Neil Baker wants government to set dairy targets

Well here it goes, my last article for Dairy Update. I always look forward to a new contributor in the Farmer Focus pages, with new things to say and ideas to copy.

As I write, a number of things are happening, starting with my birthday. Where did the year go? Oh yes, I was buying expensive feed while being constantly rained on.

I’m also off to the USA, mainly to attend the Large Herds Management Conference in Reno Nevada, but with a few herd visits mixed in.

As you may have picked up if you’ve read my articles before, I do like a target and I am very motivated by setting and achieving them, which in turn hopefully motivates my guys to do a great job at cow level.

So who is going to set the targets for UK #teamdairy? Someone needs to. I feel our leaders need to set out where we are headed. I would like to be part of an industry that produces 15bn litres a year with half the lameness, while at the same time reducing the dairy sales deficit by convincing our already loyal British consumers that dairy is a great thing to buy for their families. So what about a timescale for this? How about 2020?

So, when I return home in a couple of weeks with a head full of jetlag, UK agri-politics and the very latest US dairy research, I need to plan my family’s future in farming and how we fit into the world dairy marketplace. Undoubtedly we are needed, and by “we” I mean all of us around the world that hang cups on cows every day.

Neil Baker manages his family’s dairy farm and cheesemaking business at Haselbury Plucknett, Somerset. His 1,050-cow herd yields 10,200 litres a cow a year, with one-third of milk made into vintage cheddar on farm.