College Lecturers' Day 2014

The RABDF College Lecturers' Day 2014 was held on Wednesday 29th January. RABDF brought 16 delegates representing 11 UK agricultural colleges up to speed with the latest developments in the dairy sector at its annual college lecturers’ day, this year staged centrally at Stoneleigh Park and hosted by Lantra.

The event, specifically designed for agricultural lecturers, featured a series of presentations examining the current challenges facing the dairy industry, including those influencing its future nutrition, management and carbon footprint. Training and skills requirements for the next generation of farmers also came under the microscope along with advice on how to engage young people in the latest farm health issues including SBV and surveillance.

The following topics were covered:
 

• Beyond Boutflour: Towards the 20000 litre cow - Professor Toby Mottram, Douglas Bomford Chair of Agricultural Mechanisation at the Royal Agricultural University
• Beyond quotas, a processors perspective - Jane Charlesworth, Dairy Crest
• Nutritional effects on health & environmental impact of modern dairy cows -Karen Wonnacott, BOCM Pauls
• AHVLA veterinary surveillance update - Eamon Watson, AHVLA
• Rearing the calf for optimum lifelong performance - Dr Jessica Cooke, Volac
• Dairy cow housing and ventilation - Jim Loynes, Harper Adams University
• Breeding better cows for a better profit - Lucy Andrews-Noden, Holstein UK
• Update and outlook for the beef and sheep sector - Clive Brown, EBLEX
• Knowledge transfer on calf management - Dr Jenny Gibbons, DairyCo 

If you would like a copy of any of the presentations, please contact us office@rabdf.co.uk or 0845 458 2711