Learning Outcomes:
On completion of this course the student should be able to:
• Outline the key facts about dairy systems and be able to describe a number of production systems
• Explain systems of milk production in terms of the applications of key principles, concepts and ideas from the relevant disciplines: be able to deconstruct each system of production into its component parts, and be able to evaluate the significance of the components and their interrelationships to current systems of production
• Describe the background to the grass-based milk production systems operated in Ireland
• Understand the effects that policy has had on milk production systems and therefore be able to hypothesize how the system will change in the future
• Understand how models have been used in Ireland and internationally to answer key questions within the dairy industry
• Offer well-founded advice on sustainable dairy systems, incorporating knowledge of current and future policy constraints
• Analyse systems of production both from the biological/technical and financial perspectives, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and make recommendations for remedial action as appropriate
• Design a plan for a dairy enterprise from the financial to the physical layout of the farm, and understand the reasons for each of the components
• Outline the sources of reliable information relevant to each enterprise.