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Dairy-Tech 2023: Milk yield, fat and protein production awards


The Gold Cup is the UK’s top dairy award. It went to the Logan family, a fifth-generation partnership that runs the 280-head Holehouse herd in Ayrshire, Scotland.

The mostly red and white cows gave an average of 10,500 kg of milk with 4.10 percent butterfat and 3.40 percent protein when they were milked twice a day from September 20,2021 to September 20,2022. Muller buys milk from the herd that has calves all year.

Di Wastenage, chair of the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) and one of the judges, said that Logan’s farming system “had it all”: “They tick all the boxes for sustainability, the environment, getting the most out of the land, and making sure the cows are healthy and happy. They are on the cutting edge of many new technologies that help them move their 280 pedigree Holstein cow herd forward.
Dairy-Tech 2023 awards

At Dairy-Tech 2023, 4 awards were given out in addition to the National Milk Records RABDF Gold Cup: The Torrance family from Stapleford Abbotts, near Romford, Essex, won the Chris May Memorial Cup for having the Gold Cup-qualifying herd with the highest lifetime daily yield. Their Curtismill pedigree Holstein herd, which was made up of 670 cows and 430 followers, gave an average of 22.30 kg of milk per cow per day over the course of its lifetime. In 2020, the Gold Cup went to John Torrance’s dairy business, which he ran with his father Robert, mother Janet, and wife Lucy.

The NMR Silver Salver was given to Messrs Harvey, Drum Farm, Beeswing, Dumfries, for having the Holstein herd that produced the most fat and protein overall. The farm family takes care of 300 Holstein cows that have been raised from birth. Their Killywhan herd gave them 1.017 kg of fat and protein per cow and 14,267 kg of milk when they milked them three times a day.

The Lillyhill Cup was won by Robert, Lorraine, and Mark Hunterm from West Tarbrax Farm in Lanarkshire in 2022. It is given to the Gold Cup-qualifying Jersey herd with the most fat and protein overall. The 160 milking cows from Hunter’s Clydevalley Jerseys weighed a total of 878.42 kg/cow. Cows give milk that is 6.97% fat and 3.93% protein and weighs 8,063 kg.

And Richard Bell from Wigton, Cumbria, won the Chairman’s Cup for the herd that had the most fat and protein. This was for breeds other than Holstein and Jersey. His Nerewater pedigree Friesian herd of 70 milking cows had a fat and protein total of 738 kg, which was a winning number. The herd of cows that have calves all year long and are fed grass makes an average of 8,800 kg of milk with 4.4% butterfat and 3.52% protein.
Milk guarantee programme

At the event, which was held at Stoneleigh Park, a new milk assurance scheme was introduced. The Assured Integrated Milk Supplier (AIMS) scheme will make sure that people who buy milk from sources other than farms can find out where it came from.

The AIMS Assured Standards fill a gap in current assurance and industry schemes by covering milk that is sold between dairy companies as part of business deals. The scheme was made by the industry and is supported by Dairy UK. It has a Code of Practice that businesses must follow and are audited on. This makes sure that members can find out where their milk came from and makes sure that suppliers have done their jobs.

Tim Hampton, who is the chair of AIMS, said, “Trading milk between dairies has many benefits, both financially and in terms of operations and the environment. This is important for a modern, efficient dairy industry.” But it has been known for a long time that it does leave a hole in supply chain assurance. This programme is meant to fill that gap by creating a network of trusted suppliers who can grade with confidence and help us meet the needs of our customers and, in the end, consumers.

It will be like the Red Tractor and the Dairy Transport Assurance Scheme, which are already in place. It lets any dairy business in Great Britain buy and sell milk with other businesses.

Matthew Knight, who is in charge of running the RABDF, said that business was good at the show. But producers were aware of milk price cuts, even though input costs were still high, there were still problems with labour, and there was more pressure to cut emissions.

“The new lameness village had a lot of visitors because there were demonstrations of foot trimming going on all day. We’ll definitely try to build on it next year, when this important issue gets more attention.”


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