The Dairy Council for Northern Ireland is hosting its seventh Sustainable Dairy conference on Wednesday 5th February when the keynote speaker will be global dairy market expert Christophe Lafougere.
Christophe is Managing Director of Gira Foods, an international food and drink consultancy specialising in market intelligence and analysis. He has worked at Gira for over 25 years and in 2011 launched the Gira Dairy Club to provide analysis of milk production and the main dairy commodities in each of the world's major producing, consuming and trading countries.
Don Morrow, Head of Dairy, Pigs, Poultry and Crops at CAFRE will also provide an update on practical technology being applied at CAFRE to help build an evidence base for delivering a more sustainable future for NI Dairy and how it is working with farm businesses to ensure that knowledge is shared with the current and future generations of dairy farmers.
DAERA Deputy Director of Green Growth Jonathan McFerran will provide an update on the Sustainable Use of Livestock Slurry (SULS) programme and the potential to provide solutions for nutrient management, sustainable energy, targeted nutrient application and possible export of surplus nutrients once separated.
Jack Blakiston Houston, Managing Director at BH Estates is participating in the SULS programme Farm2Export project and will speak about his work to develop a phosphorous export product by mobile separation of solids from slurry. These solids are then removed from the source farms and fed into an anaerobic digestion process with the aim of reducing the amount of phosphorus returned to the soil in Northern Ireland.
Speaking ahead of the event, Dairy Council CEO, Ian Stevenson said,
“Following the success of our EU Sustainable Dairy programme, we wanted to continue providing a platform for the sector to hear from global dairy experts, highlight leading research being carried out in Northern Ireland and profile some of the great work being done at farm and processing level to ensure the sector can operate sustainably for the benefit of our health, environment and the economy long into the future.
“Environmental sustainability goes hand in hand with social and economic sustainability and the dairy sector is a vital component of the Northern Ireland economy, sustaining the livelihoods of around 3,200 dairy farming families and over 2,200 employees of dairy processors around Northern Ireland. Worth almost £1.5 billion annually, the dairy sector is an important pillar in rural communities throughout Northern Ireland.
“Taking an evidence-based approach to sustainability is key to improving the dairy sector’s environmental footprint and lowering emissions, and as we will be hearing during the CAFRE and DAERA Presentations, Northern Ireland is punching above its weight in providing a reliable evidence base for future decision-making and partnership working.”
Delegates will also receive a broader update from DAERA on future agricultural policy and how the Department, producers, processors, and other sector stakeholders can work together to continue improving the economic, social, and environmental outcomes for the sector.
To close, Dairy Council CEO Ian Stevenson will chair a discussion panel to talk about the challenges and opportunities that sustainability presents for farmers, processors, and wider society. The panel will include Dr Rosemary Agnew, Director of Transition Policy within DAERA, UFU President William Irvine and Dale Farm’s Head of Farm Services and incoming Producer Services Director Neville Graham.
The event is free, and is taking place at the Dunadry Hotel and Gardens, Antrim on Wednesday 5th Feb 2025. Registration and refreshments will be at 10:15am with the event running from 11:00am to 1:10pm and lunch being served at 1:10pm.
It is open to anyone in the dairy sector supply chain or with a broader interest in sustainable agriculture practices in Northern Ireland. Booking is required for catering purposes, so anyone wishing to attend should RSVP to Sarah McElvogue at Open Strategic Communications on RSVP@oscni.com.
To view our existing sustainability information and programmes click here. www.dairycouncil.co.uk