Farmers Guardian Dairy Supplement 6th September 2024

Including UK Dairy Day preview Dairy

High-concentrate diets and acidic clamp silage are some of the main causes of sub-acute ruminal acidosis in dairy cows. Katie Fallon finds out more.

Managing sub-acute ruminal acidosis condition in dairy cows

Arelatively common nutritional condition seen among UK dairy herds, sub-acute ruminal acidosis (SARA) is a result of the rumen pH dropping below six for a prolonged period of time. Resulting in the burning of rumen papillae, cattle with SARA are unable to absorb volatile fatty acids and therefore unable to absorb energy efficiently.

Generally caused by the overfeeding of concentrates, a lack of fibre in the diet, wet and acidic silages or turnout onto lush grass, SARA is a reasonably common condition, but is not always identified easily.

Veterinary technical manager at Dugdale Nutrition, Debby Brown, says the condition can often go under the radar in herds, causing niggling issues that are not always picked up on, or will be more severe and show clinical signs.

She says: “Whether it is diagnosed or not is very dependant on who is spending time looking at those cows.”

Clinical signs of SARA include variable consistency of faeces, an increased amount of cud balls seen throughout the shed, reduced cudding rate and a reduction in the number of cows lying down and comfortably cudding.

She says: “In some situations you will see a drop in butterfat in the milk, and if you are striving for more milk, you will not achieve it. It definitely holds milk back.”

Whole herd issue

Some cows will be more affected than others, adds Mrs Brown, depending on yield and the amount of cake being supplemented in the parlour, but it can also be a whole herd issue.

She says: “You can walk through a shed and feel that the cows are not quite right.”

Mrs Brown says diagnosis of the condition is based on walking around cows and seeing clinical signs as well as milk production. She adds it is also possible for vets to carry out a rumenocentesis and take a sample of rumen content to

SARA is generally caused by the overfeeding of concentrates, a lack of fibre in the diet, wet and acidic silages or turnout onto lush grass.

check for SARA, but results are not always reliable.

“If it is not something that a herd has had historically and something has changed, such as suddenly changing onto a wet, acidic silage, or feeding a lot more concentrate, then you will see SARA develop fairly quickly,” says Mrs Brown.

She says in this case, the condition is relatively easy to treat with dietary adjustments to raise the pH

The longer SARA goes on for, the more damage to the papillae and the longer it takes to recover

DEBBY BROWN

of the rumen, including the use of rumen buffers.

“It might be that you add a bit more straw into the ration to slow down digestion or balance the silage out, or reduce the amount of concentrate and put a bit of dry forage in the ration.”

If SARA has been present in the herd for a long period of time, Mrs Brown says readjusting the diet is the only option in terms of treatment.

“In this situation, a lot of the time,

cows will have to go through a dry period and come back into lactation, so you are looking at a 12- to-18-month cycle before the rumen recovers.”

She adds: “Some cows will never recover; it depends how long-term the damage is, as the longer SARA goes on for, the more damage to the papillae and the longer it takes to recover.”

Prevention

When looking at prevention, Mrs Brown advises ensuring diets contain enough fibre as well as regularly sampling forages to combat acidic silages before they are fed to the herd.

“It is a case of being on the ball more than anything else, so you can stop it before it starts.”

Mrs Brown adds that as a minimum, silages should be sampled when changing clamps or if changes in the silage are noticed throughout a clamp.

“I would advise testing at least monthly. If you see sudden changes in the cows, even if you have not changed clamps, it is worth resampling to see if something has changed,” she says.

PICTURE: MARCELLO GARBAGNOLI

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Starting out as a herdsman just over a decade ago, Jimmy Pritt is now milking almost 1,000 cows across two very different Leicestershire units on a contract farming arrangement. Wendy Short reports.

Whetstone Pastures currently has a flying herd of 380 spring calving Holstein Friesians and Jerseys.

In 2014, Jimmy Pritt signed a contract farming agreement at Whetstone Pastures Dairy, near Leicester, and the holding currently supports a flying herd of 380 spring calving Holstein Friesians and Jerseys, yielding an average 6,200kg.

Then, three years ago, a second farm, Knaptoft Hall, situated just five miles away in Lutterworth, was taken on and a herd of 560 black and whites is milked at that unit. Producing an average 8,300kg yield, this herd is block-calved to produce replacements in the spring and autumn, with plans to move to fully autumn calving by next year.

Born on a family dairy farm in Cumbria, Mr Pritt gained a degree in agriculture and went on to spend five years managing a Holstein Friesian herd in Berkshire. The next step was a threeyear spell working at home, where he learned about the benefits of rotational grazing, followed by the move to Leicestershire in 2013.

He is clear about his reasons for moving up the career ladder.

“I could have remained as a herd manager, but I had ticked all the boxes with the cows I was working with and was ready for a new challenge. I am quite an ambitious person and the idea of running my own business was appealing.”

In 2013, Mr Pritt initially applied to work as a herdsman for Michael Arlington, who at the time had two dairy farm tenancies, and now holds five separate agreements. The meeting led to the de-

Contrasting farms but same ambition

I could have remained as a herd manager, but I had ticked all the boxes with the cows I was working with

velopment of the business partnership, and Mr Arlington is the financial backer for the arrangement, as well as contributing as a business adviser.

Mr Pritt, who trades as JWP Farming, says: “When the Whetstone Pastures opportunity came up, we agreed that he would take on the tenancy and

I would be based in the farmhouse and provide the labour, machinery and management under a profit-sharing arrangement.

“After looking at countless tenancy opportunities for the next nine years, Knaptoft Hall was secured in 2021. Its proximity to Whetstone Pastures was

JIMMY PRITT

a bonus, because location had not been a priority. The unit had been managed in-hand by the owners and they wanted to take a step back. I moved my family into the farmhouse and the herdsperson was promoted to manage the Whetstone Pastures herd. She oversees the farm with one full-

time and three part-time workers.”

