Dumfries and Galloway: Potstown two-year review – small changes for big results

Join us at Potstown, near Lockerbie, to find out more about the changes Gareth Owen and his team have put in place over the past two years as they continue to drive the business forward.

Looking back to the goals Gareth had identified when he first joined the strategic dairy farm programme in 2021, we’ll be discussing the changes he has made following previous meetings and how these have helped to improve the business.

As part of a farm-walk we will focus on three key areas:

Genetics and genomics

Colin Penny, Zoetis, will be taking us through Gareth’s Herd Genetic Report and the reasons for genomically testing the calves at Potstown. We’ll look at how Gareth is using this information to make informed breeding decisions.

Fertility

Potstown’s vet, Callum Cameron, Ark Vets, will be joined by Tommy Woodman, TW Cattle Services, to explore how fertility and submission rate has been improved on the farm. We’ll be looking at how recent metabolic profiling has informed the diet and management of the herd, changes made to the dry cow ration, and improvements made to heat detection.

Calf housing

Jamie Robertson first visited the farm in 2021 and recommended some simple improvements to the calf housing. He will be looking at the changes Gareth has made and how this is helping calf health and reducing stress.

Please note children under the age of 16 and dogs are not allowed at the event, even if they are staying in the car. Click here to find out more about AHDBs health and safety guidelines for events.