Deadline: 01 March 2025 I. Background On average breeding ewes only stay in the flock for 3.5 lambings. Maximising the number of lambings per ewe over her lifetime ensures output per ewe is maximised while minimising the environmental impact by having less unproductive replacements (Lee et al., 2013). The removal of ewes from a flock maybe classified as voluntary (i.e. poor reproduction or poor production) or involuntary (i.e. death or illness) but both incidences increases the costs assoc
Deadline: 31 January 2025 The Université Joseph KI-ZERBO, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, is pleased to announce for application for its fifth batch of students to the study of Master Research Programme in Informatics for Climate Change (MRP-ICC) in Burkina Faso under the Capacity Building Programme of West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL), with funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The Master’s Rese
Deadline: 31 January 2025 Working Language: English Duration: 46 months The West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) under the sponsorship of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is pleased to announce application for its PhD Programme in Climate Change Economics. The main objective of this programme is to train West African leaders for a better inclusion of climate change issues in the policies and sustainable
Deadline: 01 November 2024 About the project Mastitis in pregnant, pre-calving heifers and first lactation cows represents a very serious problem that potentially threatens milk production and udder health in the first and subsequent lactations. This is a relevant issue in many dairy herds in Ireland. This project will study the risk factors associated with mastitis in pre-calving heifers and first lactation cows and evaluate management strategies before and after calving to reduce th
Deadline: 27 September 2024 I. Background The accurate estimation of individual animal dry-matter intake (DMI) at grazing is one of the most important measurements undertaken in grazing research experiments. It is particularly important for understanding and elucidating the effect of different grazing, management or supplementation strategies on animal performance at pasture. Accurate estimation of DMI at grazing is also important for genetic evaluations of import
Deadline: 27 September 2024 I. Background As part of the management of simplified systems, monocultures of perennial ryegrass (PRG) have predominated in grazing swards. Recent evidence suggests that the overall utility (DM yield, quality and intake capacity) of swards incorporating additional plant species such as legumes and forbs are comparable with PRG only swards, require fewer chemical fertilizer applications and support enhanced animal performances at grazing. Grass-legume m
Deadline: 30 August 2024 Background Carefully transitioning pre-weaned dairy calves from a milk-based diet to a pasture-based diet is critical for their future growth, health and welfare. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently recommended calves be fed milk at a rate of 20% of bodyweight for the first weeks of life (7-8 L/calf/day). However, higher milk-feeding rates should not be undertaken to the detriment of rumen development, health and welfare of calves. Pre-weanin
Deadline: 05 August 2024 I. Background Perennial ryegrass is the principle forage species sown in Ireland. Whilst not recognised as a majorrisk, perennial ryegrass can be infected by a number of pathogens negatively affecting herbage yield and quality. Currently in perennial ryegrass evaluation trials differences in disease resistance of varieties are observed but are not expressed in variety selection tools. As climate change occurs in Ireland, it is expected that the Irish weather will f
Deadline: 15 August 2024 This four-year project has recently been funded by the Teagasc Walsh Scholarship Programme. Two partner organizations will participate in this project: the School of Engineering/Ryan Institute, University of Galway; and the Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Teagasc Grange (the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority). This project will provide financial support to a student who will be registered in University of Galway. This project wil
Deadline: 02 August 2024. Applications are sought for a 4-year PhD scholarship position on the research topic of ‘Investigating Nitrate Leaching in Irish Agricultural Lands: A Site-Scale Model Based Approach to Assessing Cover Crop Management Practices’. The scholarship is funded by Teagasc, the Agriculture and Food Development Authority, under the Walsh Scholarships Programme . Background: Nitrate leaching from agricultural lands is a pervasive environmental concern w