The details of the contract farming agreements for the two units were agreed between the two parties and subsequently drawn up by a solicitor. They cover a total acreage of 516 hectares (1,275 acres).

“The arrangement is working well,” says Mr Pritt.

“I put a lot of faith in my business partner by moving my family to Leicestershire and he, in turn, has trusted me to run the farms profitably.

“I purchase the heifers post-calving and rent the milking cows to the units, while the youngstock are owned by the contract farming agreement and there is a charge for their keep. The arrangement is straightforward in practice and, having discussed the issues in detail, it is the simplest way to manage the partnership.”

Investment

Significant investment has been made in Whetstone Pastures Dairy.

“The farm looks very different today,” says Mr Pritt.

“On arrival, there was an old 8:16 parlour and 220 cubicles on 180-acres.

“Additional land has been rented and with a contribution from the own-

Significant investment has been made at Whetstone pastures including a circular collecting yard, complete with an

ers, about £200,000 has been invested in infrastructure. This includes a New Zealand-style milking parlour complex, extra cubicle places, cow tracks and fencing.

“Milk is sold to Long Clawson Dairy for cheese-making.”

There are no youngstock facilities on site and it made sense to avoid heifer rearing costs by operating a flying herd, he says. In addition, there was accommodation for two people on site

and youngstock rearing would have required a third employee.

“I would describe the cattle buying policy as opportunistic. The herd calves from late February until the end of May to coincide with the grass growth curve. This pattern has allowed me to forge connections with local dairy farmers who have late calvers that will not fit into their spring block.

“Cow numbers and milk production figures are scrutinised every month

and purchases are made whenever required. Once the calving period is over, the farm management is relatively simple, with the focus on milking and feeding.”

All the females are put to an easy-calving British Blue bull. Bovine TB restrictions permitting, the calves are sold at the local auction mart at up to 42 days old. Otherwise, they are sent to an assured finishing or isolation unit.

The flying herd policy makes

DAIRY STABILITY THROUGH BEEF

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disease prevention a priority. Mr Pritt says: “Cattle are sourced from TB-free or low-TB areas. There is a risk that high cell counts will need to be tackled and problem females are culled on occasion.

“Where possible, the farm vet will speak to the potential vendor’s vet, before the purchases are made. The cows are vaccinated for protection against leptospirosis, IBR, BVD and salmonella, as well as being monitored for Johne’s disease.”

The simple feeding system uses parlour-fed concentrates to balance either grazed grass intakes or the grass and maize silage that is fed down a barrier over the winter.

Superb facilities

Knaptoft Hall offers a stark contrast to Whetstone Pastures Dairy.

Mr Pritt says: “The existing herd of high-yielding Holsteins was taken over at the outset, and I have since bought cows from the UK, Ireland and Hungary. Sexed semen from just a couple of proven bulls is used to improve uniformity.

“The Holstein is put to the smaller cows, with a British Friesian on the larger animals. The first batch of heifers bred using this policy will be calving this summer and numbers will be increased to 600 head. By the spring of 2025, the herd will be fully autumn calving to match the demands of the

Muller milk contract. The cows will be grazed in the spring on a rotational paddock system.”

The herd, which is housed in cubicles, is managed with five full-time and five part-time staff. A total mixed ration is fed and there is the option to feed concentrates in the parlour, if required.

“The facilities at Knaptoft Hall are superb, as they were built from new in 2017. The farm has also benefitted from a grant towards the installation of a new cattle handling system which includes weighing facilities.

“This makes it much easier to monitor the heifers at grass and they will be supplemented with concentrate feed to maximise daily liveweight gains. The farm is working with the University of Nottingham’s veterinary department, with the aim of tweaking the youngstock management.”

Mr Pritt says he enjoys working out ways to make the running of the farms easier for the staff.

He says: “This often means simplifying daily routines, wherever possible, while maintaining a high standard of cow management.

“At Whetstone Pastures, for example, a circular collecting yard has been built, complete with an auto-washing facility which cleans the concrete after the cows. Money has also been invested in automated heat detection. One

lesson I have learned is that making things simple often requires complex thought processes.”

Management

Mr Pritt says: “At one point,I was very hands-on and was milking and doing a lot of the foot trimming. I will still put in a day shift, if needed, but mostly I am occupied with floating between the two farms and overseeing their management.

“The two tasks which occupy most of my time are problem-solving and paperwork. It can take discipline to work in the office as I like being outside, but there is a lot of job satisfac-

tion in seeing the business grow and flourish.

“The first contract arrangement started at the beginning of October 2014 and by the end of the month, 180 cows had been delivered to Whetstone Pastures from Ireland. The first cow that was purchased is still on the farm and after retirement from milking she has become a pet, with two calves on her.

She represents the progress that has been made and it is now time to consolidate the management of Knaptoft Hall, because there is still a lot to achieve in terms of cow performance.”

A Holstein bull is put to the smaller cows at Knaptoft Hall, with a British Freisan put to their larger animals.

By the spring of 2025, the Knaptoft Hall herd will be fully autumn calving to match the demands of their Muller milk contract.

New maize varieties added to Descriptive Lists for 2025

Nine new varieties have been added to the British Society of Plant Breeders’ (BSPB) 2025 Forage Maize Descriptive Lists.

KWS Granturismo, KWS Bravo, KWS Kampinos, KWS Temprano, Papageno and Rejko from KWS, alongside Promise, AYA and Duke from Limagrain, Justice from Grainseed Ltd, and Starlord and MAS 075B from Bright Seeds are new entrants on the 2025 Favourable First Choice List.

LID0720C and RGT Muxxeal from Grainseed, along with RGT Buxxton from RAGT and KWS Leto from KWS, have been added to the Favourable Second Choice List.

