Dairy producers, large animal vets and agricultural supply trade professionals were amongst the record-breaking audience who attended the recent 2010 Large Herd Seminar at Woodbury Park Country Club in Devon. Entitled ’Maximising Profitability by Improving Lifetime Yield’ the sell-out two-day seminar attracted the highest-ever number of delegates in the event’s five-year history, underlining the thirst for knowledge amongst those at the forefront of the UK dairy farming industry.
More than 250 delegates, a 50 per cent increase on the previous year’s record- breaking attendance, gathered to hear leading experts in practical dairy herd management, research, nutrition and health highlight the latest research findings, management information and techniques from around the world.
Amongst a distinguished line up of 12 speakers was Dr Mike Hutjens from the Dairy and Animal Sciences Department, University of Illinois, USA, who presented papers entitled the ’The role of nutrition efficiency in improving lifetime yield’ and ’Managing the rumen for health and profit’. Another leading international dairy expert, Dr Paul M. Fricke, Professor of Dairy Science and Extension Specialist in Dairy Cattle Reproduction at the University of Wisconsin, USA, focused on the ’Practical on-farm implementation of the latest reproductive research’, together with ’The interaction of hormones and nutrition on reproduction efficiency’.
Focusing on how dairy farmers can improve the lifetime yield of dairy cows, the Large Herd Seminar also examined the role of cow comfort in achieving optimum lifetime performance.
Professor Jon Huxley from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at the University of Nottingham in the UK highlighted the importance of this aspect of herd management in a paper entitled ’Reducing stress in your herd to improve lifetime yield - Pain relief and other areas’. Dr Nigel Cook from the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, re-iterated the importance of cow comfort in two compelling presentations, ’The assessment of lameness problems in dairy herds’ and ’5 steps to designing transition cow facilities to maximise health and productivity’.
Organised jointly by Lillico Attlee, one of the UK’s largest privately-owned agricultural merchants, and the Evidence Based Veterinary Consultancy, a progressive, vet-based dairy management practice in Penrith which provides independent advice to the dairy sector, the Large Herd Seminar continues to go from strength to strength.
Commenting on the success of the 2010 event, Warwick Bastard of Lillico Attlee
stated: "The South West is one of the UK’s leading areas for dairy production and holding the Large Herd Seminar in Devon for the last two years has been a great success. This year we continued with a winning formula by focussing on subjects of real, practical benefit to the owners or managers of large dairy herds, their veterinary surgeons and advisers. Given that we were unable to accommodate everyone who applied to participate in the conference we are currently considering venues for next year’s event."
