Dairy Technology Event 2011

Posted 5 April 2011

The 2011 Dairy Technology Event, to be held at Harper Adams University College on May 4, is set to provide hard-pressed dairy farmers with a vast range of ideas and opportunities to help boost returns from milk.

This unique exhibition is based around Harper’s modern dairy unit, opened in 2009, and features a comprehensive seminar programme, which includes a range of top presentations from industry experts as well as farm walks, practical demonstrations and key exhibitors from the industry.

There will be stands from more than 50 leading suppliers to the industry. Exhibitors range from housing and milking equipment suppliers through to animal health, breeding and genetics specialists, as well as leading farm machinery makers.

Entry is free to visitors who pre-register for a ticket by either filling in the form at www.farm-smart.co.uk/dairy-technology/booking or by telephoning 0845 4900 142. Entry price on the day will be £5.00.

The seminar programme:

Marquee Presentations

• 10.30am – Tim Downes: Forage Innovation

Tim runs a herd of 180 dairy cows at Longnor, Shropshire, along organic lines focusing on grassland production and innovative forage crops. His goal is to have intensive grassland production within his extensive system to enable him to produce yields of 7000 litres.

• 10.45am – Jeff Lester: Robotic milking

Jeff Lester from Manor Farm, Wem, runs a 80-cow herd put through a Lely Astronaut. He will give us the producer’s perspective on robotic milking and tell us how to manage cows to make sure the system works as it should.

• 11.00am – Bill Higgins: Managing a large herd

Bill from Wilderley Hall Farm, Shrewbury, runs 245 cows and tops the NMR production league at 12,444kg/year. He will be telling us how he manages to maintain such yields and keep such a high-performing herd on the straight and narrow.

• 11.15am – Peter Thorne: What is Milkbench?

Peter Thorne is DairyCo’s Milkbench manager and he will outline this service and present some of the lessons the dataset is teaching us about drivers if profit in the sector.

• 11.45am – Roger Lane-Nott: Milking technology

Roger is director general of the newly-formed Milking Equipment Association and will be outlining latest developments plus launching the technician accreditation scheme.

• 12.00pm – Judith Stafford: renewable energy options

Judith will be looking at renewable energy options and most importantly whether the economics of generating your own electricity on farm stacks up. 

• 12.30pm- Prof Liam Sinclair: Methane emissions

Liam Sinclair is part f the Harper research team and will be looking at methane production from dairy cows and, in particular, what we can do to minimize the production of this most powerful greenhouse gas.

• 1.00pm- Dr Mark Rutter and Dr Emma Bleach: Precision Livestock Farming

Now we are able to use all sorts of modern gadgetry to monitor and record a cow’s performance and health, can these diverse elements be combined into one information base? Tune in to find out.

• 1.30pm- Dr Karen Wonnacott: Carbon footprinting

DairyCo’s Dr Karen Wonnacott will be discussing carbon footprinting and what we can actually implement on farm at little or no cost, together with the latest study results.

Stations

Stations will be manned from 10.30am until 2.00pm and short presentations will be run at 20 minute intervals.

•   Station 1: Cow tracks and soils (DairyCo)

•   Station 2: Methane trails (Prof Liam Sinclair) 

•   Station 3: Precision Livestock Farming (Dr Mark Rutter/Dr Emma Bleach)               

•   Station 4: Foot Care (Steve Jones, Hooftrimming Ltd)