Tech team in the paddock at Dairy Day

We often think of dairy farming as just cows and grass, but it there is so much more involved. Every dairy farmer has one, if not two, tractors. Should you buy or lease a tractor? Every dairy farmer has land where it’s necessary to keep the soil alive. Every dairy farm produces calves, and if at all possible, they are trying to add value to those calves. Are you adding value or just getting a calf? Every dairy farm works with the environment – the ditches, the grass, the birds and the bees, the rivers and streams. Without these, dairy farmers would not survive. Are you protecting the environment for the next generation?

Managing grassland is one of the key skills a dairy farmer needs to have, if the aim is to be successful and profitable. This year at the Irish Farmers Journal, on farms right across the country, we started new grassland management courses in association with Macra Skillsnet, to allow dairy farmers the opportunity to learn at first hand on a farm near them how to manage grassland. The idea was to take grassland management right from the start of the process and show how it’s done right throughout the year. At Dairy Day 2019, we will award completion certificates to those farmers that have just completed year one of grassland management, and hear what they learned and why they started grass measuring.

The team at the Irish Farmers Journal will be on hand to discuss, debate and answer some of the key questions that dairy farmers are asking.