Dumfries based David Keiley has been appointed Senior Dairy Specialist with SAC Consulting, part of Scotland’s Rural College. David will lead in the delivery of services to dairy farmers, backed up by colleagues and expertise available throughout the research and Education Divisions of SRUC.
Living and working in the South West of Scotland, where the majority of Scotland’s dairy sector is concentrated David Keiley understands the industry and its needs. Since joining the College fifteen years ago he has worked closely with farmers and other agencies on a range of initiatives including the DairyCo Monitor Farm, the Dairy Cow Welfare Campaign and facilitating the Organic Dairy Focus Farm project. Following the devastating Foot and Mouth outbreak of 2001 David was deeply involved in preparing and delivering the recovery programme to local businesses.
“Those were tough times but also an opportunity to refocus businesses and chart a future,” he says. “Since then Scottish dairy farmers have adopted new technology and management approaches. It is a professional industry and one to which I believe SAC Consulting can offer a lot. As Senior Dairy Consultant I may be the first point of contact but I have access to a range of respected experts within SRUC, including the team at the Crichton Dairy Research and Innovation Centre in Dumfries.”
David has already started work in his new job, meeting farmers, collaborating with corporate clients, UK governments or levy boards and writing technical articles. While his main patch is Scotland and the North of England, where SAC Consulting has its offices, David will travel to where he is needed.
