#WeAreDairy | Meet the Judges

Matt Sheehan, Principal Consultant, Promar International

Industry Experience

30 years in the dairy sector in farm consultancy, operations management and supply chain sustainability, with Promar, Dairy Farmers of Britain, Dairy Crest and NSF international.

Accreditations

BSc Biology; Diploma in Farm Management; MSc in Agricultural Economics

Notable Work on Improving Sustainability / Welfare

Have spent most of the last decade developing, managing and implementing sustainability, welfare and efficiency improvements programmes with the dairy farm (and other sectors) supply groups of Tesco, M&S and Sainsbury’s. My involvement spans from countless individual farms to the development of sustainability consulting models with Promar and NSF and many other projects, including for Defra, AHDB, milk processors, farming groups and lobby organizations 

Thoughts on the Great Things Dairy Farmers are Doing

Although dairy farm models and production systems vary notably around the world, they have all typically seen substantial gains in productivity and health and welfare standards over recent decades, with many outstanding individual examples of leading and best practice and disruptive innovations being adopted. Nonetheless, there is a need for further improvement in the immediate future as the sector seeks to respond quickly to the twin requirements of producing more food but in significantly more sustainable ways whilst accommodating and responding to the much louder voices of consumers and changing demands of policy-makers in regard to welfare and the environment. These pressures will combine to act as a catalyst for further dramatic change in the sector and will provide opportunities for imaginative, innovative, skilled and driven dairy managers to thrive and succeed.