Mat Venables and Caroline Spencer from the UK opened proceedings and spoke about their experiences on financial budgeting. Caroline Spencer is milking 280 cows in Somerset and last August was told that her milk supply contract was coming to an end in six months’ time as the company buying her milk was closing a cheese factory.

With huge uncertainty over her future as a dairy farmer, she said that budgeting at lower prices gave her back control over her business as she could identify areas where savings could be made.

On budgeting, she said that every budget should be a zero budget, by which she means that the initial figure for any cost item should be zero, as opposed to what was spent last year. She said this means that every line in the budget is analysed closer, and every cost is questioned.

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She also uses a backwards budget, whereby the essential items to be paid are deducted first, such as bank repayments, tax and drawings. Fixed costs are then deducted and finally variable costs. Caroline said that the first couple of times she did a budget it ended up being negative, which meant that she had to go back again and look at the figures and cut costs again.

Tips for young dairy farmers

Kevin and Margaret Twomey, who farm in Co Cork, spoke on the subject of pathways for young people entering the dairy industry. Kevin said that the existing educational system is inadequate for training top farmers of the future. He says there’s not enough practical training with good commercial farmers in either the Level 5 or Level 6 certificate in agriculture courses.

He encouraged young people interested in pursuing a career in dairy farming not to come back to the home farm too soon, advising instead to travel and work on other farms and gain experience elsewhere.

Genetics and breeding

In the afternoon session on genetics and breeding, Teagasc researcher Donagh Berry said that he expects that by 2034, lifetime milk solids production per cow will be double what it is today. Most of this increase is coming from extra fertility with one extra lactation per cow being achieved and longer lactation lengths.

The Positive Farmers conference continues this Thursday, read more at www.farmersjournal.ie and in next week’s print edition.