CRPR PhD Researcher speaks at Women in Dairy Conference

Beth Dooley, a third year PhD research in the CRPR, was recently invited to speak at the Women in Dairy Conference at Sixways Stadium in Worcester. Over 100 delegates gathered to hear talks on topics ranging from calf health to the future of dairy to the power of social media.

Beth addressed strategic business planning for the future and how succession planning is just one element of that in terms of where the farm is going and how it’s going to achieve that vision.

Speaking after the conference, she said, “It is essential to start planning for succession earlier rather than later. Part of building a vision for where you want the farm to go into the future is determining what it’s going to take to get there. How are the roles and responsibilities going to be distributed amongst those working in the business with clearly expressed expectations rather than just assumptions? And significantly, how are these going to change through gradual training and handover of management activities to the successor? You want to equip the future leader of the company (if that’s the goal of the farm business – to continue beyond the tenure of the current owner/operator), not drop something in her/his lap without having developed the skills and capacity to be successful.”

Women in Dairy is an initiative designed to bring women working in the dairy industry together through regional discussion group meetings to learn, network and promote the image of dairy farming. For more information about upcoming events, please visit www.womenindairy.co.uk.