KWS Temprano, KWS Leto, KWS Bravo, Rejko, Duke, Aya, MAS 075B and Starlord have also made it onto the First Choice List for Less Favourable sites.

The Very Favourable Descriptive List now has two more varieties from Grainseed: Micheleen and Jakleen.

Ellie Roberts, NIAB’s forage crop specialist and maize descriptive trials programme co-ordinator on behalf of BSPB, explains that the Descriptive List trials programme takes place at 13 trial sites across England.

She says: “Those with the longest potential growing season, with warmer spring soils for early establishment,

OF the new varieties added to the Favourable sites list, Mrs Roberts highlights KWS Granturismo as the highest yielding at 20.2 tonnes dry matter (DM) per hectare (8.1t DM/ acre), with a metabolisable energy (ME) yield of 227kMJ/ha (91kMJ/ acre) and starch yield of 5.61t/ha (2.27t/acre).

Limagrain’s Promise is the next

The Descriptive List trial encourages maize breeders to push varieties’ yield and feeding quality, says NIAB’s Ellie Roberts.

provide data for the Favourable List. Trials data used for the Less Favourable List show the performance of varieties in shorter, cooler growing seasons.

“The Very Favourable Descriptive List is produced from a separate trial programme using trial sites with higher heat units, where breeders can choose to test later maturing varieties with the highest yield potential for anaerobic digester feedstock.”

For as long as she has been involved in the programme, she highlights that

FAVOURABLE SITES DESCRIPTIVE LIST

highest yielder at 19.6t DM/ha (7.9t DM/acre), with an ME yield of 226 kMJ/ha (91.4 kMJ/acre) and starch yield of 6.48t/ha (2.6t/acre).

The variety with the highest ME and starch yields on the list is KWS Kampinos at 230 kMJ/ha (93.1 kMJ/acre) and 6.77t/ha (2.74t/ acre) respectively, at a yield of 19.5t DM/ha (7.89t DM/acre).

forage maize crops and the Descriptive List trials have faced weather-related growing challenges every year.

“From cold, late springs delaying sowing and testing early vigour, to prolonged drought conditions and high temperatures challenging growth and maturation. We have also seen strong winds and rain causing high levels of

VERY FAVOURABLE SITES

MICHELEEN is the highest yielding at 20.4 tonnes dry matter (DM) per hectare (8.2t DM/acre) with the highest metabolisable energy (ME) yield of 231 kMJ/ha (93.5 kMJ/acre) and highest starch

LESS FAVOURABLE SITES

lodging in some years along with very wet conditions delaying harvest by many months.”

Mrs Roberts emphasises that the most important aspect of the maize variety trials programme is the fairness and consistency of circumstances and management of each trial.

Such robust data validation across challenging growing seasons ensures growers can be confident in the reliability and performance of the varieties chosen for the lists.

She says: “Looking back in the data archives, 2014 had means of 16.2 tonnes per hectare yield at 11.2 MJ metabolisable energy (ME) per kilo and 32.4% starch, compared with 2024 means of 18.3t/ha at 11.6 MJ ME/kg and 35.1% starch. This shows a dry matter yield increase of 2.1t/ha, ME increase of 0.4 MJ ME/kg and an increase in starch content of 2.7% over the past decade.

“The Descriptive List trial continues to encourage maize breeders to push their varieties’ yield and feeding quality ever higher while increasing nutrient use efficiency.”

yield at 6.24 t/ha (2.5t/acre).

Jakleen yields 20t DM/ha (8t DM/ acre) with ME yield at 228 kMJ/ha (92.3 kMJ/acre) and starch yield at 5.8t/ha (2.3t/acre). Both score well on early vigour and standing power.

KWS Bravo has the highest yield of 19.6 tonnes dry matter (DM) per hectare (7.9t DM/acre) at 34.5% DM, with the highest metabolisable energy yield on the list at 228 kMJ/ha (92 kMJ/acre) and highest starch yield on the First Choice List at 6.94 t/ha (2.8t/acre) at 35.5%.

“All the new varieties score well for both early vigour and standing power,” says Mrs Roberts.

What can somatic cell count data tell us about our herd health, and what should farmers be doing when these figures start to creep up? Wendy Short reports.

Bringing down mastitis infection rates with strict hygiene protocols

An analysis of somatic cell count (SCC) figures from 400 recorded herds has revealed that fewer than 8% of cows showed signs of mastitis infection in the top-performing sector, says vet Dr Tom Chamberlain.

A significant difference is typically found between the top-performing and the worst-performing herds when it comes to the percentage of infected cows in the herd, adds Dr Chamberlain, who processes milk recording data on behalf of feed suppliers.

On a 12-month rolling basis, he found that an average 15% of cows were infected, with a figure of 26% for the worst performers. The average SCC for the herds was 164 (thousand cells per millilitre), with 104 for the best herds and 249 for the worst. He recommends setting a target of 100 or below.

Dr Chamberlain, who runs consultancy firm Chalcombe, says: “The data classifies infected cows as animals with a cell count above 200. It is not only a

reflection of mastitis levels, but also a general indicator of herd health.

“Some feed companies monitor supplier performance to try and identify the herd’s strong and weak points. They may intervene and suggest improvements in cases of an ongoing problem, and milk buyers may apply price penalties. Fertility and culling rates are two other issues which can come under scrutiny.

“I recommend that producers follow the DairyCo Mastitis Control Plan or similar, to keep SCC numbers at an acceptable level. The DairyCo plan is delivered with support from a local vet, who will develop an individual farm programme to tackle the infection. In my opinion, applying strict hygiene protocols in the dry cow and cubicle housing, as well as a high standard of parlour maintenance, are the best defence against high SCCs.”

The figure for the percentage of cows infected at the first milk recording is a useful starting point for tackling mastitis, he says.

