Online panel set to help dairy entrants
Do you want to get into dairying, but aren’t sure how? If so, Dairy Update‘s online question and answer session may be able to help.
On Wednesday 27 March between 6.30-7.30pm, three dairy farmers who have set up joint ventures will be on hand to give their top tips on how to progress in the industry.
To get involved all you have to do is visit www.fwi.co.uk during this time and join the debate.
The panel will include Devon farmers Neil Grigg and Tom Foot from Prospect Farming and farmer and consultant Tom Rawson of Evolution Farming.
Meet the panel
Neil Grigg and Tom Foot – Prospect Farming
Devon farmers, Neil Grigg and Tom Foot set up a joint venture milking 750 cows in 2009.
Pooling their resources, they started with 25 empty dairy cows grazed through a mixture of contract agreements.
Before finding a suitable farm on which to milk their herd, they bought New Zealand-bred cows and increased numbers to 300. With no farm, they leased the herd to a nearby farmer for a year, before taking on a farm business tenancy in Dorset.
With limited capital they decided to make minimal investment in infrastructure and hire a mobile milking parlour and invest in second-hand machinery. Subsequent savings have helped them increase cow numbers further. Cows are now milked once a day, kept out 350 days a year, and yield 6,500 litres a cow a year.
Find out more about Prospect Farming
Tom Rawson – Evolution Farming
Giving young farmers a leg up into the industry through staff development and unique business agreements is at the heart of Tom Rawson’s business.
He set up Evolution Farming with business partner Oliver Hall in 2010 and today the company is made up of a practical dairy farming business and a farm consultancy.
The company milks about 1,250 cows over four units under a number of different arrangements.
Part of Evolution Farming’s strategy is the recruitment of new entrants into the industry, development and retention of quality staff.
For those wanting to get in and out of dairying, Evolution Farming has been at the forefront of promoting the “cow hire” concept. This allows producers to get a foot on the ladder, while farmers looking to take a step back can still get an income from their animals.
The topic of business development and how to start out in dairy farming will be the main issue covered in the 19 April Dairy Update. You can sign up for your free digital edition of Dairy Update at www.fwi.co.uk/digital