When we sent out the January Milk Digest, it was hoped to be the last Newsletter before the long-awaited Dairy-Tech 2022. However, with cases of Omicron increasing over the festive period, we decided to postpone the event to 7 April 2022. Whilst it wasn’t an easy decision, we feel it was the right one in the interests of visitors, members, exhibitors, speakers and staff safety.
It does mean we have to wait a couple of months longer for the event. However, it is still being held before fieldwork begins on most farms.
The weather should also be better and days longer, meaning we can maximise some more of the outside space that Stoneleigh Park offers. We have lots of new products being launched at the event and some very timely sessions. You can view the full line-up at https://dairy-tech.uk/
The postponement also means our Gold Cup finalists have to wait a bit longer to find out who will be lifting the infamous trophy. The plan is to hold the open day at the winner’s farm in the summer. You can view the six finalists vying for this year’s title at https://www.rabdf.co.uk/gold-cup-comp .
We have been asked by the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee to update them on the labour situation in the dairy industry. We are in the process of speaking to a cohort of farmers but would welcome feedback from more farmers who are struggling with labour on their farms. The more people that get in touch and share their experiences, the more chances we have of the government sitting up and listening to the needs of the industry. In addition, we are always interested in hearing your thoughts or success stories on how we can overcome the labour issue in our sector.
While we are pushing the government for help, we feel a large chunk of the solution lies with us, the industry. We need to be shouting and promoting jobs on dairy farms as a viable, rewarding and progressive career. Dairy worker jobs offer very competitive pay, and when the right set-up is in place, a fulfilling and rewarding career can be carved out on a farm. It is something we will be looking at closely in the coming months. We cannot rely on foreign labour; we need to be recruiting skilled individuals into roles on dairy farms from our domestic workforce. You can get in touch by emailing office@rabdf.co.uk.
We hope you are all keeping well and covid-free and we look forward to welcoming you to our events very soon.
Best wishes,
Matt