Britain's strategic dairy farm network will expand to a total size of 25 farms following a 'significant investment' of £1 million.
This funding will support the recruitment and management of an additional eight strategic dairy farms across Britain over the next five years.
The network, run by levy-board AHDB, aims to demonstrate the benefits of implementing best practice on farm. It covers a range of farming systems, and farms take part for a minimum of two years.
The initiative has now secured a £1m boost from the Betty Lawes Foundation, a charitable trust set up by Betty Lawes, the wife of Dick Lawes who was the founder of Volac.
This further expansion of the network is a core part of the Dairy Productivity Collaboration established in 2018 as an industry and government partnership.
The collaboration is chaired by Andy Richardson, corporate affairs director at Volac and aims to improve UK dairy productivity. It identifies opportunities and barriers to deploy practical strategies for the benefit of the industry.
Gwyn Jones, AHDB Dairy Chair, said the funding is a 'step change' for British dairy farmers and a 'significant investment' in their future.
“Our collaborative approach means we can showcase excellence across the industry with a larger spread of farms across Great Britain. It will mean more farmers can access the benefits that strategic dairy farms offer,” he said.
Each of the farms will follow AHDB’s strategic farm model and represent either all-year-round or block calving systems. They will showcase best-practice, host on-farm events and openly share their figures against AHDB Dairy’s key performance indicators (KPIs).
AHDB Dairy are actively recruiting for more strategic dairy farmers across Britain. Applications close on 19 May 2019.
