Be Dairy Efficient

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Join us on a three day ‘roadshow’, where we have secured world-class speakers to bring you their knowledge on all thing’s ‘dairy’. They will give insights into how producers can identify hidden costs, become more efficient and ultimately aim to end up in better financial position. Just click on the link to let us know which venue you plan to attend, but get in early as spaces will be limited, this is a registration only event and once the spaces are filled, we won’t be able to release more dates. This a one-off event, that should not be missed!

Come and hear from the best in the business at the following locations;

13th February 2024 – The Lodge Hotel, Coleraine. Join us at 10.30am for a cuppa, the meeting will begin at 11am sharp and we plan to finish with a hot lunch provided by the hotel at 1.30pm. 

14th February 2024 – The Duncan Family Farm, Crumlin. Join us at 10.30am for a cuppa, the meeting will begin at 11am sharp and we plan to finish with a hot lunch provided by Alex Berry of ‘Simply Irresistible’ at 1.30pm.

15th February 2024 – The Moore Family Farm, Fintona. Join us at 10.00am for a cuppa, the meeting will begin at 10.30am sharp and we plan to finish with a hot lunch provided by Alex Berry of ‘Simply Irresistible’ at 1.00pm.

We will be co-ordinating everyone into smaller groups, to rotate around the speakers to allow for the opportunity to get the most out of each presentation. So, arriving on time will help with this greatly.  

Efficiency is a term we are all used to in everyday life. We’re urged to be more energy efficient, waste less and get a greater output with the same input, but how can we make this become an integral part of our dairy business? Being more efficient is the process of doing more with less, and in a dairying context this translates to a greater milk output per resource input. Improving efficiency within a dairy system is strongly correlated with improved farm profitability, but increasingly it is also being recognised as a path to improved environmental sustainability and lower carbon emissions per kg of milk produced. As our industry evolves over time it is vitally important it keeps pace with not only the increasingly volatile nature of world commodity markets, but producers must also continue to do so in an environmentally sustainable manner. Being efficient in all aspects of any dairy system is at the core of these challenges.

To improve efficiency on a dairy unit requires a holistic approach, from calf and heifer rearing through transition cow management and crucially during lactation itself. The objective of the Thompsons’ ‘Be Dairy Efficient’ roadshow, is to present sound knowledge from some of the world’s leading authorities on various management areas, where a difference can be made on farm.  

There will be four keynote speakers, who will guide producers through the journey of achieving efficiency at every stage of the cow’s life, with the aim of managing a more sustainable dairy business. The speakers are as follows:

Dr Huw McConochie

Dairy Nutritionist, Technical Services, Zinpro Corporation

Many of Northern Ireland’s producers will already be familiar with Dr. McConochie, who has been visiting Thompsons’ farms for many years. Huw has been involved in the dairy industry for 30 years and has been responsible for the management of dairy herds, conducting research studies and field evaluations on-farm across the dairy industry. He gained his Bachelor’s degree and PhD at Aberystwyth University, where he was also awarded the prestigious Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) dairy student award. Prior to joining Zinpro Corporation, he headed the Dairy Technical Service Group at a leading national UK supply company focusing on enterprise performance - nutrition, cow comfort and enterprise economics. Huw is always a popular speaker for his practical and informative approach to making realistic improvements to any dairy business. 

Dr Alex Bach

Dr Bach is a Professor at the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, ICREA. He conducts research to understand the physiology and metabolism of ruminants with special emphasis on the impact of nutrition and management during early development on future metabolic function. He has served as a scientific expert in several committees, such as the European Food Safety Authority, the European Research Council and editorial boards of scientific journals. Alex is a world class knowledge on all things dairy, he is speaking for the first time at a Thompsons’ event and he is not to be missed. 

To register your place follow the link on our facebook page or contact Samantha on; 028 903 4306

 

Posted 05,02,24 by allison.

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