Farmer study tour: Explore the Danish approach to profit through prevention

As part of our healthy herds campaign, our 2026 study tour saw 16 farmers visit Denmark to learn about their approaches to biosecurity.

Denmark is widely recognised for its leadership in animal health and disease management.

Successful applicants visited farms, innovation centres and heard from policymakers about how Denmark’s disease strategies could be applied on UK dairy farms.

The visit highlighted the importance of preventing disease before it reaches the farm and reducing opportunities for it to spread within the herd.

Edward Rowland said:

“My biggest take-home from the trip was looking more closely at all the different ways disease can get onto a farm and how it spreads around the farm. It’s quite simple to reduce the risks.”

 Hopkin Evans said:

“What stands out most was the way all the farmers, vets and others involved in agriculture are willing to work towards the bigger picture. That’s something that’s really needed in UK agriculture.”

Learn what participants took away from their visit and how these strategies could be applied on your own farm.

The trip gave Anne Bradley-Seddon fresh ideas on protecting calf health. She talks about simple changes that can make a real difference to your biosecurity both inside and outside the farm.

Read about her approach in your autumn 2026 copy of All Things Dairy magazine, or order online here.

Dairy farmers Sophie Gregory and Alistair Cliff, as well as vet Josh Swain, joined us online to talk about how their visit has shaped the decisions they’re making on farm.

Alistair talks through his experiences with multi-site biosecurity, Sophie discusses what changed her approach to vaccination and Josh reminds us of the disease wins we’ve had in the UK, and how we should keep looking for small improvements.

Study tour members shared what they learnt across various discussion groups.

More information will be available soon.

If you have any questions about the Denmark study tour, contact Sophie Brewster at sophie.brewster@ahdb.org.uk