DairyCo

North Midlands

Judith Stafford

Introducing the Extension Team in your area

Our team aim to give our UK dairy farmers a voice in our open meetings providing farmers with  better value from levy.  Learning about different farmer experiences could help your farm become more efficient.

We help by providing a platform to assist farmers on aspects of farming they may find difficult to find out about. Our 'milking the grant system' open meetings have been put together to give awareness to access grants that are available to dairy farmers.

What's coming up?

In May National Youngstock Association Farm Walk at Monyash in Derbyshire, 3 May, where Richard Davies of DairyCo will be discussing buildings and ventilation.

Derbyshire Grazing group - setting up infrastructure for grazing to get more from grass, meeting on farm near Ashbourne - where best to put cow tracks and water troughs etc.

Pest control - jointly with BPEX (pig levy board) we are planning to hold discussion type workshops on rodent and fly control in late April/early May.

If you are interested please get in touch - Judith Stafford 07891 556623, Judith.stafford@dairyco.ahdb.org.uk

What's been happening?

Getting more from grass
Last month Derbyshire Grazing group met on farm in North East Derbyshire to look in more detail at how best to manage grass in preparation for early turnout. Oliver Hall of Evolution Farming led a discussion on getting more milk from forage. He also looked further at how to use grass measurements to prepare a grazing wedge that will keep you growing top quality grass. The yield from forage figures for the host farm gave a clear picture of how just a few small changes can have a huge impact on profit margins.

Heifer rearing and disease prevention
This month the Forward Farmers group met on farm in Derbyshire to discuss heifer rearing with a focus on infectious diseases. Nicky Fair of DairyCo led discussion covering colostrum management, housing and ventilation, and prevention of pneumonia. We were also joined by the host farm's vet who outlined how he is working together with the farm to reduce calf mortality.

Soils and forage
In their second meeting, the Prince's Rural Action Plan (PRAP) Peak District group had an overview of the importance of good soil management and making quality forage with Promar consultant Paul Henman. Using the results of grass and soil analysis the group discussed soil structure on the host farm, the benefits of using slit aerators, fertilizer and slurry application, reseeding and managing grassland to produce high quality grazing and silage.