“High numbers suggest that the dry

cow housing and/or the calving facilities should be the first areas under review. On average, about half of the infected cows in the group fell into this category, which includes cows within 30 days of calving.

“In the best herds, the figure was 21%. In the worst performing herds, it was a high as 71% and therefore represents a potential opportunity at this stage to significantly bring down the overall infection rate.

“It is fairly common to find that producers invest heavily in housing for the milking cows, but continue to use outdated dry cow buildings, which I would describe as the ‘Cinderella’ of dairy farm steadings. One common problem is having too little space per animal, often following herd expansion without extending the accommodation.”

Space

Each cow in a loose housing situation should be allocated 10sq.m of space, excluding water troughs and passageways, he adds. They will also need plenty of straw, and if a deep bedding system is adopted, it should refreshed on a frequent basis.

If there are high numbers of cows infected at the first milk recording, it suggests dry cow housing and/or the calving facilities should be the first areas under review.

section for ‘dry period new infection rate’ had a score of zero, while in some cases, more than one-third of cows fell into this category. A figure was also assigned to ‘dry period cure rate’, which showed a 100% result for the best herds, with an average of 80% and the lowest score at 50%.

“These figures also potentially point to poor dry cow management. In the worst-case scenario, every cow which ended its lactation with a high SCC returned to the milking herd still carrying significant infection.

Using large quantities of straw bedding could be considered expensive, but I believe the investment is worthwhile when weighed against the cost of mastitis

DR TOM CHAMBERLAIN

“Using large quantities of straw bedding could be considered expensive, but I believe the investment is worthwhile when weighed against the cost of mastitis. The infection has been estimated to incur an average £300 per case, but the figure can often be much higher.

“A person should be able to sit down in the straw without getting their clothes dirty.

“In cases where cubicle housing is used for dry cows, the number of installations should equate to the number of cows in the building.

“Achieving a very high standard of cleanliness for housed cows is easier to manage on units which calve all year round, compared with tight block calving systems.”

The best-performing herds in the

“Managers of herds with a recurrent issue in this area should consider their dry cow tubing policy and whether it is advisable to use antibiotic treatment, or to continue with teat sealants.

“There is pressure on producers to reduce their antibiotic usage, but the products are effective. Targeted use can help to address high SCC figures and bring down mastitis case numbers.”

The herd group was also assessed on the duration of the mastitis infection, as indicated by the SCC data. Only 3% of the best herds were classified as carrying a chronic infection, while the average was 7% and the worst herds had a figure of 14%.

“Staphylococcus aureus and streptococcus uberis are often responsible for chronic mastitis infections,” says Dr Chamberlain.

“As a guideline, a cow with three

PICTURE: JOHN EVESON

recorded cases of mastitis within one month over a lactation would fall into the chronic infection category.

“If dry cows enter the milking herd with low infection levels, and SCC numbers subsequently spike, the response will depend on which type of bacteria is responsible. The milking parlour should be the focus of attention, along with the main housing.

“In the parlour, particular attention should be paid to cluster maintenance, and automatic cluster disinfection is a useful preventative measure.

“The parlour should be regularly serviced, with the teat liners and

flushing solution changed as advised by the manufacturer.

“On rare occasions an individual cow will not respond, and culling will be the only option.”

The data set also recorded ‘lactation new infection rate’. The average percentage of cows which picked up infection during lactation was 8%, with the best herds at 4% and the worst herds at 16%.

Udder cleanliness

“This is also an indication that infection is being picked up in the main housing or the parlour and it could be being transferred from cow to cow

during milking. Lack of udder cleanliness at milking is one possible cause.

“This is another instance where bacteriology will be needed to determine the type of pathogen responsible. It is a useful way of getting on top of a problem that may be developing.

“The vet can take 50ml samples of milk and it is cheaper to freeze and store them in batches over several months before sending them off for analysis. Producers can also receive training so they can take their own sterile milk samples. This is not standard practice in the UK, although it is practised among large herds in the USA,” Dr Chamberlain adds.

In the parlour, automatic cluster disinfection is a useful preventative measure

DR TOM CHAMBERLAIN

Ben Richards’ commitment to enhancing soil health on his Cornish farm has earned him the runner-up position in the Soil Farmer of the Year competition. Wendy Short reports.

The 185 cows farmed by Ben Richards graze for 12 months of the year and produce organic milk solely from herbal ley forage. Mr Richards says that his system at Middle Trelan, near Helston, is extremely low-input.

The spring-calving, cross-bred cows are milked once a day and have a 3,500kg yield average at 5% butterfat and 4% protein.

The herd is rotated on a 12-hourly basis within the loose housing, which has just 80 cow places. In wet weather, the cows due for turnout may be held over in the yard and fed on hay or silage for a few hours to minimise poaching, mainly occupying land earmarked for reseeding at turnout.

The lowland unit has three main soil types: heavy loam, heavy clay and an acreage of sandy soil over gravel.

“I use my judgement to decide whether or not to graze the cows and I do not always get it right,” says Mr Richards, who farms in partnership with his wife Shosh, his mother Rosemary, and his nephew Eddie Dark.

“The main aim is to be flexible with the grazing, and it is usually a compromise between giving the cows what they need and avoiding damage to the land.”

Soil health key focus on low-input dairy farm

He finds that zero cultivation and farmyard manure application are both key to maintaining good soil structure. Some 10-15% of the herbal leys are reseeded annually in the spring, although some fields have persisted for two decades.

“As soon as the soil is disturbed, there is a negative effect on the natural bacteria and I have not used a plough for 20 years,” he says.

“Nutrition comes from spreading farmyard manure, which is composted for at least 12 months and is ideal for feeding the soil. It is my belief that slurry only feeds the plants and I am convinced that chemical fertilisers disturb the natural balance of beneficial soil bacteria.”

Available locally, sea sand is used to replace lime.

