Scottish Dairy Hub celebrates eight years of offering free guidance

The Scottish Dairy Hub, established in 2014, has gone on to handle thousands of enquiries from the dairy sector
The Scottish Dairy Hub, established in 2014, has gone on to handle thousands of enquiries from the dairy sector

The Scottish Dairy Hub is celebrating eight years of supporting the country's dairy producers by offering free, confidential information and advice to the sector.

The organisation was established in June 2014 as an initiative that stemmed from the Scottish Dairy Review Ambition 2025 report, commissioned by the Scottish government.

The Hub has gone on to handle thousands of enquiries from the dairy sector and continues to offer a one-stop information service to farmers and service providers.

By identifying the best sources of advice to improve dairy farm competitiveness, technical efficiency and sustainability, it acts as a signposting service connecting the sector throughout Scotland.

Scottish Dairy Hub manager, Stuart Martin said to this day the organisation still receives a number of enquiries on a daily basis.

"Just recently we have dealt with the topics of bedding, artificial insemination, training courses for staff, installation of cattle tracks, on farm processing, calf house design amongst many others,” he explained.

“In addition to the one to one helpline service, the Hub is happy to work in a proactive manner to look at projects on a longer-term basis, both for dairy farmers and relevant service providers."

Handling queries from dairy farms of all sizes, the initiative has helped farmers at all stages of their business lifespan, from students and new entrants to established farms.

The website has also proven to be popular, with the events and noticeboard pages updated daily, offering dairy farmers an accessible online snapshot of workshops and conferences that might be of interest.

Mr Martin continued: “The model of the Hub is very simple. If you have a question on any topic affecting your farm simply get in touch and we will do the research work and sign post you to the answer.

“For dairy farmers working at grassroots, not only does this free up time, as the Hub will do the research work for you, but it will connect you directly to the various public and private sector companies that could add value to your farm and business.

“For all the service providers feeding into the dairy industry, we can remove the marketing scatter gun approach and pinpoint you to farm businesses that seek their specific services.”

Dairy producers can place their question to the Scottish Dairy Hub via the website www.scottishdairyhub.org.uk or by email info@scottishdairyhub.org.uk.