Speakers at the annual Women in Dairy conference will be sharing wide ranging solutions to manage the raft of challenges within the sector.
Livestock sustainability consultant Dr Jude Capper previews her presentation, engage the public, bust the myths.
British dairy farmers have made huge efficiency gains – milk yields per cow have improved by 45% over the past 20 years. Yet efficient dairy production seems to be linked with negative images of ‘factory’ farming and farmers who care more about making a profit than caring for livestock.
Consumer perceptions of dairy production often irritate, frustrate or even astound us, yet we need to be pro-active in correcting the many myths surrounding dairy farming.
Contrary to popular belief, cattle do not compete with humans for food; the hormones in milk do not harm us; and there is no ideal farming system. Although activists claim that we could reduce environmental impacts if we became vegan, if we all gave up meat and dairy for one day per week, the national carbon footprint would be reduced by less than one percent.
We need to put positive messages, pictures and videos on social media to counteract the claims by activist groups and to have conversations with friends and family outside agriculture to explain why we do, what we do, every single day. If we’re going to have a dairy industry in future, we urgently need to improve consumer opinion.
For copies of the conference programme and registration details please click here or contact
Victoria Chomiak on 0845 458 2711 or victoriachomiak@rabdf.co.uk