Organisers of an event which demonstrated the wide variety of careers on offer within the dairy industry say they are delighted at the response to the pioneering event.
More than 300 children from secondary schools across Cumbria as well as Dumfries and Galloway converged on Carlisle Auction Mart for the one-day event.
‘Dairy is much more than just milk’ was the message of the event organised by Digital Dairy Chain and SmartSTEMs to help address the skills shortage within the dairy industry.
Exhibitors included national milk processors and local employers such as Lactalis, Lely and Kendamil, as well as Paragon Vets, Livestock Auctioneers Association, King’s Foundation and training providers such as SRUC and LANTRA Scotland. Students were able to try everything from milk-based experiment to learn about the composition of milk to attempting to artificially inseminate a model cow.
“It was wonderful to welcome so many students from Cumbria and Dumfriesshire to the Think Dairy Expo,” Karen Adams from organiser SmartSTEMs said.
“Exploring the myriad of career paths available, pupils gained insights from industry experts and discovered the skills and passion needed to thrive in this dynamic field.
“Whether they were drawn to the art of cheesemaking or the science of animal husbandry, the event demonstrated to them a range of careers that they may not have previously considered and all left thinking about dairy.”
To encourage the 13 to 17-year-olds to get curious about what a career in dairy involves, exhibitors were encouraged to reward good questions with ‘cow money’ – fake notes of various values that the pupils could either keep or pool together to make a cow buying syndicate during the final event of the day, a mock cattle auction with live cows!
“A big part of the legacy of this programme will be seeing more young people studying agriculture and taking up training and apprenticeships in dairy,” Viki Nocker, marketing and communications manager for Digital Dairy Chain, said.
“This event allows us to showcase the vast dairy industry from vets, to feed suppliers, to cleaning solution providers and academic and training institutions to young people – proving that there is more to dairy than just milk.”
