United Dairy Farmers’ members visit AFBI, Hillsborough for update
on recent research developments
United Dairy Farmers’ Area
Council members from the west of Northern Ireland recently visited the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute
(AFBI), Hillsborough for an update on current research on milk production. Following an introduction
covering the background to AFBI by Sinclair Mayne, Conrad Ferris gave a detailed overview of recent
research projects.
Sinclair
Mayne and Conrad Ferris explaining key aspects of the dairy research programme at Hillsborough to United
Dairy Farmers’ Area Council members.
A
number of major AgriSearch and DARD
funded projects were highlighted, including those designed to reduce phosphorus loss to the environment,
the role of alternative dairy breeds and options to reduce labour use in dairy systems. Desmond Patterson
followed by providing a detailed summary of the key factors that influence milk composition. The visit
also included a tour of the facilities at Hillsborough, and Andrew Dale explained current grazing research
studies to the group.
The visit concluded with a
tour of the new milking parlour, where Mike Davies provided the group with a detailed description of
the milking routine and parlour specification.
