The IGA Annual Dairy Conference took place on Friday 9 th Jan. Our 2026 Dairy Conference focussed on maximising the power of pasture to drive productivity and profitability, grass being the foundation of a profitable, resilient, and sustainable dairy business.

• The conference was opened by Laurence Shalloo with a very in-depth review of costs within our dairy systems and how they have evolved over recent times, what the key drivers of profitability are from Teagasc analysis & how to calculate the break-even milk price
  (required to meet all cash commitments). This session was chaired by Aidan Brennan, Dairy Editor, IFJ.
• Michael O’Donovan of Teagasc opened the 2 nd session of the morning with a presentation entitled “Growing 15t of Grass – Possible or Impossible” Michael was joined in a panel discussion by Dairy farmers Kevin Moran & John MacNamara who are consistently growing almost 15t grass DM/ha year on year. Key areas where they both focus on are: Soil Fertility, Nutrient management, Reseeding & Clover, Grazing management and Farm cover targets. This session was chaired by John O’Loughlin, IGA Council & Grassland Agro.
• The final session of the day focussed on: Navigating the future, preparing for investment, financing opportunities & building resilience into the farm business. Donal Whelton, Head of Agri with AIB set the scene from a banking perspective with key areas for focus when engaging with your lender. Christopher Cahill, Katie O’Toole & David Fogarty joined Donal for a panel discussion. All from non-dairy farming backgrounds they shared insights into their Dairy farming careers to date—from early challenges to the management decisions that made the biggest difference on their farms. This session was inspirational for any young person aiming at forging a career in dairy. This session was also chaired by Donal Whelton, AIB.

We had a hugely positive and engaging day with our panel of expert speakers. The success of the event was really driven by the farmers who put themselves on the stage, shared their insights and clearly demonstrated true excellence in putting grassland science into practice.