Beef and sheep producers have the opportunity to learn about new research-led management practices and product developments for increasing herd and flock efficiency from global leaders at the 2024 Wise Agriculture Open Day on May 24 at Darlington Auction Mart, Darlington, County Durham.
The open day will begin at 9 am and be split between technical sessions and equipment demos, with a focus on sheep in the morning and beef in the afternoon. Registration is free and attendees can register for a half or full day with lunch provided.
The morning sheep session will focus on ways farmers can reduce feed intakes while boosting growth rates with Gerard Roney of Advantage Feeders (formerly known as 3IN1Feeders) from Victoria, Australia and Debby Brown of Dugdale Nutrition, Lancashire.
Jacob Fyfe of Hastings, New Zealand, will lead participants through the latest innovations of mobile sheep handling systems from Landquip NZ.
Morning participants will also hear from sheep and arable farmer Rebecca Wilson from North Yorkshire. An industry thought leader on social media and the host of the podcast Boots and Heels, Rebecca will be discussing transitions to the next generation in both farming businesses and consumer outreach.
The afternoon session will open at 1 pm with a session led by Arrowquip’s lead development manager and cattle handling expert, Steve Langrell of Manitoba, Canada. Steve will discuss the benefits of low-stress cattle handling and the process of building cattle handling equipment based on animal behaviour.
This will be followed by a business case study from Cheshire beef farmer, Ian Norbury of Mobberly Angus. A 2021 Farmers Weekly Beef Farmer of the Year finalist, Ian will be presenting on data collection and management tools used to improve his farm’s suckler and store cattle efficiency.
Afternoon attendees will also learn about which weighing technologies are best for their flocks and herds with Alison Fergus of Tru-Test. They will also gain insight into making the most of FETF grant schemes and have a Q&A round with Joanne Metcalfe of YoungsRPS.
A full schedule and registration can be obtained at wiseag.co.uk/open-day-2024-registration