The annual Irish Grassland Association (IGA) National Dairy Conference, sponsored by Yara, is set to take place on Wednesday, January 18.
The conference will take place in the Charleville Park Hotel, Co. Cork.
The theme of this year’s event focuses on the changing practices required at farm level in order to farm successfully in a rapidly changing world.
IGA Dairy Conference
Dairy farms have been given ambitious targets to meet in terms of water quality and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Addressing these challenges is a line-up of speakers who will share the latest research, insight and expertise regarding how dairy farms can navigate this new era.
The world that dairy farms are now operating in is rapidly changing, and in order to succeed, dairy farmers must rapidly adapt to new farm practices and technologies.
The conference will highlight the key areas that farmers need to focus on around environment and grassland management practices.
The conference will also examine the financial implications for dairy farms in meeting new regulations.
Session one
Where to from here: This session will focus on the ambitious targets set out for the dairy industry.
New regulations around the nitrates directive and climate change targets will impact farms both in terms of additional costs and day-to-day farming practices.
Speaking in this session will be David Fennelly, a dairy farmer from Co. Laois and Noreen Lacey, head of banking for IFAC banking services division.
Session two
Technologies to future-proof dairy farming: Technologies will play a key role in the future of dairy farming, however with a growing number of technologies available, this session will focus on which technologies offer the highest rate of return in terms of improving farmers’ bank balances and their environmental sustainability.
Speakers in this session will be Dr. John Upton, a research officer in Teagasc, and Francis Nolan, a dairy farmer from Co. Kilkenny.
Session three
Productive swards in a low-nitrogen era: Dairy farmers will use significantly less chemical nitrogen (N) in the next 10 years. This reduction in N usage must not come at the expense of productive swards, according to the IGA.
This session will examine the grassland management practices needed to succeed in a low-nitrogen era.
Speakers for this session are Dr. Michael Egan, grassland research officer at Teagasc, Dr. Michael Dineen, animal nutrition and physiology researcher at Teagasc and Robert O’Dea, a Co. Limerick dairy farmer.
IGA
All delegates who purchase tickets to attend the IGA Dairy Conference on January 18, can also attend a free networking event the night prior to the conference at 8:00p.m, which will focus on succession planning.
This event will be hosted by Paul Hyland, former IGA president and dairy farmer from Co. Kilkenny.
He will speak to Aishling Meehan, an agricultural solicitor who has worked with many farm families.