A business training programme for aspiring dairy producers has been organised by the RABDF in collaboration with The Andersons Centre, AHDB Dairy and the NFU.
Now in its sixth year, ‘Entrepreneurs in Dairying’ has seen over 200 applicants successfully complete the course, all from varying backgrounds within or related to the industry.
The course has been integral to several of the students, providing them with the contacts and connections to go on and establish their own businesses, whether it be share partnerships, joint ventures, tenancies or development of their existing businesses.
The 2019 course is returning again, starting in September, with revamped course content. It will run at colleges around the country including Bridgwater & Taunton, Somerset; SRUC, Scotland; Gelli Aur, South Wales; Myerscough, Lancashire and Llysfasi, North Wales.
The revised course content means that participants will attend six training sessions at the college including two full days on finance, plus a final two-day session at Stoneleigh including a farm visit.
The programme:
- Understanding the Milk Market, delivered by AHDB and hosted at a local processor
- People Management
- Tax and Trading Structures
- Finance (two full days), with Tony Evans from Andersons
- Business plan and funding your new business
- Succession Planning & Future Opportunities, with Sian Bushell Associates and Tony Evans from Andersons
- Final session (two full days) including a farm visit and day session at NFU, Stoneleigh Park Warwickshire.
Case study:
Abi Reader is a dairy farmer near Cardiff. She’s a former member of the NFU’s national dairy board and is currently vice chair of NFU Cymru’s milk board.
Enrol on any course you can and never stop looking for the next opportunity to learn says dairy farmer Abi Reader.
Farming 200 cows on a conventional winter housed, summer grazed system in Wales, Abi is an active figure in promoting the dairy industry and would admit that loving the job has been testament to her success.
“Whilst we have many challenges as an industry, I find my biggest limiting factor is my own capability which is the reason I applied for the Entrepreneurs in Dairying course. I don’t think any of us should ever stop learning – there are so many elements to balance – for example, consumerism, climate change, globalism – and applying these at farm level is very complicated.
“For me it’s all about putting ideas into practise, I got lots of handy tips and hints for examining financial performance, which was particularly helpful when my farm applied for a grant not long after I’d finished the course. I realised grants are excellent but not worth getting into debt for – you need the facts and figures to back it all up.”
With our future reliant on the next generation of dairy farmers we, as an industry, find ourselves looking at how these individuals are impacting the sector. One thing for certain is their abundance of enthusiasm and its subsequent positivity on dairy farming.
Abi is a firm believer in projecting positivity even if you don’t feel it. “Whether it’s staff, businesses you trade with, other farmers or consumers it’s important we’re always positive and realise none of us can farm in isolation – we all rely on others so building strong relationships should not be underestimated.
“The entrepreneurs course was a good chance to stop and focus on business issues rather than mainly stockmanship and herd performance. Focusing on input costs, assessing investments and managing gross margins can often get forgotten in day to day tasks so this, like other courses, providing a great opportunity to shift my focus.”
With five colleges set to host this year’s courses it seems the industry has a bright future, as a key ambassador of dairy we asked where Abi saw the dairy industry in ten years’ time: “I see us more united, more reliant and using each other’s strengths to bring in extra skill sets as we need them. Whilst the future will undoubtedly hold hurdles it is also exciting, and for all the challenges ahead we must remember there will be the same amount of opportunities for us to grasp.”
Further information for those interested in applying for the programme can be found here: