concern for many of the more productive farmers — like CAP reform and the new environmental policies — will finally be put in place this year.

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Angus Woods Opinion Angus Woods: Bribery scandal does not mean EU is broken

The recent arrests and detentions by Belgian police in Brussels have the potential to be very damaging to the credibility of the European political system.

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Angus Woods Opinion Why listening to the wrong people can cost you thousands of euro

Serious sheep farmers have been given a bit more time to assess the financial benefit of joining the new Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS), with the deadline for application extended until January 9.

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Angus Woods Opinion Why is food production always in the firing line when consumers are so blasé about emissions from their cars?

I live in the Dublin commuter belt, just off the M11 in Co Wicklow. Any time I have to take the tractor out on the roads during the morning or evening rush, I’m guaranteed to upset some motorists who are in a hurry.

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Everyone else looks forward to retirement but many full-time farmers dread it – we need help to prepare for the adjustment

I recently bumped into a retired Teagasc advisor who always gave me really solid advice when I was starting my career.

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Trillions of reasons why we must never let political populism trump pragmatism

The Brexit vote of June 2016 sparked a level of upheaval in British politics that has been hard to avoid, even on this side of the Irish Sea.

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Angus Woods: Reputational damage caused by poor calf welfare can’t be ignored

Allowing the slaughter of dairy calves under eight weeks of age has always been a controversial policy. New Zealand’s dairy farmers know too well how the general public can be turned against a whole sector due to the actions of a few farmers.

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Angus Woods Opinion Breeding decisions made on dairy farms will either help or hinder early slaughter efforts

The agreement between farm organisations and the Government on a 25pc reduction in agricultural emissions by 2030 is going to be hard to achieve.

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Angus Woods Opinion Why a cull scheme could prove popular for some farmers

It can be surprising how quickly circumstances can change. Many people want to continue doing things in the same way year after year. This is not unique to farming, as workers in many sectors dislike changes to their work practices.

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Angus Woods Opinion Lack of info around policy changes could spell disaster for many family farms

Farmers are facing significant decisions and change this autumn. Doing the same as previous years isn’t an option.

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Angus Woods Opinion Don’t believe the hype: Below-cost selling is actually good for beef farmers

Below-cost selling is a bête noire for many beef farmers. Cheap beef deals in supermarkets are driving farmgate prices down, we are told, and banning below-cost selling would solve all our problems.

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Angus Woods Opinion The ‘no transparency’ myth of the beef sector – there is loads of data available

The CEO of the newly created Office of Fairness and Transparency in the Agri-Food Supply Chain will face an uphill battle. They will instantly become a political mudguard.

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Angus Woods: Beef farmers are being mis-led — the Office of Fairness and Transparency won’t improve prices

Transparency of profit margins in the meat-processing supply chain has been a contentious issue for a long time now.

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Angus Woods Opinion Why the Government must incentivise winter finishing

Teagasc recently held a winter finishing conference in the impressive Cillin Hill Centre on the outskirts of Kilkenny city.

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Angus Woods Opinion Angus Woods: Has the Ploughing Championships passed its peak?

It was great to be back at the Ploughing after the years missed because of Covid.

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Angus Woods: Think carefully before converting to organic — in this recession, people won’t pay a premium for food

We farmers are particularly exposed to the looming recession both in our business activities and in our household expenditure. Our costs will go up, but will our prices?

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Angus Woods Opinion We must keep evolving our attitudes to ensure a positive future for farming

Recently I attended the 75th anniversary of the opening of Gurteen Agricultural College. It was wonderful to be back and meeting many friends and former classmates.

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Angus Woods Opinion What beef sector can learn from dairy’s latest co-op takeover

The Arrawbawn board’s decision to accept the offer from Aurivo to buy their liquid-milk sales book came as a shock to suppliers and the staff in the Kilconnell plant.

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Angus Woods Opinion There’s an integrity to rural Ireland’s whipping boy Eamon Ryan that’s lacking in most so-called farmers’ friends

Over the last few years we have seen a lack of honest debate and political accountability in countries that were once seen as being politically stable.