Industry Leaders from across the country are due to gather in Somerset on 23rd April to discuss the latest developments affecting the livestock Industry. Organised by the Soil Association and sponsored by the Woodland Trust, this hugely popular one-day annual event offers practical solutions for all farmers to improve on farm efficiency.
 
The event will showcase the best practice in organic production and give producers an opportunity to keep up to date with the latest in organic and low input production techniques. Whilst organic grazing livestock make up around 3% of the national population in the UK, the market demand for organic food has grown by around 4% [1] suggesting production is lagging behind demand.
 
Liz Bowles, head of farming said: “With the UK organic market looking stronger than for some time and the support for organic farming under the new round of CAP payments we are seeing growing market opportunities. However, the perennial problem facing the livestock sector remains: maintaining margins in a competitive global marketplace where small changes to supply and demand can have massive impacts on farm gate prices. There is a constant need to focus on efficiency of production, improving quality and ensuring that animal welfare practices are in line with consumer expectations.”
 
The event will include discussion on ground nutrition, a talk from Nuffield Scholar Wil Armitage on sustainable milk production, a briefing on the current field lab investigating improving the targeting of mastitis treatment which could dramatically reduce the use of antibiotics and an update on the Countryside Stewardship Payments.
 
In the afternoon industry experts will hold an update on the Organic Market Report followed by a detailed panel discussion to help identify what barriers to growth there are in organic livestock product supply chains. Advice will be suggested on ways to explore the best practice required to grow the sector and there will be spokespeople from OLMC, Meadow Quality, the Well-Hung Meat Company and OMSCO who will give their perspective from the organic dairy industry.
 
To finish the day, a farm walk will be kindly held at Coombe Farm, an organic dairy farm, in the afternoon.
The event is registered for BASIS points. Tickets are available through the Soil Association website. The event takes place on Thursday 23rd April, at Jubilee Hall, Chard, Somerset, TA20 4HU. Tickets are available through the Soil Association website: http://www.soilassociation.org/livestockevent