Predicated milk price cuts will cause concern as volume peaks throughout the spring and summer. Time will only tell what happens to feed costs as harvest progresses later this year, but hopefully, we will see things ease.
The last few years have shown us the benefits of being as self-sufficient as possible. Of course, removing a business from market pressures is hard. Still, those who have focused on being as self-sufficient and efficient as possible are seeing the benefits.
It’s something that we will be covering at this year’s Down to Earth events taking place this summer (21 June, 6 July). Although regenerative farming may be seen as being for more grass-based or organic systems, it really is something that all farms can do.
Neil Baker, the host of Down to Earth South, is an indoor, large-scale intensive operator. His open day is designed to showcase that more intensive operators can adopt regenerative farming practices while maintaining production.
Our events are catered to have something for everyone. Tickets are now on sale for Down to Earth North and South, taking place in Cumbria and Somerset at projectdowntoearth.com
On another note, we are holding a funding webinar with three Defra senior policy advisors and a consultant from Kite to unravel the raft of funding available for dairy farmers. If you haven’t seen our previous emails about it, but are interested in attending the hour-long webinar on Thursday, 30 March, sign up now for free at bit.ly/3Z8KSSu. We also hope to be able to host the recording on a website after the event.
We have also secured a date for the 2023 Gold Cup Open Day on 10 August at Hole House Farm, Ayrshire. The 2022 winners and this year’s hosts, the Logan family, look forward to welcoming visitors to view their award-winning farm. Free tickets will be available soon, so keep posted at https://www.rabdf.co.uk/forthcoming-events/goldcup2023
As spring pushes on, we hope that for those spring-calving herds, things are progressing well and the weather kind.
Wishing you all well for the month ahead,
Matt