Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Twitter LinkedIn
    • FREE Email Newsletters
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Us
    Twitter LinkedIn
    Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    • News
      • Arable & Agronomy
      • Dealership News
      • Environmental Land Management Scheme/Policy
      • Event News
      • Health & Safety
      • Machinery
      • People
      • World News
    • Farm Machinery
      • Amenity & Maintenance
      • Cultivations
      • Drilling
      • Grassland Equipment
      • Harvesting
      • Muck & Slurry
      • Sprayers
      • Telehandlers
      • Tractors
      • Tractor of the Year
      • Tyres & Tracks
      • Whatever happened to?
    • Precision Farming
    • Markets & Policy
    • Profiles
      • National Arable and Grassland Awards
      • Company Profiles
      • Reader Profiles
    • Livestock
      • Beef
      • Dairy
      • Sheep
    • Magazines
      1. June 2025 issue
      2. Cereals event guide 2025
      3. May 2025 issue
      4. April 2025 issue
      5. March 2025 issue
      6. 2025 Tyre Developments supplement
      7. February 2025 issue
      8. National Arable and Grassland Awards supplement
      9. January 2025 issue
      10. December 2024 issue
      11. November 2024 issue
      12. October 2024 issue
      13. September 2024 issue
      14. August 2024 Issue
      15. 2024 Drills and Seeds supplement
      16. July 2024 Issue
      17. Cereals Supplement
      18. June 2024 Issue
      19. May 2024 Issue
      20. April 2024 Issue
      21. Tyres and Tracks Supplement
      22. March 2024 Issue
      23. National Arable & Grassland Award – Meet the Finalists
      24. February 2024 Issue
      25. January 2024 Issue
      26. December 2023
      27. Agritechnica Preview Supplement
      28. November 2023
      29. October 2023
      Featured

      Cereals event guide 2025 available now

      By Matthew TiltJune 20, 2025
      Recent

      Cereals event guide 2025 available now

      June 20, 2025

      June 2025 issue available now

      June 2, 2025

      May 2025 issue available now

      May 1, 2025
    • Events
    • Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Dairy

    Meeting focuses on breeding high quality cattle

    John SwireBy John SwireApril 16, 20192 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    William Baillie

    Improving the genetic potential of your herd will be the focus of the next meeting of Scotland’s Strategic Dairy Farm on 25 April.

    Karen Lowe, AHDB Knowledge Exchange Manager, said: “High quality cattle are at the heart of profitable dairy farming and good breeding decisions that suit your system are critical to herd improvement.

    “Good quality genetics is key to this because, no matter how good your management is, there will be a ceiling to your herd’s performance and profitability without it.”

    At the meeting, host farmer William Baillie will share his approach to making the best breeding choices and selections for his herd, which has allowed him to grow his pedigree Holstein herd from 50 to 310 with a top 15 per cent genetic merit ranking.

    William has recently had his young stock genomics tested and will share his thoughts on using that information to guide his future breeding decisions.

    He said: “It’ll be really interesting to compare the genomic results to the predictions we’ve always used in the past as these should be much more accurate, meaning we’ll be able to make better decisions about which animals we breed from.”

    As the farm is part of AHDB’s optimal dairy systems programme, at the event we will also review how Hillhead compares to our key performance indicators (KPIs) for AYR calving herds.

    AHDB Genetics specialists, Marco Winters and Fern Pearston, will also be at the meeting to share their expertise on making best use of the tools and breeding indexes available from AHDB, such as the herd genetic reports.

    Colin Penny from Zoetis will describe the practical process involved in heifer genomic testing and how farmers can use the results to help plan heifer inventory and breeding decisions.

    AHDB’s strategic dairy farms help farmers learn from each other through regular on-farm meetings, where key performance data and what the top performing farmers are doing is shared.

    They form part of the Optimal Dairy Systems programme, which aims to help dairy farmers lower costs and increase efficiency by focusing on either a block or all year round calving system.

    The event will begin at the Tinto Hotel, 44 Biggar Road, Symington, Lanarkshire, ML12 6FT, moving to the farm after lunch.

    Anyone wanting to attend should book by contacting the AHDB KE Events Hub on 01904 771216 or ke.events@ahdb.org.uk. For more information please contact Karen Lowe on 07759 586 321.

     

    Tweet
    Share
    Share
    Pin
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Previous ArticleLemken introduces dural and duramaxx wear parts range
    Next Article RVC academic’s bovine TB test wins royal recognition
    John Swire

    Read Similar Stories

    Cereals event guide 2025 available now

    June 20, 2025

    Hi-Spec to introduce new diet feeder at Royal Highland

    June 16, 2025

    Farmers to get fairer deals for combinable crops

    June 5, 2025
    Most Read Stories

    Kramp launches own-brand PTOs

    July 1, 2025

    Turney Group to take on Merlo brand with new dedicated depot

    July 1, 2025

    Ernest Doe sells Ashford depot to Haynes Bros

    July 1, 2025
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer

    The UK's leading agricultural machinery journal

    Twitter LinkedIn
    © 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

    Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions

    • Farmers Weekly
    • AA Farmer
    • Poultry News
    • Pig World

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.