Northern Ireland’s 2026 Dairy Conference Will Bring Farmers Together
Northern Ireland’s dairy conference will take place on Tuesday October 20 at Greenmount Campus, from 10am to 3pm. The event is being hosted jointly by the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU), the Dairy Council NI, CAFRE and AgriSearch. Attendance is free, and lunch will be provided, although places are limited.
The theme is “Driving Profitability, Delivering Sustainability”. Speakers and farmers will discuss how innovation, evidence based on data and practical experience can support the long-term sustainability of dairy businesses. The organisers said the conference is intended to give farmers information that can be applied on their own farms.
The opening session will examine the dairy roadmap and the recently published “Pathways to Sustainability” report. Speakers will include UFU deputy president Glenn Cuddy, Jason Rankin of AFBI, Joe Mulholland of CAFRE and Ian Stevenson of the Dairy Council NI. The roadmap sets out progress in environmental sustainability across the UK dairy sector and the role of farmers as environmental regulation develops.
The report says that the sector’s emissions impact has fallen by 22% since 1990. The conference will also cover measures including better feed conversion, improved animal health and more efficient use of fertiliser and slurry. These practices are presented as ways to improve resource use alongside production and environmental performance.
A second session will focus on genetics. The programme will review gains in milk output per cow, animal health and feed conversion, as well as the contribution of those gains to farm profitability. A farmer case study will illustrate the use of genetics in practice. Northern Irish farmers are also taking part, or considering participation, in the Sustainable Ruminant Genetic scheme and the Bovine Genotyping project, which began on September 1.
The final session will consider the Dairy Carbon Network, a UK-wide AFBI-led initiative involving more than 50 dairy farms. It uses science-based methods to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The programme will also examine cow nutrition and feed efficiency, an area of particular relevance because feed is the largest cost for dairy farmers. Places can be booked through the events section of the UFU website.
