After being crowned the winner of this year’s NMR RABDF Gold Cup at Dairy-Tech earlier this month, Bisterne Farms will host the open day at their farm, on Wednesday 22 May 2024.

In a break from tradition, this year’s winners will be showcasing how their, low-input, grass-based, cross-bred herd took the win, highlighting how their focus and performance resulted in them being victorious.

Industry experts who have contributed to the farm’s success will speak at the event in a series of talk stations situated around the farm.

They will explain how George and his ambitious team have focused their attention to detail to enable the herd to produce 3,730 litres of milk from forage, as well as highlighting the finer details when it comes to daily practice, looking at how these decisions have ultimately resulted in the business becoming a ‘premier’ herd.

“The whole team are looking forward to hosting the Open Day in May and are praying for a sunny day”, says contract farming partner George Brown.

“We are delighted to be supported by The Andersons Centre, LIC and our vets, Synergy Farm Health, who have all been instrumental in helping us get to where we are today.

“We hope the people attending are able to get a better understanding when it comes to our business structure and an insight into some of the main principles that drive our dairy business.”

Making up the three talk stations The Andersons Centre, LIC and Synergy Farm Health will repeat their sessions to visitors throughout the day giving everyone a chance to listen.

The Andersons Centre will explain how the mechanics of the farm’s Contract Farming Agreement work and the benefits that have come with it. They will also look at the business’ financial performance and its utilisation of benchmarking.

With New Zealand genetics and grazing systems having been integral to the success of the joint venture at Bisterne Farms, specialists LIC, will discuss the grazing system in place and look into the finer details of the farm’s breeding, including the benefits of block calving and the importance of using the right genetics for the system.

Synergy Farm Vets are responsible for many of the decisions made when it comes to animal health. Visitors can expect to hear them talk about youngstock – feed rates, colostrum and disease progress, alongside some general stats and figures surrounding the cows.

The event is free to attend but pre-registration is essential and can be done at - https://www.rabdf.co.uk/gold-cup-open-day Further information can be found online or from romanymarshall@rabdf.co.uk