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Dairy farmers from all over Ireland will gather at Punchestown Event Centre in Co Kildare for Dairy Day next Tuesday, 19 November.
Organised by the Irish Farmers Journal, the event is a mixture of seminars, workshops and demonstrations along with over 80 trade stands.
It’s an opportunity to upskill and hear informed opinion from Irish and international dairy industry leaders on topics such as dairy markets and consumer trends. It is also a brilliant day out and an opportunity to meet farmers from around the country.
Skills Hub
The Skills Hub is an area inside the main arena that is fully dedicated to the skills needed to be a top dairy farmer today.
Skills Hub is hosted by Aidan Brennan, who along with invited guests will demonstrate some key skills, such as how to use selective dry cow therapy, low-cost and labour-efficient calf rearing, how to carry out an environmental assessment on your farm and Shane Horgan, a Cork dairy farmer will outline how he uses his skills to manage multiple dairy units.
There will be live demonstrations on paring cows’ feet with Tommy Heffernan and Waterford-based vet Ger Cusack.
Tommy will also be demonstrating best practice when it comes to selective dry cow therapy with Cork farmer Maeve O’Keeffe, who invented a turnover crate.
All demonstrations in the Skills Hub last for 30 minutes, with lots of audience interaction. Sessions will be repeated in the afternoon.
What dairy farmers can do to manage extra calves will be covered in a key hour-long session starting at 12.30pm. Issues with calves from the dairy herd have been occurring in the UK for many years.
Robert Craig is a dairy farmer based in Cumbria, England. Between his own farm, an equity partnership in Cumbria and a leased farm in Newcastle, he has over 1,400 cows in a grass-based system.
He is also a director of First Milk Co-op.
Robert will outline what is happening in the UK, both in terms of public opinion and the attitude of milk buyers, along with what he is doing on his farms to minimise the issue.
Adam Woods will give the beef perspective, looking at the performance of dairy calf-to-beef systems
Bernard Eivers, chief executive of NCBC, will give his views on the role of dairy and beef genetics and sexed semen as potential solutions.
Adam Woods will give the beef perspective, looking at the performance of dairy calf-to-beef systems. There will be Belgian Blue and Hereford cross steers on the point of slaughter on display.
These animals are from the Thrive dairy calf-to-beef farm in Tipperary.
The Paddock
The Paddock is a new area for 2019. It will be manned by six of the Irish Farmers Journal specialist team. Like the Skills Hub, each 30-minute session will be repeated in the afternoon.
Machinery correspondent Gary Abbott will look at the options available when getting a new tractor.
Tommy Heffernan will discuss the factors that affect milk quality
With an increasing number of machinery dealers now offering a leasing option, Gary will go through the pros and cons from a tax and cashflow perspective. He will compare leasing with hire purchase and a term loan.
Tommy Heffernan will discuss the factors that affect milk quality, while Lorcan Allen will discuss the environmental challenges facing dairy farmers.
Tillage editor Andy Doyle will look at issues affecting soil health in grassland, while Adam Woods will discuss the performance of dairy calf-to-beef animals.
Stephen Connolly and Justin McCarthy will make a special presentation to the 100 farmers who have successfully completed the Irish Farmers Journal and Macra Skillnet grass courses.
Beyond the Parlour
The Beyond the Parlour stage hosted by Jack Kennedy, focuses – as the name suggests – on issues beyond the farm gate.
There will be sessions on international milk price trends based on global supply and demand.
John Penno, co-founder of the Synlait Group, will outline the position in New Zealand
Cristian Swett, CEO of Manuka – a New Zealand-owned, grass-based dairy farm business with 49 farms and 41,000 dairy cows – will outline the challenges and opportunities of South America.
As revealed last week, John Penno, co-founder of the Synlait Group, will outline the position in New Zealand. Synlait Group owns dairy farms and two milk processing sites in New Zealand.
John stepped down as managing director of Synlait Milk in 2018 and the company is now listed on the New Zealand stock exchange. John will outline what he sees as the threats and opportunities for Irish dairy.
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