Training Will Help Your Business!

Regardless of what food product you have in mind, obtaining proper training on skills, production, legislation and marketing are invaluable in making your business more viable.  A quick look around shows that there's far more help available thank one might think!

 

As mentioned previously on this blog Teagasc has an upcoming course for any budding food entrepreneurs.  It is a one-day Innovation/New Product Development Workshop.  This course covers all aspects of the new product development process and is relevant to anyone considering establishing a new food business.  The workshop costs €200 and full details and booking can be found here.  Teagasc provides many other training courses on all aspects of food production (most are industry accredited).  Full details are available here.

The National Organic Training Skillnet (NOTS) facilitates and runs a wide range of courses from a few hours right up to high level qualifications.  A very valuable upcoming course is a 3-day cheese making course in conjunction with the multi-award winning Helen Finnegan of Knockdrinna Farmhouse Cheese.  This is a very comprehensive course and covers everything from the milk stage right through to packaging and presentation.  This runs on the 18th, 19th and 25th of November 2016 so prompt action is required if you're interested.  Details of this and all other courses provided by NOTS are available here.  Helen also runs shorter courses as an introduction to cheese making.  You can find out further details here.

 

Finally, actually coming face to face with the consumer and selling your product (along with image, ethos etc.) is a big challenge and a new experience for most.  Bord Bia recently launched a number of workshops providing skills training for selling at farmers markets.  These will be a great learning experience and excellent opportunity to meet other direct-selling producers.  These courses are very reasonably priced but places are limited so book soon to avoid disappointment.  Full details are available here.

 

Teagasc National Goat Conference Presentations

Following the launch of the new Teagasc website I have been able to publish the presentations from the National Goat Conference.  The conference was an overwhelming success and was totally booked out almost a week before the event.  There were attendees from all over the island of Ireland, the UK, continental Europe and beyond and it strongly demonstrated the commitment of the goat farming fraternity to the sector.

 

The morning session focussed on animal health and kid rearing and opened with one of the world's leading experts in goat health - John Matthews of the Goat Veterinary Society - giving a hugely educational presentation on health and diseases.  This was followed by Gert Van Trierum of Denkavit in the Netherlands providing substantial detail and research on kid rearing. The session was closed by Theo de Waal of UCD who presented the results of a study into goat parasites in Ireland. 

 

The second session was allotted entirely to Anne-Riet Boerenkamp of Insogoat in the Netherlands.  Insogoat are a goat-specific research, development and consultancy organisation and the presentation covered primarily nutrition and husbandry.

 

The final conference session involved industry participants, and the products that are on the market. Noel Farrell of Golden Goat Farm provided a farmers’ perspective, while Elizabeth Bradley from Carlow Farmhouse Cheese discussed Irish artisan cheese production. Larry Maguire from the Galway Goat Farm outlined his experience and the challenges faced when setting up a small cheese business. Roger Sutton from Delamere Dairies in the UK presented on the market for Goat’s milk products.

 

The presentations are available on the Teagasc Goat page.  You can find more details on Noel, Elizabeth and Larry at the links provided above.

 

Many thanks to both Glenisk and Makeway Ltd who provided sponsorship that facilitated bringing in internationally renowned authorities on goats.

 

Finally the huge success of the conference would not have been possible without the help and support of my Teagasc colleagues - particularly Fintan Phelan, Helen McNulty, Alison Maloney and Eric Donald. 

Innovation / New Product Development Workshop

Following on from the very successful Teagasc Options programme, an initiative has been created to provide in-depth information on a wide range of rural diversification topics.  Part of this will be to support the development of innovative new food products and to facilitate this two workshops have been announced with the venues and dates as follows:

25th October             Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co Cork

25th November         Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin 15

These courses will cover all aspects of the new product development process and are relevant to anyone considering establishing a new food business.  Each workshop costs €200 and full details can be found on the brochure which is available for download here.

Teagasc National Goat Conference

The Teagasc National Goat Conference will take place on Wednesday April 20th in the Killeshin Hotel, Portlaoise.  This is the first of its kind since 2007 and is a rare and unrivalled opportunity to attend a dedicated Irish goat conference with an impressive array of speakers from Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands covering topics such as goat health and nutrition, kid rearing and the goat industry both in Ireland and abroad.

