The key to dairy expansion is to make a sustainable profit. This is according to Con Hurley of Positive Farmers, which is organising a two-day dairy expansion conference next month.
“There are 19,000 farmers across Ireland gearing up for dairy expansion and some 4,000 tillage and beef farmers that are going to convert. There are great opportunities ahead post-quota but there are also great risks of mistakes and poor investment. The aim is to build a business that is profitable and sustainable,” he added.
Hurley was speaking ahead of a two-day think-in, which has keynote speakers from New Zealand, the UK and Ireland that will cover the key technical, financial, people management and processing needs for successful and profitable expansion.
It has been billed by organisers as the most important dairy conference in Ireland in 15 years and they are expecting crowds in excess of 800 people. The conference is taking place in the Clonmel Park Conference, Leisure and Spa Hotel in Tipperary on Wednesday and Thursday, 15-16 January.
Among the speakers include Leonie and Kieran Guiney who will tell of New Zealand expansion to 3,000 cows in nine years, Kevin Twomey who will talk on what Irish farmers and the Irish dairy industry can learn from the Dutch experience, Piet Boer, chairman of the world’s largest dairy co-operative, (19,487 producers in Belgium, Germany, and Holland) who will give an overview of the outlook for dairy markets and milk price among other speakers.
More information and tickets are available here.
AgriLand will be reporting live from Clonmel.