The application window for dairy farmers to apply to CAFRE to be a Technology Demonstration Farm closed yesterday (Wednesday).

In total, six farms were sought, two to cover each theme of feed efficiency, slurry management and mobility improvement.

Farms are expected to host up to eight meetings per year, and would be reimbursed at a rate of £600/ meeting. However, to be eligible to apply, farms must meet a number of conditions, including that they participated in benchmarking, and had a gross margin of at least £1,237/cow in 2017/2018.

Also, herds had to be over 80 cows, and must have sold at least 8,000l/cow in 2017/2018.

Some farmers have questioned the relevance of these criteria, particularly the fact that they favour larger, high-yielding herds.

“It is so infuriating that the hierarchy within the dairy industry in NI seem to think we need to be chasing yield all the time.

“Some of the best operators have a yield between 5,000l and 7,000l, but they have been ruled out. It is mental,” one local farmer told the Irish Farmers Journal.

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