Mr Richards says: “The sea sand

has a similar effect to lime, but it is slower to release and it also enhances the soil structure. It was applied to the whole farm three years ago and a recent test showed a soil pH of 6.2-6.7.”

Mr Richards has negative views on ryegrass, and since 2017 has instead relied on more than 30 different species sown in a herbal ley mix designed specifically for the farm.

Grazing

The leys have a grazing season from March to November, and the cows’ diet is otherwise supplemented with hay offered in ring feeders in the field or yard, or self-feed silage.

“The herbal leys could be rotationally grazed all year round if the land was dry enough,” says Mr Richards.

“They are deep-rooting and have alleviated the ‘puddling’ effect in high rainfall. The plant mix contains such a wide range of nutrients that the herd does not need mineral supplementation, and the cows find the herbal leys very palatable. Unfortunately, I cannot include bird’s-foot trefoil in the mix because it will not grow on this farm for some reason.”

Over the summer, the herd is mob-grazed in roughly three-hectare (7.4-acre) paddocks divided by

Ben Richards

As part of an on-farm agroforestry project, willow and poplar trees were planted last winter, with more to follow this year.

Farm facts

■ The Soil Farmer of the Year competition is run jointly by Farm Carbon Toolkit and Innovation for Agriculture

■ The farm covers 113 hectares (280 acres) of owned grassland, plus 24ha (60 acres) rented

■ Despite having converted to organic production in 2018, the business has only recently secured an organic premium milk contract with Arla

■ The area has an annual rainfall of 1,000-1,200mm and the farm sits at

electric fencing, with a mains electric barrier around the main perimeter and a water trough infrastructure.

At times of peak growth, the plants can reach shoulder height and the cows may be restricted to 1ha (2.47 acres).

“Trampling is minimal because the cows only spend 12-24 hours in each section depending on soil moisture, and it will be given a 45-day rest before being reopened,” says Mr Richards.

“Each cow will be allocated about 17kg of dry matter per day at peak lactation, although my days of measuring grass volumes are long over.

“Milking once a day at 6am is helpful, as the cows can be kept in after the session and then turned out in the afternoon, if conditions permit.”

A large number of trees were

The spring-calving, cross-bred cows are milked once a day and have a 3,500kg yield average at 5% butterfat and 4% protein.

110 metres (360 feet) above sea level

■ The business has a Sustainable Farming Incentive agreement and receives support payments for the agroforestry project and the herbal ley options, as well as an organic land payment

■ The family arrived on the farm as tenants in 1939 and it was purchased in 1956

■ An Einbock Pneumaticstar machine reseeds the herbal leys, and a small herd of pigs is used to prepare the land for sowing

planted last winter for an experimental agroforestry project and more will be added next year.

Willow and poplar are the main species planted for the agroforestry project, which covers 10.5ha (26 acres) of the wettest, most marginal land.

Trees

Mr Richards says: “More than 6,000 trees were planted among the herbal leys in 1.5-metre strips using three rows, 12m apart, which run the length of the fields. They are configured to allow the cows to walk comfortably in between the rows.

“By year two, the temporary protection will be removed and the cows will be allowed to graze freely among trees. The experiment has only been possible because of locally available grant aid. It is very much an on-farm

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trial with a dual purpose: to draw water away from the land and to provide nutrition for the cows from grazing the leaves, which I understand contain 20% protein.

“As far as I am aware, there is no solid science behind the potential advantages of my plan, but I feel that the tree roots will promote fungal activity in the soil and also improve the quality and quantity of the herbal leys.

“I will discover which tree species are the most suitable and I will then be able to take cuttings, which will reduce the cost of any additional planting. I may even be able to sell tree cuttings to other producers, assuming the results are successful.”

Home-bred Jersey cross British Friesian bulls have been used exclusively to produce replacements for the past eight years, and the females,

which originated from a pedigree British Friesian herd, also have Swedish Red and Fleckvieh bloodlines.

The cow health regime is very simple, says Mr Richards.

Cow health

“The outdoor policy has huge benefits for cow health and I have not had a lame animal for five years, for example. The only time that a cow’s foot has to be picked up is on the odd occasion when a stone is removed from between the toes,” he says.

“Antibiotics have not been used for more than eight years, and vaccination is limited to salmonella prevention, although the herd is screened for Johne’s disease.

“Fertility is on target and 90-95% of the cows calve within a three-week period from early March.”

Over summer, the herd is mob-grazed in roughly three-hectare (7.4-acre) paddocks.

Future plans are largely restricted to the planting of 4,000 additional trees this winter.

“I have no interest in lifting yields because a cow is designed to produce a limited amount of milk without inputs, and any increase would require expense that could not be justified.

“The idea was to make the system work without relying on an organic premium, and that has been achieved. If there are any new developments,

they will be following an opportunity to obtain additional land nearby.

“In 2005, I was applying high levels of chemical fertiliser to ryegrass swards and it took two or three years for the soil to be restored to a healthy condition. The farm looks very different today, and I now consider ryegrass a weed. It is very persistent and has proved difficult to eradicate.

“My ethos is to stop interfering and to let nature do its own thing. I feel that the business is now as resilient as it is possible for a dairy farm to be against the backdrop of uncertainty in the industry,” says Mr Richards.

My ethos is to stop interfering and to let nature do its own thing. I feel that the business is now as resilient as it is possible for a dairy farm to be BEN RICHARDS

A small herd of pigs is used to prepare the land for sowing.

Jersey cross British Friesian bulls are used on the cross-bred herd to produce replacements.

Dairy

Vaccination, tag testing and biosecurity are identified as key measures to preventing the spread of BVD across UK dairy farms. Katie Fallon reports.

One of the biggest diseases facing the UK cattle industry, infecting at least 27% of dairy herds in Wales, is BVD. A highly contagious viral disease transmitted from one bovine animal to another, vets David Staak and Sara Melo, of the Carmarthenshire-based vet practice Dyfed Vets, say the disease can have significant impacts on both youngstock and the milking herd.

