Dairy farmers who visit the DairyCo stand at this year’s Dairy Event and Livestock Show will have access to a wealth of information that has been designed to help and support them with their business development and future planning.

There will be four key information areas on the stand (number MM357): health and welfare, business management, fertility and grass and forage.  Within each of these areas farmers will have access to the latest information and resources. DairyCo’s extension officers and the regional Milkbench+ officers will be on-hand, alongside analysts from market intelligence and our research and development departments, to answer dairy farmer queries.

DairyCo is using the show to launch a new series of templates that provide guidance to dairy farmers who are considering a joint venture with other dairy businesses, or bringing others into the business structure.

The templates include contracts and guidance notes on share milking, contract farming, cow hire and equity partnerships. The guidance notes have been written to help farmers understand the practical and legal implications of setting up a joint venture, and to assess the suitability of joint ventures for their business.

There’s also the chance for ten lucky dairy farmers to win £200 worth of semen straws in the DairyCo 'Bull Bonanza' competition.  The competition is being run to promote the importance of good genetics and how, by working with DairyCo Breeding+, farmers can get more from breeding.

DairyCo’s aim is to promote world class knowledge to British dairy farmers so they can profit from a sustainable future

To achieve this DairyCo aims to:

• Ensure farmers have access to world class information needed to improve competitiveness, GHG reduction and productivity
• Ensure farmers have access to direct and indirect support to help them improve their profitability through better business management
• Ensure that dairy farming is reducing its impact on the environment
• Ensure farmers understand the benefits of breeding and use the related tools

DairyCo is funded entirely by milk producers, via a statutory levy on all milk sold off-farm, at the rate of 0.06p per litre.  This provides an annual income of around £6.5m.

DairyCo is a division of the statutory levy board, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).