This year's Dairy Show brought together knowledge, innovation, and a shared determination to tackle key industry challenges and help build healthy, resilient dairy businesses. The show, which attracted more than 300 trade stands and over 6,000 visitors, covered a broad range of essential and innovative equipment, across every stage of production, from newborn calves to peak-production cows.

Herd health

The foundation of a healthy business is a healthy herd and many producers, even on top performing farms, could make marginal gains through further improvements.

The Synergy Vet team were on hand to help producers identify what health and management challenges may be curbing their herd's full potential. And they were focusing on staff development and training as a key element of this. "There is huge demand for training, from family farms looking to upskill to big commercial units," explained vet Pete O'Malley.

Synergy has developed a wide range of in-person and online training, covering topics like calf rearing, DIY artificial insemination, calving, and safe use of veterinary medicines. And the vet technician team, who deliver a lot of the training, are also kept busy as farmers outsource key tasks, he added. "Farmers are struggling to recruit – they're faced with recruiting and training people or running with a minimal team and getting vet techs to do jobs like foot trimming, weighing and calf disbudding."

Also offering health insights was Ceva Animal Health, which was raising awareness about Q fever and the realities of infection on UK dairy farms. Studies have shown that about 30% of the national herd could be suffering active disease, and in bulk milk tank tests of symptomatic herds, 47% are testing positive, said the firm's Gill Ainge.

Signs of infection include abortions, stillbirths, weak newborns, and fertility issues – and as a zoonotic disease it also presents a risk to humans. Being an airborne bacterial disease, it spreads easily, so producers should investigate any symptoms, request a bulk milk tank test, and vaccinate if appropriate. 

Youngstock

When it comes to youngstock management, new technology can help to free up labour to focus on maximising health, welfare and productivity, said Paul Wisden at M&A Calf Systems. When choosing what systems to use, it's important to consider the building layout, management system and labour skillsets.

The Forster Technik Vario Smart Feeder automates calf feeding, and now has internet connectivity linked to a phone app. "The biggest advantage is that you can be away from the farm and receive warnings upon which you can act," he said. Given that feed efficiencies are greatest when calves are young, it makes sound financial sense to maximise milk powder intakes – and to calibrate feeders correctly to ensure this, he added.

For those feeding waste milk, a mobile milk pasteuriser can be of huge benefit in reducing the risk of disease transfer, like Johne's, for example. "A lot of people are using mobile pasteurisers for beef calves," said Mr Wisden.

Feeding

Keeping feed in front of your cows is a key part of maximising efficiencies and production, and Boumatic's Butler Gold robotic feed pusher is gaining traction in the UK following its launch earlier this year. The electric robot, guided by magnets set in the floor, has an unusual augur system which fluffs up the forage when moving it, making for a more attractive and palatable ration, said the firm's Gareth Jones. It will run for up to 12 hours in 24, and push up 400m of feed face before recharging.

The Shuttle Eco automatic feeding system further reduces labour requirements. With an 850kg capacity, it feeds and pushes up regularly, ensuring a 'little and often approach' to feeding.

Housing and infrastructure

Cow housing and design is a critical part of both health and productivity, and sometimes simple upgrades are the most economical option.

Of particular interest right now is ammonia-reduction flooring, although producers are mostly choosing it for its impact on foot health and lameness, said Roger Craig, managing director at Shield Agriculture. "It's all about separating the liquid from the solids," he explained. The more quickly urine can be drained away, the better. "It's drier and more comfortable for cows, and releases 44% less ammonia."

The Kraiburg ProfiKura 3D rubber matting can be retrofitted into housing, and has a 3% slope to drain urine away, on alley widths of up 4m. It works with automatic scrapers, and the drier environment means there's no wave of slurry for cows to navigate. The corundum surface ensures decent grip for the cows, reducing the risk of slips and falls.

For wider alleys, the ProfiDrain incorporates the 3% slope within a ridged system, but otherwise operates in the same way, said Mr Craig. "Farmers are looking to improve foot health, milk buyers are looking for ammonia reduction – and grant eligibility is a help."

From the bottom of housing to the top: Lighting systems have been proven to directly impact milk production and fertility, with an 8-11% yield response to improved lighting, said Ola Baalack at Dairylight. "Lots of people use industrial, mass-produced lighting, but cows see differently to humans." Ideally, cows should have 200 lux during daytime hours, of white light with a blue spectrum, with eight hours of red lighting during the night.

Around 70% of Dairylight's installations are retrofits to existing buildings, with 30% going into new builds, he added. And even in grazed herds housed over the winter, the return on investment is worthwhile.

Milking systems

For those weighing up their options for parlour upgrades, the show had a comprehensive line-up of milking system suppliers. ADF Milking demonstrated its automatic dipping and flushing system designed to improve milking efficacy and maximise teat care, while Milk Tech NZ catered for the parlour upgrades and extensions.

Designed with Australian and Kiwi farmers in mind, who are often located some distance from a dealer, the systems are intended to be easy to repair by the farm team, said the firm's Maarten van der Drift. "They're simple on the outside and sophisticated on the inside."

Two new bits of technology, designed for simplicity in the parlour, are individual yield indicators and the Herd Display One. The individual yield indicators clearly show what each cow is producing, making it easy for staff to dry off cows immediately if they're giving less than five litres, for example. The HD1 is a screen which displays how many cows have been milked, and what average yields are on the day, the previous day, and over the week.

Finally, a lighter cluster has been designed with plastic shells rather than stainless steel, helping to reduce teat damage, said Mr van der Drift. The standard MC1 cluster with a steel claw weighs 2,100g against the plastic alternative at 1,700g, reducing strain on the udder.

Condition and mobility scoring

CattleEye has developed autonomous livestock monitoring technology, based on a low-cost security camera, to improve farm efficiencies. The system, mounted at the parlour exit, already monitors cow mobility and lameness, and has now been upgraded to include body condition scoring.

Using artificial intelligence, it produces daily body condition and mobility scores for cows, helping farmers to catch lameness and condition loss or gain at an earlier stage. "The farmer is in control; they have the ability to split the herd from their data and make trim lists, for example, meaning there are no unnecessary costs," said the firm's Roger Allen.

The system integrates with many leading herd management systems, minimising the need to repeatedly input data, added CEO Terry Canning. "Empowering farmers with such advanced technology is key to transforming dairy farming, making it more profitable, sustainable and efficient."