While buying-in infected cattle and mating with infected bulls can both be sources of infection, Mr Staak says infections are common among in-calf cows.

He says cows are often infected with the disease during the first trimester of pregnancy, resulting in the disease being transmitted to the unborn calf in the womb.

The calf is then born as a persistently infected animal (PI), which will go onto shed a huge amount of virus into the environment and will usually not perform very well.

Ms Melo says PIs will go on to transmit the disease to other cattle in the herd and negatively affect the immunity of a group of calves around them.

She says: “Other calves will become infected with the virus for a short period of time, but they will not become PIs. It will lower their immune system and make them susceptible to other diseases, such as scour and pneumonia.”

While these calves will be transiently infected rather than permanently infected, the infection will usually occur while calves are still growing and are vulnerable to disease.

Therefore, significantly impacting their growth and performance.

Mr Staak says: “It is not always obvious which calves are PIs.

“Sometimes after a few months it can become obvious, but you could have PIs that carry on in the herd and you would never know.”

Key indicators

Indicators that calves might be infected with BVD include increased cases of pneumonia and scour, or calves not thriving.

Mr Staak says: “Sometimes you do go to a farm and see a calf that is a PI. It will look miserable with poor growth and condition and runny eyes.”

For herds with calves which are showing these symptoms, Mr Staak advises blood testing yearling animals between nine and 18 months of age, to see if a BVD infection is present.

Tips on identifing, managing and preventing BVD

For herds with calves showing BVD symptoms, youngstock should be blood tested to see if a BVD infection is present.

He says: “Do not test calves younger than nine months as they could still have maternal antibodies in their system.”

When looking at BVD infections in adult cows, Ms Melo says if a PI cow makes it to the milking herd and gets in calf, its future offspring will also be born as a PI.

And while PI cows will go on to shed the virus into the environment infecting other cows, those cows will not become PIs and will only experience transient infection.

Mr Staak says: “It depends on the stage of gestation, but in-calf cows infected with BVD will either give birth to a PI if infected early on in the pregnancy or will potentially abort their calf if infected later on in pregnancy.”

Adult cows infected with BVD will experience reduced production, poor fertility and increased susceptibility to other diseases such as IBR, leptospirosis, mastitis and mycoplasma.

To understand the level of expo-

sure within a herd and determine antibody levels, Mr Staak advises carrying out a bulk milk test. He says: “When testing for antibodies we are not looking for a PI, but we are looking to see if animals have been exposed to a PI. These animals will not be persistently infected themselves, but indicate that there could be a PI within the herd.”

Following this, Mr Staak says farms will need to carry out a ‘PI hunt’ to identify the PIs within the herd.

A lot of farmers tag test calves, and it is a good way of trying to eradicate BVD, because we know a PI will give birth to a PI again

DAVID STAAK

He says: “It might only be one animal, or it could be two or three. You can try and identify the infected animal by pool blood sampling in youngstock, testing milk from cows and pooling samples together to whittle it down into smaller groups and eventually identify the PI.”

Tag testing calves for BVD is also an effective method of identi-

fying PI calves to help eradicate the disease on-farm.

Mr Staak says: “A lot of farmers do this now, and it is a very good way of trying to eradicate BVD, because we know a PI will give birth to a PI again.”

Vaccination

Ms Melow advises tag testing alongside vaccinating the herd. She

says: “You are protecting the herd initially by vaccinating, then by tag and testing you are eliminating any new animals coming through.”

Although vaccination will not cure the PI cattle, it will protect the rest of the herd, alongside blood testing the dams of any new PIs identified through tag testing.

Mr Staak says calves can be vaccinated from around three

Dealing with BVD

n Biosecurity - only buy from BVD-free farms

n Monitoring – blood test five yearling animals annually

n Tag and test calves

n Vaccination

n PI hunt - identify and cull

months of age, but advises vaccinating bulling heifers before going mating, as well as vaccinating incalf heifers and cows annually.

He says: “Vaccination and tag testing are key to prevention.

“If you suspect you have a problem, I advise blood testing five yearling animals in each management group each year to identify if there is exposure to the virus.”

Ms Melo says the sourcing of cattle is also important when buying-in replacements and advises sourcing cattle from farms which are BVD-free.

She says: “Biosecurity is critical because you could have a herd that is BVD-free, but you buy-in one PI and it could be a disaster for the herd.”

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Feeding a partial DCAB supplement has allowed one Gloucestershire farm to safely feed grass silage to dry cows and halve milk fever incidence compared to feeding a maize silage diet. Farmers Guardian reports.

Partial DCAB diet halves milk fever on grass diet

Herd manager Keith Davis decided to stop feeding home-grown grass silage to dry cows several years ago after experiencing milk fever rates of 7-8%. This is because grass silage is considered a risky feed for close-to-calving cows due to its high dietary cation-anion balance (DCAB) which can prevent cows from mobilising calcium around calving, and therefore increasing the risk of milk fever.

As a result, the team at Lydney Park, which is an AHDB Strategic Dairy Farm, opted to buy in maize silage for feeding to close-up dry cows in the spring block calving herd. Maize has a much lower, more

Compared to when the farm previously fed grass silage to close-up cows, milk fever has dropped dramatically from 7-8% to 0.7%

stable DCAB making it an attractive feed for dry cows when balanced correctly. This meant milk fever rates were sitting at around 2%. However, when maize silage costs climbed to £85 per tonne last year, Mr Davis sought advice on whether feeding home-grown grass silage was possible after all.