 

The start time is 10.30am and the line up is as follows:

 

First session (Health):

John Matthews (Goat Veterinary Society) - Goat Health & Diseases;

Gert van Trierum (Denkamilk) - Kid Rearing & Health;

Theo de Waal (UCD) - Parasites of Irish Goats & Survey Results. 

 

Second session (Nutrition & Husbandry):

Anne-Riet Boerenkamp (InsoGoat) - Goat Nutrition & Husbandry.

 

Third session (Industry & Products):

Roger Sutton (Delamere Dairies) - One of the two major UK goat milk processors;

Elizabeth Bradley (Carlow Farmhouse Cheese) - Artisan Cheese Production in Ireland;

Larry Maguire (Galway Goat Farm) - Setting Up a Small Cheese Business: Experiences & Challenges. 

 

The course must be prebooked and the fee for the day is €35 which includes dinner and tea or coffee.  Full details and booking is available here.

Feeding Goats in Late Pregnancy

The latter stages of pregnancy are often considered the non-productive part of the milk production system. However, correct goat nutrition in the last few weeks of pregnancy is vitally important to ensure doe and kid health and maintain performance.

Extra Nutrition is required to; 

• support foetal growth,
• support mammary tissue development,
• prevent pregnancy toxaemia (ketosis) and milk fever,
• ensure the birth of strong, healthy, kids of moderate birth weight.

The full technical note is available for download here and covers:

• Body Condition Score;
• Energy;
• Protein;
• Forage;
• Concentrates.

Opportunity to Work on a Goat Farm with Cheese Production

I've just become aware of an excellent opportunity for an experienced goat stockperson.  The role is that of herd manager and is located in the south of Ireland on a commercial farm with a successful cheese enterprise.  For those who have first-hand knowledge of goat farming it will allow a unique insight into turning a basic farm output into an attractive finished product.  Accommodation is also available for a suitable candidate.  For information contact info@bluebellfalls.com.

Don't Forget To Return Your Goat Census Form!

As a registered sheep or goat keeper, you should have received a census form from the Department of Agriculture in early December.  The census date for 2015 was Sunday December 13th so it is the number of animals present on your holding on that date that should be included on the form.  Completing the return is a legal obligation however it has many practical uses including facilitating the draw-down of many payments including the Area of Natural Constraints (old Disadvantaged Scheme), AEOS, GLAS and Organics. 

 

If you examine the census returns in recent years you will find a very dramatic upturn in the number of goats and goat farmers in Ireland.  This can largely be explained by the introduction of a combined form for both sheep and goats in 2013.  This identified many registered sheep keepers who were also keeping small numbers of goats  but were not registered goat keepers.  However, what it does not explain is the very substantial increase in larger herds.  In 2012 (before the combined form) there were a total of 31 herds of over 50 goats containing a total of 6,056 animals.  The relevant comparative figures for 2014 are 70 herds containing 10,771 animals.  This increase has to be indicative of the rapidly rising interest in goats and their products.

 

Furthermore, the recent increase in recorded goat figures show that goats are far more numerous than previously estimated.  It is therefore hugely important that more goat-specific guidelines and legislation are created, particularly with regard to animal health and movement.  As an expanding sector they may more often included in devising future schemes and programmes.  In addition, many goat farms (including those with far less than 50 goats) add value to their products which has substantial impact on farm income and the local economy.

 

I'm certain there are even more goats out there so make sure you complete your form (further details available here) or submit online through agfood.ie by 29th January and show how important goats are to agriculture in Ireland.

 

UCC Cheese Science & Technology Course 2016

A short course on the science of cheese production will take place in University College Cork on February 3rd - 5th 2016.  This is an intensive 3-day course and will cover introductory to advanced topics concerning all areas of manufacturing and ripening in addition to covering yield efficiency, processed cheese, cheese as an ingredient, and the acceleration and control of ripening.  The course is particularly aimed at cheese manufacturers and other related industry personnel rather than introductory farmhouse cheese making.

Further details are available here.