The animal health and welfare aspects of dairy herd expansion and sustainability were on the agenda on Wednesday when the Department of Agriculture met with stakeholders.

Teagasc, ICBF, NCBC, Veterinary Ireland, ICOS, MII, DII and the farm organisations were all at the meeting, which was called to investigate and address issues arising in the context of dairy herd expansion.

Calf mortality, labour, work load, herd health and breeding policy were some of the topics discussed.

The Irish Farmers Journal understands that Teagasc’s Pat Dillon told the meeting that the average dairy farmer worked 12 hours a day for 30 days in the month of March.

This week’s meeting is the first in a series of engagements with stakeholders on the issue of sustainable expansion of the dairy herd.