Anionic salts

After analysing the farm’s grass silage for mineral levels, Mole Valley Farmers’ mineral technical support, Dylan Clark, suggested feeding a specific level of anionic salts to achieve a low DCAB in combination with the farm’s forages. Mr Clark explains that the low DCAB slightly acidifies the blood

Dylan Clark

Maize is often more expensive to grow, so if you can get away with feeding grass to your close-ups, you can save money that way

KEITH DAVIS

so the cow is better able to mobilise calcium from the bone and gut around calving. This helps it meet the huge increased demand for calcium for milk production and muscle function at this time, and prevent milk fever.

The herd at Lydney Park is made up of 850 Jersey cross cows which calve in a 10-week spring block. Cows average 4,750 litres per cow per year at 5.3% fat and 3.93% protein on twice-a-day milking.

Grass diet

The far-off dry cows are fed grass silage and chopped ryegrass straw. In the past, cows would then have moved onto a close-up diet of maize, chopped ryegrass straw and some soya three weeks pre-calving. This spring, the closeup diet was switched to homegrown grass silage, chopped ryegrass straw, urea and 600g per head per day of a unique combination of anionic salts to deliver a partial DCAB diet.

Mr Clark says: “We continued to test silage mineral levels as the farm swapped between clamps to check if the combination of anionic salts needs to be altered. Mineral levels will vary between fields and cuts so it is important to monitor and adjust the diet accordingly.”

The supplement used delivers all of the herd’s mineral requirements pre-calving, removing the need for additional products.

Mr Davis says: “It has simplified what we are doing. We now do not have to go through the hassle of buying maize silage and we do not have as many products to add to the dry cow diet.”

Compared to when the farm previously fed grass silage to close-up cows, milk fever has dropped dramatically from 7-8% to 0.7%. However, Mr Davis admits to being pleasantly surprised that incidence

is even lower than it was when feeding the maize-based ration.

“It has surpassed what I wanted from it. I did not want our milk fever to be higher than on a maize diet and it has actually halved the cases of milk fever we are getting,” he says.

Mr Davis believes milk fever prevention is essential. “We tend to think a cow that gets milk fever will get other problems like a retained foetal membrane or mastitis. There are always knock-on effects.”

Using home-grown forage also benefits the pocket.

“The main advantage is we did not have to buy in maize. Maize is often in short supply and more expensive to grow than grass so if you can get away with feeding grass to your close-ups, you can save money that way,” he explains.

Once calved, the herd is rotationally grazed and fed through the parlour. Parlour concentrate protein levels will be changed through the season to complement grass protein based on fresh grass analysis.

Forage stocks and quality are also reviewed routinely throughout the winter housing period so the diet can be balanced effectively. A complete mineral analysis will be carried out in the autumn and at drying off so informed decisions can be made on how best to balance the close-up ration based on this year’s silage stocks.

Keith Davis

Dairy

The ongoing pressure to remove soya products from dairy cow rations is encouraging producers to look at alternative protein sources. Farmers Guardian reports.

A look at alternative protein sources

The exclusion of soya products from dairy cow diets has a proven history of success, with Marks & Spencer and Waitrose suppliers having used alternatives for several years to comply with their nil-soya contracts.

And as dairy cow nutritionist Christine Pedersen, a consultant with The Dairy Group, says, some milk buyers looking to reduce the carbon footprint of their dairy products are now offering financial incentives for lower carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) milk.

Carbon footprint

As soya has a high carbon footprint, there may be a financial case for producers to reduce or remove it from rations. However, Mrs Pedersen says decisions will depend on the potential rewards and the price of soya products against the alternatives.

It is often more difficult and costly to replace soya hulls in rations, compared with soyabean meal, she says.

She adds: “Soya hulls contribute digestible fibre to rations and are often more competitively priced than the other options.

“They are a popular ingredient in concentrate feeds, and compounders may find it challenging to maintain competitive pricing for high-fibre/nil-soya compounds without their inclusion.”

The main alternative to soya hulls, which contain 61% neutral detergent fibre (NDF), is sugar beet pulp, which has a figure of 32%.

Mrs Pedersen says: “Sugar beet pulp has only about half the fibre content of soya hulls. Therefore, twice the amount will have to be added to achieve the same result. The product is significantly more expensive by comparison.

“Palm kernel meal can fulfil a similar role in the ration to soya hulls in terms of providing digestible fibre, but it also has a high carbon footprint.

“It contains 68% NDF fibre, while wheat feed pellets are another alternative at 36%.”

Four popular protein source alternatives to soyabean meal in total mixed rations are rapeseed meal, wheat and maize distillers’ grains, and feed grade urea, says Mrs Pedersen.

“High-protein soyabean meal has a carbon footprint of more than 5,000kg CO 2 e per tonne, compared with other protein feeds such as wheat or maize distillers’ grains at about 600kg/t CO 2 e, and rapeseed meal at 920kg/t CO2e,” she says.

“Rapeseed meal is often a cost-effective choice, but depending on the inclusion rate, it may be advisable to also include some other protein sources like wheat or maize distillers’ grains to avoid feeding large quantities of a single product. This will help to spread the risk of variability within individual feeds.”

Feed grade urea

Feed grade urea is different from the other alternatives, she says.

She adds: “It is a source of non-protein nitrogen, with the N element used by the rumen bugs as the building blocks for the microbial protein that is produced. It can offer a good solution and is required in much smaller quantities than the other alternatives.

“It is delivered in bagged form on a pallet, and therefore comes with a much lower storage requirement. It is a popular choice in mixed diets and is usually added at a typical rate of 100-300g/head/day.

“The small quantities involved with feed grade urea mean that it is essential to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed with the other ration ingredients. There is a limit to the daily allowance per cow, as it can be toxic if ingested in large amounts.

“It should not be fed to young calves and it is important to make the distinction between feed grade urea and fertiliser urea, as the latter is unsuitable for livestock feeding.”

As soya has a high carbon footprint, there may be a financial case for producers to reduce or remove it from rations.

