Conference on the bright side of dairying
This is one of the messages for 500 participants expected in this year’s Positive Farmers Conference in Limerick next Thursday, January 19.
Conference speaker Michael Murphy says, “I am very confident about dairy markets in the medium to long term. Over the next few years, my policy is to invest in my own dairy units to set them up for what I believe is a very bright future.”
Conference organiser Con Hurley says, “There are still plenty of opportunities out there for thinking farmers.”
Michael Murphy says New Zealand research findings presented at the conference show that the real potential of grass is still grossly underestimated, and farm profits could be lifted 42%, mainly due to higher intakes of higher quality grass, at virtually no extra cost.
New Zealand dairy farmer Arthur Bryan will show how he uses high EBI (economic breeding index) cows to increase profits from well-managed pasture. Teagasc adviser John McNamara will also show how to use the EBI system to increase profits.
Adrian Van Bysterveldt will share New Zealand research findings that have lifted profits by 58% on the Lincoln University Farms, an irrigated property in New Zealand’s South Island. Michael Murphy and Bryony Fitzgerald, farm business consultant, will show how Irish farmers can lift profits by implementing van Bysterveldt’s findings.
Cavan dairy farmer Ciaran Mulligan will share his experiences of once-a-day milking, and Peter Young of the Farmers Journal will report latest research findings on once-a-day milking from Moorepark and Irish farms.
* The Positive Farmers Conference starts at 9:30 am in the South Court Hotel, Limerick, on Thursday, January 19, and ends around 6pm.
Anyone interested in attending should contact Lori Fitzgerald at 066 7139541 or 087 6680899.
