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Postponed Dairy-Tech to be one of the largest events yet
Preview Postponed Dairy-Tech to be one of the largest events yet
After being postponed from its usual date in February amid concerns about Omicron, Dairy-Tech is set to go ahead as a live event on 7th April. Farmers Guide takes a look at what visitors can expect from this year’s event.
Having switched to a virtual event last year due to Covid-19, this will be the rst in-person Dairy-Tech event since 2020. Organisers say it will be one of the biggest yet, with over 80 new product launches planned and nearly 300 exhibitors booked into the Stoneleigh Park venue in Warwickshire.
RABDF managing director Matt Knight commented: "The new date change means we have longer days and hopefully better weather allowing us to use additional space outside following a complete sell-out for indoor stand space.
“Usual favourites are featured, including the Dairy Hub, o ering guidance and insight on key industry issues and the Innovation Hub, where new products, ideas, technology and concepts will be discussed. Hoof trimming demonstrations will also feature at the event."
Hub to tackle key industry issues
In line with topical issues a ecting the industry, this year’s Dairy Hub will include a must-see session on environment, emissions and policy, which will look at the latest regulations and provide practical advice for farmers on how to reduce emissions and meet regulatory targets. It will also touch on some ground-breaking technology that could help demonstrate environmental credentials and determine areas for improvements.
Also of particular interest is the Business Clinic, which will cover recruiting and managing sta , mentoring and connecting to the local community. West Sussex dairy farmer Keith Gue, who milks 420 cows, will discuss his own challenges with sta management and recruitment, positive changes he made and the things that didn’t work so well. One of the most signi cant productivity gains, he says, came when he reduced working hours on the farm, giving the team greater opportunity to make the right decisions under less stress and fatigue.
Other features include a talk by Sarah Tomlinson, TB Advisory Service veterinary consultant, who will help farmers determine what impact TB is having on management decisions to protect productivity and sustainabilty. As reducing endemic disease is one of the ways we can lessen our environmental impact, Sarah will discuss what farmers can do to reduce the length and probability of a TB breakdown and what impacts TB has on the farm business.
Finally, LIC pasture to pro t consultant Bess Jowsey looks at increasing pressure to grow alternative forages, which has prompted more farmers to consider establishing multispecies swards. Bess will outline the bene ts and how they can be established.
New innovations
The Innovation Hub will also make a return appearance, with new products, ideas, technology, concepts and techniques to help dairy businesses. The line-up will include a session led by UK Research and Innovation on the funding opportunities available to dairy farmers and how to apply for them, including case studies from farmers. This includes an overview of the Transforming Food Production (TFP) challenge – a £90m funding programme supporting more sustainable food production systems. There will also be an opportunity to learn more about future funding opportunities available through the Defra Farming Innovation Programme.
Visitors will also hear from Shropshire dairy farmer George Lester about how robots have allowed him to manage cows individually in the herd, which has halved his concentrate use by £30,000 a year and also improved health and productivity. While his forage costs have increased as he has doubled the milk from forage, he has yielded a total saving of £15,000.
Speakers will also outline the bene ts of carbon auditing to farmers, what’s involved and how the data from audits can be used to help reduce the environmental impacts of greenhouse gases in farming enterprises.
Additionally, the App Store will make a return, exploring new technology that gives farmers more control over their future milk price.
Covid-19 also halted the judging of the 2020 Gold Cup winners as the competition celebrated its 100th year. In autumn 2021, judges Philip Metcalfe, former Gold Cup winner; Trevor Lloyd, Anglesey farmer and NMR chairman; and Peter Alvis, RABDF chairman, were able to visit the nalists' farms. The winner will be announced at 4pm on the NMR stand.
Tickets bought before the show are priced at £17 per person, or £20 at the door. Members of the RABDF receive two free tickets. To nd out more about the event, what's on and how to buy tickets, go https://dairy-tech.uk/visiting/buytickets/ FG
At this year’s Dairy-Tech, BvL is set to showcase the unique features of its 22m3 capacity, twin auger, tandem axle diet feeder, complete with the optional feed elevator.
It’s over 40 years since BvL introduced the first vertical feed mixer wagon to the market, during which time the company has grown to become one of the world’s leading manufacturers of diet mixers.
Today, the BvL V-Mix range of diet feeders covers a wide range of machines, available in single, twin and triple augers variants and in capacity from 3.5m3 up to 46m3. A wide range of specifications and options are available on each machine, allowing them to be tailored to exactly meet the needs of all types of farm and livestock, the company says.
At this year’s Dairy-Tech, BvL will have on display a 22m3 capacity, twin auger, tandem axle diet feeder, complete with the optional feed elevator. As on all BvL feeders, the powerful mixing augers are made from high quality steel with Hardox leading edges and adjustable knives, with mixing wedges in the mixing hopper. Between them, these features ensure that the ration is thoroughly mixed and mix quality consistently maintained, BvL reckons.
A unique feature of all BvL diet mixers is the patented EDS (Exact Dosing System) discharge. This is designed to provide consistent, even forage discharge that is
deposited in a loose swath. Available as an option and suitable for retro fitting onto older BvL diet feeders is the V-Connect mixer control. Using the control, the operator can easily monitor both auger speed and total revolutions, in addition to displaying and controlling mixer time. So instead of relying on PTO speed, by being able to monitor the actual auger speed the operator is able to “A wide range of speci cations are available, achieve improved repeatability and ration consistency. Other options include features such as doors allowing them on both the left- and rightto be tailored hand side of the to exactly meet feeder for feeding the needs of all flexibility and even simultaneous types of farm and discharge to both livestock. sides. Additional discharge door options are available, as are discharge conveyors or elevators and new, highly powerful magnets to avoid metallic objects contaminating the ration. Unique to BvL is the availability of special coatings and hardened components for use with compact rations, or for more abrasive, higher dry matter rations, making this option particularly suited for beef cattle rations and large dairy herds. More information is available from www.bvl-group.de FG
Innovation. Experience. Strength.
