£6.5M to Help Drive Efficiency, Profitability on Welsh Dairy Farms

 The programme will prioritise herd health planning and monitoring as well as expanding AHDB’s strategic farm initiative in Wales.

The funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 was announced on the opening day of the Royal Welsh Show.

AHDB Dairy Chairman Gwyn Jones says, "This is fantastic news for dairy farmers and a game changer which will help to release the full potential of their dairy herds."

Herd health plans, which set out disease prevention, detection and management procedures will be developed as part of the programme applying a new whole farm holistic approach to take into consideration other influencing factors such as nutrition, genetics and the suitability of buildings.

Dairy farmers in Wales will be able to access support to raise their awareness of disease control and preventative measures from autumn 2018.

Ms Jones continues: "Herd health and disease control underpin good performance on dairy farms and will help milk producers improve efficiencies and lift herd profitability."

AHDB will also expand their strategic dairy farm concept in Wales to help farmers learn from each other through regular on-farm meetings and sharing key performance data.

"We know farmers learn best from other farmers and we will be working collaboratively with Farming Connect to make sure we complement their existing demonstration network and add value to delivery wherever possible," says Ms Jones.

Details about AHDB’s strategic dairy farm programme can be found at ahdb.dairy.org.uk.

TheCattleSite News Desk