Dairy Pro – the dairy farming industry’s one-stop-shop for registering training and development – has reached agreement with support partner BASIS to take its operations in-house.
The partnership, which launched Dairy Pro four years ago and has now registered over 1,200 members, has been working over the past six months on transferring over management of the website and supporting database.
Dairy Pro Chairman David Cotton explains that as the scheme has grown and the supply chain has increasing looked to Dairy Pro for proof of supplier professionalism, new opportunities have been generated in both dairy and other sectors.
He says: “The recent adoption of a recommendation within Red Tractor Assurance that at least one person on an assured farm is a member of a professional development scheme, is one such example. These opportunities meant Dairy Pro was no longer such a good fit with core BASIS activity, which remains more focused on legislative spray and pesticide-handling compliance.”
David adds that Dairy Pro is increasingly being embedded in industry development initiatives such as Arla’s Sustainable Dairy Farming programme, as well as training programmes by the Co-operative, Sainsbury’s, and Nestlé. “That’s why this is the right move at the right time, and we are very appreciative of BASIS’s support in both getting the scheme established and facilitating the transition.”
Stephen Jacob from BASIS says the four-year collaboration has worked well, and Dairy Pro has plenty of potential for the future. “We’ve seen how much more focused the dairy sector has become about professionalism – it’s happening throughout the food chain as customers demand higher standards and improved sustainability. With its rapid growth, now is a good time for Dairy Pro to start developing its own systems. We wish it every success.”
Some of the changes members will see from Tuesday 5 April include a website refresh with an updated look and improved navigation, a more easily-searched training events calendar, the ability for members who belong to a training group to view the details of their own closed events, and a simpler enrolment process.
Future changes include the introduction of an electronic payment system, more regular feedback to farmers about points accrued and suitable training opportunities, and promotion of the events of the day and newly-posted courses on social media.
The new contact number will be 02476 478681, and email address dairyproenquiries@ahdb.org.uk, although the old contact details will continue to work for a number of months.
