On 1st July beef farmers will meet at the Bath and West Showground in Somerset to find out how new technologies are improving performance on leading beef farms across the country. They will hear first hand from farmers who are utilising precision livestock technologies to improve their herd performance.
 
The day will aim to inform producers as to the latest innovations and technologies that are pushing productivity and profitability on leading beef units.
 
Covering both suckler and finishing production systems, as well as a great line up of speakers the conference promises to inform and inspire producers as to what the future of the beef industry could hold.
 
The conference is being organised by Innovation for Agriculture (IfA) with the Royal Bath and West of England Society.
 
With more focus on breeding strategies, farmer Paul Westaway will open the conference, discussing the up and coming techniques that we may see being applied for breeding beef cattle in the future.
 
Following on with this theme, Jonathan Statham from Bishopton Vets will look at what options are available to beef producers who wish to improve fertility.
 
Farmer James Evans will then demonstrate has he has been able to implement technology on his farm for this purpose.
 
We will then hear an update for farmer Tim Farrow who has been involved in trialling Fever Tag, an innovation tag that monitors body temperature. A number of farms around the UK have been trialling this in finishing systems and for youngstock to detect subclinical disease.
 
We will hear about how electronic identification can be used to improve herd health with Meilir Jones, one of this year’s Farmers Weekly beef farmer of the year finalist.
 
Looking at improving feed efficiency on farm, Adam Quinney will take us through what data he is collecting on animal performance and how this is fed back and used by breeders to improve feed conversion, growth rates and confirmation.
 
Finally, Mary Vickers from EBLEX, will bring us up to date on a new research project funded by Defra to identify EBVs for feed efficiency traits.
 
To book please visit www.innovationforagriculture.org.uk or contact Charlotte Johnston on 07779572598 or email charlottej@innovationforagriculture.org.uk. There are also opportunities for trade stands.