DR DICK Esslemont has received one of the dairy industries highest accolades at a presentation in Buckingham Palace.

The Princess Royal Award, from the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF), is awarded each year to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the sector throughout their lifetime.

Dr Esslemont developed the UK’s first computerised dairy herd health scheme, which has been the forerunner of technology in use on all progressive farms today.

‘DAISY’ (The Dairy Information System) was created to run on a variety of mini-computers, and allowed farmers to have a same-day turnaround on their data.

Mike King, RABDF chairman, said: “The dairy sector has benefited not only from the way DAISY exposed strengths and weaknesses in management systems, but also from Dr Esslemont’s ability to communicate solutions to a generation of farmers who were then inspired and able to embrace the digital revolution.”

When they first started, Dr Esslemont and his team had no idea of the role DAISY would play in pioneering future farm software.

He said: “When DAISY was launched, I knew we’d have to sell 80 systems to break even. But when we ended up selling 3,000-4,000, and started to see competition develop between herds and practices, all trying to be the best in fertility and health league tables, I realised we’d developed a much-needed product.”