Conference to focus on post-quota opportunities for dairy farmers

Farmers will be urged to focus on “getting things right” in the dairy farm business to take advantage of the opportunities that will be available when quotas are abolished in 2015.

That will be the aim of the Irish Grassland Association dairy conference which takes place in Newpark Hotel, Kilkenny, on Tuesday.

Grass production and utilisation on the farm will be discussed by Teagasc Moorepark experts Eva Lewis and Abigail Ryan.

Wexford dairy farmer John Curtis will tell delegates how he manages his grass to optimise quality to ensure maximum milk production from his farm.

Pat Dillon, head of the Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre at Teagasc Moorepark will present what he considers the key aspects of efficient dairy farms for the post-2015 era.

ICBF will focus on what farmers have to do to ensure they have the most productive, fertile cows in their herd, while Frank Buckley of Teagasc Moorepark will give an update on the next generation herd.

Two dairy farmers, Shane Chambers from Cork and Jim Delahunty from Tipperary, will address the conference on cow selection and cow type for the future.

The final session of the conference will see Cornwall farmer Chris Knowles answering questions about how he switched from a high-input, largely indoor dairy system to a grass-based one.