This year’s Positive Farmers conference takes place in Clonmel and the theme is ‘Grass to Cash at Low Cost – The Proven Pathway to Expansion at Low Risk’

Running over two days, January 14-15, the conference will mark a watershed in European dairy policy with the abolition of the milk quota regime just around the corner.

Organisers say an opportunity beckons for efficient grass-based dairy farmers in Ireland and the UK when, for the first time in 32 years, they will no longer have to buy quota in order to expand.

From April 1, 2015, farmers in grass-growing areas will have the opportunity to exploit their comparative advantage to produce milk at low cost and achieve high profits from grazed grass. And it is this unique opportunity that is the focus of the 2015 Positive Farmers Conference.

With the impending collapse in milk price, dairy farmers should take a reality check and ask themselves; ‘is my system of milk production profitable at a price range of 24-27c/L?’

Organisers of the Positive Farmers Conference say the clear message is that grass-based dairying can deliver a high income to support current and future family needs. And the key to this is grass.

With speakers from Ireland, New Zealand and the UK, the Positive Farmers Conference will look at how to grow high tonnages of grass and then how to turn this into high profits; the challenges facing farmers; milk price outlook and motivation.

Full details of the Positive Farmers Conference are available from the conference website.