National Dairy Conference to focus on developing resilient systems

Centred on the theme of ‘Developing Resilient Dairy Farming Systems’, this year’s Teagasc National Dairy Conference will take place in Cork on Wednesday, November 25.

Taking place in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Little Island, County Cork, the conference will focus on the latest developments and research in the Irish dairy sector.

The first session, moderated by Grainne Hurley, Teagasc Cork West Regional Manager looks at the resilience of Irish dairy farming with a paper presented by Professor Laurence Shalloo, Head of the Teagasc Animal and Grassland, Research and Innovation programme. John Lancaster, Head of EMEA Dairy and Food Consulting at StoneX, will provide an update on international dairy market trends.

The second session of the conference will discuss ‘Farming in challenging years and how to build contingency into Irish dairy systems’. This session is moderated by Dr. Deirdre Hennessy, University College Cork, and includes contributions from John McAuliffe, dairy farmer, Kiskeam, Cork; Matt Pilkington, grass-focussed dairy farmer from the UK and Mark Treacy, Teagasc Dairy Specialist based in Clonakilty.

Speaking in advance of the Teagasc National Dairy Conference, Dr Joe Patton, Head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer in Teagasc said: ‘We are looking forward to returning to Cork for this year’s national dairy conference.

“It has been a challenging year for grass and finances on dairy farms; our conference sessions will address these issues with longer term solutions in mind. We encourage active dairy farmers in particular to attend, and to book their chosen practical workshops early.”

The afternoon of the event consists of a series of workshops where attendees can select to attend 3 of 6 different workshops, listed below:

1. EBI: Proven technology breeding the cow of the future?
2. Best practice in farmyard design
3. Troubleshooting dry cow nutrition for a better calving season
4. Is 14 tonnes DM grass grown still a realistic target?
5. Matching people and rostering to farm workload, getting the balance right
6. Using key financial metrics to improve farm profit

For more information and to register to attend the Teagasc National Dairy Conference, visit here.

Featured image caption: Pictured at the launch of the Teagasc National Dairy Conference on ‘Developing Resilient Dairy Farming Systems’ which takes place on Wednesday 25th November in the Radisson Hotel, Little Island, Co Cork are Mark Treacy, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, Dr Deirdre Hennessy, UCC lecturer in Sustainable Agriculture, Prof. Laurence Shalloo, Teagasc Head of the Animal and Grassland Programme and Majella Moloney, Teagasc Cork East Regional Manager. Picture: O’Gorman Photography.