Glanbia Ireland and Teagasc have launched the next generation of a joint programme that aims to provide family farms with the skills and technologies to operate efficient and sustainable dairy farming systems.
The Open Source Future Farm Programme will harness advancements in technology and farm practices to support farmers to make the necessary changes for a profitable and sustainable future.
“Knowledge transfer networks provide key learning opportunities for farmers and we hope this programme will help family farms adopt efficiencies to grow their businesses sustainably and profitably into the future,” Glanbia Ireland’s CEO Jim Bergin said.
“A key objective of this programme is to help farmers implement changes to ensure that their environmental footprint is in line with the aims of the national Climate Action Plan,” he added.
Sustainable & Safe
The respective chairmen of Glanbia, Martin Keane, and Teagasc, Liam Herlihy, were present at the launch to thank the 11 farmer families who agreed to participate in the programme.
The 11 farms, which range in size from 120 to 320 cows, will be part of the EU-funded Smart Agri Hubs dairy project, with meters installed to monitor and improve water and energy usage.
The programme will focus on introducing digital technologies and practices not only to increase sustainable practices in terms of climate, but also in the area of labour efficiency.
“Farming systems have to evolve to tackle multiple challenges, and this is especially true now in relation to the multi-faceted sustainability challenge, including the need to improve water quality, reduce agricultural emissions and maintain biodiversity,” Professor Gerry Boyle, Teagasc Director, said.
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
