Dairy Farm
Infrastructure Handbook
The guiding principle of good dairy farm infrastructure is that it is safe, produces quality milk from healthy animals using management practices that are sustainable from an animal welfare, labour, economic and environmental perspective.
A new Dairy Farm Infrastructure handbook will be available at the open day.
This handbook is designed to be used as a guide for dairy farmers who wish to upgrade their existing dairy farm infrastructure or invest in the establishment of a new dairy farm enterprise.
The handbook covers important areas such as grazing infrastructure, milking facilities, milk cooling, water and energy efficiency, land drainage design and installation plus the importance of incorporating biodiversity.
The support of Ulster Bank in the publishing this handbook is greatly acknowledged.
Dairy food products
The Teagasc Food Research Programme will have a wide range of displays and information stands on view on 4 July.
Members of the public will have an opportunity to undertake a taste challenge; to compare the flavour of pasture-based milk with total mixed ration-based milk, and scientists will be available to discuss the proven benefits of milk and butter from pasture-fed cattle in terms of superior nutritional properties, appearance, flavour and colour.
Visitors will have an opportunity to learn about a novel cheese technology platform that has resulted in the establishment of a cheese production plant in Saudi Arabia.
They will discover the significance of the infant formula sector to the Irish economy, and the contribution Teagasc makes in supporting this sector through the dairy ingredient development.
Food and health
Food and health research will form part of the tour and visitors will learn about the importance of gastrointestinal health, and how the food we eat influences the bacteria that reside in our gut, and the effect of this on overall health.
The APC Microbiome Institute will be present and may even recruit people to food intervention studies of interest.
The production of safe food is a priority at all levels and scientists will be available to talk about the approaches being taken to ensure the safety and quality of Irish foods, in addition to the application of new technologies, such as DNA sequencing, which can be used to track bugs at farm, factory and food level.
Lastly, Teagasc is well-known for the support provided to food entrepreneurs and a selection of companies displaying their dairy-based products will be present on the day.
Special forum
In the afternoon starting at 2.30pm, there will be two Q&A panel discussions facilitated by Sharon Ní Bheoláin from RTÉ Six One News.
The first panel discussion will examine Brexit and Irish dairying, and panelists will include the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine Michael Creed, director of Teagasc Prof Gerry Boyle, CEO of Ornua Kevin Lane and economist Prof Colm McCarthy.
The panel will provide views of what they believe to be the immediate and longer term impacts of Brexit for the Irish dairy sector, and what the industry (government, food processors, farmers) can do to prepare for and minimise any adverse effects. The second panel discussion will ask: “How attractive is a career in dairy farming?”
The panellists will be made up of a number of dairy farmers including Padraig Walshe, Billy Curtin, Ann Moore, Gillian O’Sullivan and David Kerr.
The panel will discuss the challenges of achieving a satisfactory work-life balance as dairy farmers and what steps they have taken to streamline workload.
It will also discuss what steps farmers can take to make dairy farming a more attractive career for young people.
Dairy stakeholders
Industry experts from ICBF, AHI, DAFM, AgriAware, Ornua and UCD will be present on the day to discuss individual farmer queries.
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