AgriSearch hosted the first UK Dairy Carbon Network (UK-DCN) farm walk to be held in Northern Ireland earlier this week.
The event took place on the farm of the Williamson family, who milk 90 Holstein cows close to the Co. Down village of Scarva.
It placed a focus on the herd breeding and grassland management policies practised within the business.
The farm walk took place at the end of the wettest winter in living memory, with spring weather and ground conditions continuing to give great cause for concern.
Ivan, Elaine, and Lewis Williamson place a strong emphasis on making the most of grazing and home-grown forage.
The farm provides a practical example of how breeding decisions and grassland management can be aligned to support performance within a dairy system.
UK-DCN
UK-DCN is focused on six priority areas with strong potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while improving on-farm efficiency and productivity.
By trialling proven approaches on real commercial farms, the project aims to demonstrate that meaningful emissions reductions can be achieved alongside better performance and greater resilience.
Participating farms receive tailored support, including individual implementation plans designed around their production system, local climate and geography.
The programme also promotes shared learning through farm walks, open days and peer-to-peer activities, enabling farmers to learn directly from each other’s experiences and build confidence in practical, evidence-based solutions.
A key objective of the UK-DCN is to share results widely across the industry, accelerating the uptake of practices that deliver environmental benefits and strengthen the long-term sustainability of UK dairy farming.
AgriSearch
Within the project, AgriSearch leads the Northern Ireland Farm Network and works alongside AHDB, which manages three additional networks in Great Britain, as well as contributing to communication and knowledge exchange across the programme.
The three-year initiative (2024–2027) brings together partners from leading research, advisory and industry organisations across the UK, including universities, research institutes, and agricultural development bodies.
UK-DCN is lead by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) and brings together a consortium of leading research and industry organisations, including: Aberystwyth University, AHDB, Harper Adams University, Newcastle University, Queen’s University Belfast, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), and the University of Reading.
According to the UK-DCN, these research organisations bring internationally recognised expertise in greenhouse gas (GHG) measurement and mitigation, as well as in improving nitrogen use efficiency and phosphorus utilisation in UK dairy systems.
They also have proven experience in delivering large-scale, on-farm research across diverse farming systems and geographies.