The Scottish Dairy Hub is celebrating six years of supporting Scottish dairy farmers and the nation’s dairy sector.
The organisation has come a long way since it was established on June 1, 2014 as an initiative that stemmed from the Scottish Dairy Review Ambition 2025 report, commissioned by the Scottish Government and chaired by James Withers.
The Hub has gone on to handle thousands of enquiries from the dairy sector and continues to offer a free one-stop, confidential, information service to all dairy farmers and service providers. By identifying the best sources of advice to improve dairy farm competitiveness, technical efficiency and sustainability, it acts as a signposting service connecting the dairy sector throughout Scotland.
When established in 2014, the Hub was joint funded by AHDB and the Scottish Government. In February 2019, NFU Scotland replaced AHDB as a funder.
Farmers can place their question to the Scottish Dairy Hub via the website: www.scottishdairyhub.org.uk or by email [email protected] . In addition, it can be contacted by phone on Tel: 03454 755110 or Mob: 07500 766083. Scottish Dairy Hub is also on twitter: @scotdairyhub and Facebook: www.facebook.com/scottishdairyhub . Recognising the working schedule of dairy farmers, it is more than happy to be contacted at any time, seven days a week.
Scottish Dairy Hub manager Stuart Martin said: “The model of the Hub is very simple. If you have a question simply get in touch and we will sign post you to the answer.
“For dairy farmers working at grassroots, not only does this free up time, as the Hub will do the research work for you, but it will connect you directly to the various public and private sector companies that could add value to your farm and business.
“For all the service providers feeding into our fantastic dairy industry, we can remove the marketing scatter gun approach and pinpoint you to farm businesses that seek their specific services.”
The Hub handles queries from dairy farms of all sizes, and its reach is nationwide. It has helped dairy farmers at all stages of their business lifespan, from students and new entrants to established farms.
The Hub website has proven to be very popular. Its events and webinars pages are updated on a regular basis and offers dairy farmers an easily accessible snapshot of events, workshops and conferences – all currently online – that might be of interest. The notice board section is used to buy and sell products and look for staff. The Hub can update the website on an hourly basis and react very quickly to any request.
“We receive a number of enquiries on a daily basis and just recently we have dealt with the topics of sand bedding, artificial insemination, training courses for staff, installation of cattle tracks, on farm processing, calf house design and heifer rearing amongst many others,” explained Stuart. “In addition to the “one to one” helpline service, the Hub is happy to work in a proactive manner to look at projects on a longer-term basis, both for dairy farmers and relevant service providers.
“I would encourage any group of farmers that want to work on a specific project, perhaps group purchasing or a discussion group, to get in touch and we can facilitate the process. It is important to stress that the Hub always offers a confidential service and acts with integrity.”
Paul Grant, chairman of the Dairy Hub Steering Committee added: “The Dairy Hub is an excellent initiative. In its six years, it has become an important stakeholder in the dairy sector in Scotland and I look forward for this to continue.
“One of the key features of the Hub is that it is a free service and the information and contacts it has built up over the years are highly impressive and therefore I would encourage all dairy farmers to use it.”
