Top performing farms are sharing their know-how
Our new focus on dairy systems was revealed at last month’s UK Dairy Day in Telford, showcasing how the industry could achieve significant competitive gains by narrowing production systems.
By concentrating on either block calving, where all cows calve within a 12-week window (either spring or autumn) or all year round calving, with no dry period or seasonal emphasis, farmers who have made a conscious choice about their production system tend to be more profitable.
Farmers should choose a system that enables them to compete, complements their mindset and takes account of any on-farm limitations or opportunities.
We’re changing our delivery to highlight what the best performers are doing under either system and identifying KPIs critical to performance. And we’re also recruiting additional strategic dairy farms (SDFs) where we want passionate farm operators who will be open, receptive and share best practice to get involved.
Strategic Farms use farmer-to-farmer learning to accelerate the uptake of knowledge and provide a platform for farmers to explore the potential for best practice to have an impact on their business. These are part of AHDB’s wider Farm Excellence Platform, which inspires industry to improve performance and succeed through knowledge exchange.
We’re looking for the top performers, operating either a tight block (autumn or spring) or all year round system. One of the greatest benefits is sharing experiences and outcomes in a commercial environment – for example, benchmarking costs of production against similar businesses.
We’ve found that people putting themselves forward welcome the chance to openly discuss financial and day-to-day issues with experts and fellow farmers, to improve technical understanding and consequently their profit margins. Also, the SDFs help with informal personal and professional development, which assist mid and longer-term decision making.
The SDF programme lasts three years, is practical and tailored to the vision of the farm. The farm must be able to accommodate open events involving an invited audience, sharing the host farm story and relevant topics. Events usually attract more than 50 producers, three to four times a year.
AHDB Dairy’s first SDF in Leicestershire has already benefitted from the process of engaging with others, having held three meetings, and returned a profit in its first six months of operation.
For an informal discussion, to register interest or make an application, please contact KEDairyAdmin@ahdb.org.uk or 024 7647 8684 by October 27. More information about Optimal Dairy Systems can be found at dairy.ahdb.org.uk/optimal-dairy-systems
Jon Parry, Head of Dairy Knowledge Exchange for AHDB Dairy
