This month 2016 NMR/RABDF Gold Cup winner Simon Bugler from Dorset reports on the latest news from Pilsdon Dairy Farm and assesses the herd breeding policy

A new Business and Policy Conference is to be held in London on Wednesday 18 October, announced the RABDF today (5 June).  ‘Scoping the Future’ will be the theme of the event, which will focus on the UK dairy industry post-Brexit and herald a return to RABDF’s popular conference format which offers leading farmers opportunities to rub shoulders with policy-makers and supply chain leaders.

Identifying marginal gains and shaping the future will be the main themes of the day when 2016 RABDF/NMR Gold Cup winners Roland and Simon Bugler open the gates at Pilsdon Dairy Farm on Wednesday 28 June. 

Farmers are being urged to be vigilant for signs of Bluetongue virus (BTV) and consider vaccinating their livestock after BTV-8 was detected in cattle in a previously disease-free area of northern France.

RABDF has confirmed that the 2018 Cream Awards will move to Chesford Grange, Kenilworth, as part of the event’s plans to tie in with RABDF’s new flagship Dairy-Tech event.  The Cream Awards ceremony will now take place on the evening of Dairy-Tech (Wednesday 7 February).

Reprinted from the March 2017 edition of British Dairying. To see the original article please visit the British Dairying website.

Dr Dick Esslemont was announced yesterday (27 April) as the recipient of the RABDF Princess Royal Award in a presentation by Her Royal Highness at Buckingham Palace.  The award is one of the highest accolades within the dairy industry and is awarded each year to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the sector throughout their lifetime.

Major changes have been announced to the NMR/RABDF Gold Cup, the UK dairy industry’s flagship award, to ensure herds across the whole range of management systems can compete in this annual competition on an equal footing. This is the first major overhaul in the almost 100 years of the popular contest.