NEWS

Spotlight on fertility at Focus Farms
By Staff Reporter

THREE of Northern Ireland’s leading milk producers will host farm visits during the week commencing Monday November 16 under the auspices of the new Focus Farms Programme.
Organised in conjunction with Ai Services (Northern Ireland) Ltd and Alltech, the events will allow visiting farmers to gauge, at first hand, how three of Northern Ireland’s foremost dairy farmers are successfully tackling the issue of fertility and the many other management challenges confronting local milk producers at the present time.
Drew McConnell, from Omagh in Co Tyrone; will host his farm visit on Tuesday November 17. The following day it will be the turn of Ian and Wesley Semple, from Dungiven on Co Londonderry, with Dean Wright, from Portadown, hosting his visit on Thursday November 19. All visits will commence at 10.30am.
Each event will provide the host farmers with an opportunity to highlight their current farm development plans and to answer questions from those in attendance. Also included will be brief presentations from Ai Services’ Breeding Specialist Ivan Minford, Alltech’s John Thornton and CAFRE Dairy Technologist Dr David Mackey. They will address the issue of fertility from a breeding, nutritional and general husbandry perspective.
The forthcoming Focus Farm visits follow the recent launch of Ai Services’ Dairy Sire Catalogue for 2010
“Our intention is to show a selection of milking daughters and young stock from bulls such as Mascol, Jockon Besne and Leif,” explained Ivan Minford.


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