Ballymoney farmer George Rea wins Dale Farm Dairy Herd Efficiency Award

L-R Sarah Bolt, Kingshay; Andrew Woodside, Dale Farm; Runner Up James Wilson; Dale Farm Vice Chair David Rea; Kathyrn McKeown, United Feeds. Credit Dale Farm

Dairy farmers George Rea and sons from Finvoy have been named the overall winners of the Dale Farm Dairy Herd Efficiency award.

The awards, which are sponsored by independent dairy consultants Kingshay, honour farmers that run productive herds by improving milk value and making good use of purchased feed, which maximises milk yield from forage.

Coming out as overall winners at the RUAS Winter Fair were the Rea family who manage a 110 cow Holstein/ Friesian herd with the bulk of the cows and heifers calving in the September to December period. The herd is averaging 9,879 litres of milk sold on a feed input of 3,540kg of concentrate per cow giving a feed rate of 0.36kg/litre which results in 3,080 litres being produced from forage.

The runner-up was James Wilson from Broughshane. James and family manage a herd of 170 Holstein/ Friesian cows which calve across the autumn/winter period. Herd performance has been relatively consistent over the years that James has been tracking performance. Herd yield is 9,819 litres of milk sold on a feed level of 3,514kg/cow which gives a feed rate of 0.36 kg/litre resulting in 2,611 litres being produced from forage.

Front - Sarah Bolt, Kingshay; Winners Jonathan Rea, Hannah McNeill, Adam Rea; Karthryn McKinney, United Feeds. Back - Dale Farm Chair Fred Allen. Credit Dale Farm

Fred Allen, Dale Farm Chairman, said: “These awards recognise those farmers who produce high quality milk in the most efficient, sustainable way, helping us create the very best consumer dairy products. Both farms are demonstrating that they are operating sustainable dairy systems and we wish both continued success in the future.

“I'd like to congratulate overall winners, the Rea family, and James Wilson, the runner-up, on behalf of Dale Farm. Across our cooperative we have some of the most forward-thinking dairy farmers, and the Reas and Wilsons in particular have demonstrated a commitment both to maximising productivity and sustainability across their farm operations."

Sarah Bolt, Kingshay said: “Efficient dairy herds make for more efficient, sustainable and profitable farm businesses, and we are delighted to once again support these awards. I would like to congratulate the worthy winner and runner up. Both farms represent the very best of dairy farming excellence and we wish them every success in the future.”