Our range of self-propelled and single, twin or triple auger trailed feeders with capacities from 5m3 up to 46m3 , all available with a wide range of specications and options, makes BvL the ideal solution for all your livestock TMR needs. Quality mixer ...
Quality mix ...
Quality assured ...
Powerful mixing augers with adjustable knives ensure thorough mixing of all types of feed, including bales. Gentle mixing, consistent ration quality.
The patented EDS discharge system provides an extremely consistent, uninterrupted loose ow of forage to both sides if necessary, even without the optional cross conveyors or elevators.
The livestock feeding experts
North: Paul McUrich - 07810 040100 / paulmcurich@gmail.com South: John Molton - 07947 719985 / john.molton@bvl-group.de www.bvl-group.de
Increasing success with healthy dairy cows
As only a healthy herd brings real success, early detection of diseases and improving the overall health of the herd is the basis for economic success, according to smaXtec.
To ensure or improve animal health, keeping a close eye on cows at all times is key. smaXtec’s proven bolus technology measures inner body temperature, activity, rumination and drinking behaviour directly inside the reticulum, 24/7. Thanks to the high measurement precision and continuous data collection, smaXtec says it o ers an outstanding early detection system for diseases.
As soon as the immune system reacts to germs or stress, the inner body temperature changes – long before any other parameters. smaXtec notices even the slightest changes of body temperature, allowing you to detect diseases such as mastitis up to four days before clinical symptoms become visible, the company says. Temperature also gives an indication of the type of illness: if the temperature rises, the cow usually su ers from a feverish condition; if it drops, it is often a metabolic issue.
Combined with additional data about rumination, activity and drinking behaviour, you can identify issues rapidly. Early detection allows farmers to intervene at the earliest stage possible, reduce the risk of severe disease progression and signi cantly lower the use of medication, especially antibiotics by up to 70%.
Light self-applicated medical treatment is often enough to avoid a break-out of the disease all together, protecting the herd, providing milk yield stability and cost savings. Most importantly: treatment with antibiotics and consequent milk revenue loss can be prevented!
In addition to valuable health insights, smaXtec provides heat detection and the ideal insemination time. This signi cantly increases insemination success, while reducing your workload, taking care of oestrus monitoring for you, the company explains.
It also o ers support around calving, alerting farmers 15–10 hours upfront. This enables you to take necessary calving preparations, support the cow if needed and ensure a smooth calving process. Thanks to continuous health monitoring, you’ll also notice any signs of metabolic issues and can treat the cow right away – for a good start into a healthy and successful lactation.
Contact smaXtec directly to implement a comprehensive system for monitoring health and reproduction in dairy cows on your farm: www.smaxtec. com FG
Dairy-Tech stand: B140
Slurry’s value as a source of nitrogen and other nutrients has been brought sharply into focus following the recent price hike for compound fertilisers. However, to gain maximum bene t from its use, care should be taken regarding application. Research has shown that compared to a traditional splash plate, where a trailing shoe is used, grass yields increased by 25%. By placing the slurry on the ground, trailing shoes and other forms of low emission slurry spreading, rstly reduce the risk of run-o but also minimise the amount of nitrogen lost into the air in the form of ammonia.
Hi-Spec Engineering manufactures a wide range of slurry tankers with capacities from 800–4,000 gallons, all available with numerous lling and other options, allowing you to tailor tankers to your needs.
Popular tanker range on show at Dairy-Tech provide a wide range of spreading options for its complete range of vacuum tankers, that range in size from 750–3,500 gallons. Options include its own design of trailing shoe, available in working widths of 6.0, 7.5, 9.0 and 10.5m. This features a robust chassismounted mast that ensures the tanker and shoe are perfectly supported and balanced. The 9.0m and 10.5m trailing shoes also feature a unique hydraulic self-levelling system, and are tted with hardened trailing shoes that gently part the grass sideways and allow the slurry to be placed onto the ground via a specialised rubber boot. The grass covering will then prevent valuable nutrients from escaping and the placement of the slurry to the roots ensures a reduced grazing turn-around. The Hi-Spec trailing shoe can also be used as a dribble bar if needed without any contact with the ground. This year will also see Hi-Spec introducing its own new chassis-mounted 7.5m dribble bar applicator. This comprises of 30 at hose outlets at 25cm spacing and incorporates a spung breakback system for the arms, which fold to 2.55m for transport. At Dairy-Tech, Hi-Spec Engineering will display From the wide range of diet feeders available, a tanker from the SA-R (Single-Axle Recessed) also on display will be a V12 vertical feeder, complete tanker range. These popular tankers feature a with a 36 in feed-out conveyor. Hi-Spec’s Vertical stepped axle to reduce overall height and are Auger range is available in both single and twin tted with commercial brakes, a Jurop vacuum auger variants with sizes from 7–32m3 and uses a pump and Vogelsang Exactacut macerator. The low pitch mixing and chopping auger tted with wide range of options available include a Turbo ll eight blades that creates a simple cycle action. A high capacity lling system, Auto ll, anti-lock speci c feature is its ability to quickly and e ciently braking, GPS and a wide range of dribble, trailing incorporate complete bales into the mix, which also shoe or injector disc applicators. allows the Vertical Auger mixer to be used with lower To keep atmospheric losses to a minimum for horsepower tractors. FG maximum bene t, Hi-Spec Engineering is able to Dairy-Tech stand: B160
