CAFRE Business Groups offer benchmarking opportunities
Date published:
College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) Dairy Adviser, Harry O’Kane, recently visited the dairy farm of Kenny Watson near Coleraine. ‘Majestic Holsteins’ is a progressive 150 cow autumn calving dairy herd with a strong focus on efficiency, milk quality and maximising the use of grazed grass. Kenny aims to produce 11,000 litres of milk per cow while maintaining excellent milk quality, with a target of achieving 8% combined milk solids.
The system is designed to maximise grass utilisation during spring and summer with lower-yielding cows normally prioritised for grazing early in the season. However, favourable conditions this year have allowed the full herd to benefit from high quality grazing. Alongside focusing on milk from forage, Kenny routinely carries out genomic testing of his heifer calves. This provides valuable data to support breeding decisions and drives continued genetic improvement within the herd.
As a member of a CAFRE Business Sustainability Group (BSG), Kenny works closely with CAFRE’s Adviser, Harry O’Kane, to benchmark herd performance and monitor key performance indicators within the business.
Harry remarked: “Benchmarking with CAFRE is a valuable tool for dairy businesses, as it highlights areas of strong performance while clearly identifying where improvements can be made. It also enables farmers to monitor progress over time, providing a clear picture of how the business is developing year on year.”
Commenting on his membership of the BSG, Kenny added: “The Group helps keep me informed on policy developments, available schemes, and practical ideas from other members. Regular meetings and farm visits provide opportunities to share experiences and identify practical on-farm improvements. Being part of the BSG provides a valuable chance to learn from other farmers who are dealing with similar challenges.”
CAFRE Business Sustainability Groups are now open for applications, offering farmers the opportunity to improve technical performance, share ideas and develop their businesses. For more information, please visit CAFRE website.
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