“Target protein levels have been reviewed for dairy cow diets, and while milking cow rations may have previously been formulated to 17-18% protein, new recommendations are to aim for 16%,” she says.

“Another factor is the growing focus on improving protein percentages in home-grown forages, including grass silage.” High-protein soyabean meal has a carbon footprint of more than 5,000kg CO2e per tonne

CHRISTINE PEDERSON

The potential for soya removal should be considered in tandem with recent research, which has revealed a shift in the recommended targets for dietary protein content, says Mrs Pedersen.

“In the future, protein recommendations are likely to be lowered further still if protected amino acids can be fed cost effectively and meet animal requirements.

The drive to remove soya products from dairy cow diets is likely to be maintained, says Mrs Pedersen.

She adds: “Many dairy companies are looking to reduce their carbon footprint.

“The issue is also being scrutinised by producers themselves and some have made the decision to remove soya products from diets, irrespective of financial incentives, due to their own personal concerns about deforestation.

“In some cases, it will be more costly to replace soya. However, if bonus payments are being offered for feeding nil-soya diets, they will help to offset the extra expense and could even increase profitability, depending on the terms of the milk contract.

“My advice is to compare the relative feed value of different ingredients and select the most cost-effective options, while meeting milk contract requirements and benefiting from incentives.”

Dairy Driving towards a profitable

Andrew Sutton has made a lot of changes to his family’s Warwickshire dairy farm since returning home from college in 2011. Farmers Guardian finds out more.

For Andrew Sutton, the first major change at Cottage Farm, Atherstone, was in the form of a new parlour and cubicle shed in 2013. Accommodation for 180 cows was built along with a new handling system and a slurry lagoon.

Up until this point, his parents, Brian and Helen, had been milking through an eight-abreast parlour, taking four hours at each end of the day to milk 120 cows.

After several years of milking in the 20:20 Westfalia parlour on a three-times-a-day basis, it became increasingly difficult to find labour, says Andrew.

With his parents still heavily involved in the business, Andrew wanted to create a system which would allow more flexibility and some time off from farming.

He says: “We were seriously struggling to find staff at that point. I could get regular night staff, but I just could not get anyone to work in the daytime. We are all getting older and would like to be able to have more time off-farm.”

I want to do the best I possibly can. We are breeding for type and milk. I want powerful, balanced cows which I am pleased to look at in the sheds

ANDREW SUTTON

The business has produced budgets with Chris Flint of Kite Consulting for many years now, and the family do not see how businesses can operate correctly without a budget.

Andrew says: “We started working with Chris in 2011 when we first started planning our cubicle housing

and new parlour. Before putting in the robots, we did a huge amount of business planning, budgeting, and stress-testing budgets to ensure the plan was robust and right for us.

“We involved the bank from an early stage, which we have had an

excellent relationship with for many years. Together with Chris, we talked through our plans with our bank manager and made sure he fully grasped our rationale.”

During this period, many robotic units were visited, including some units in the Netherlands.

On an Arla Tesco top-up contract, the herd is aiming for 4.2% fat and 3.3% protein.

PICTURES: OLI LEES

Andrew Sutton

work-life balance on-farm

On January 23, 2024,

The availability of grants at the time further fuelled the decision, with funding from the Farming Transformation Fund Improving Farm Productivity grant.

Plans evolved and on January 23, 2024, the first cows at Cottage Farm were milked through the four installed Lely A5s. To house the robots, a 30.5-metre extension was built onto the existing cubicle shed, with a straw yard for fresh cows and an additional 30 cubicles.

Andrew says: “It was a rough first few weeks. I think I did nothing but train cows for a month, and for the first week it was for 24 hours of the day.”

Feeding

When milking three times a day, cows were fed 40 litres at the feed fence, he says. A week before they started using the robots, they reduced this to 30 litres, but they were struggling to get cows to visit the robot. With advice from Lely and nutritionist Lynne Smith, they further dropped to feeding to 25 litres.

Andrew says: “When we dropped the volume at the feed fence, it was like a switch went off in the cows’ heads overnight; they were totally different cows.”

As a member of an Arla R500,

Andrew Sutton’s advice

■ Get a good team around you

■ Develop a plan and strategy which encompass both business and personal objectives

■ Know your numbers and budget

■ Get into the detail

■ Discuss regularly

Andrew says his involvement in this group has been invaluable over the past few years.

He says: “I do not think we would be in the same position now if it was not for the R500 group. A lot of making investment comes down to confidence, but speaking to other people with the same interests and drive has been very supportive.

“Half of the group members have either put in robots or are putting them in, so it has been hugely helpful.”

The herd peaked at 12,500 litres before the robots were installed.

On an Arla Tesco top-up contract, the herd is aiming for 4.2% fat and 3.3% protein.

Operating under the Hurcott and Hipsley prefixes, the family were awarded the Holstein UK Masterbreeder title this year, which the society gives out based on two years’ worth of production,

Proven Precision

the first cows were milked through the four Lely A5 robots at Cottage Farm.

Dairy

classification and longevity figures.

Within the 101 hectares (250 acres), 53ha (130 acres) are rented on various different agreements. Among this, 47ha (115 acres) are put to maize, while a neighbour grows 500 tonnes on contract.

Maize is followed by Italian ryegrass or Westerwolds before taking a cut of grass in the spring and ploughing back to maize. The rest of the farm is grass, with virtually all mowing ground made into pit silage.

Andrew says: “Our aim is the Kite 15:15 – 15 tonnes dry matter/ha and 15kg DM forage fed per head. We have a really good relationship with our contractors, who I also know on a personal level.”

Silage

More recently, three new silage clamps have been installed, the drive has been re-concreted and an additional house has been built.

A total mixed ration of maize, grass and straw is fed with a bespoke blend based on forage analysis and minerals, plus everything else necessary to balance the diet.

As cows adjust to the new system, the hope is to milk 200 cows through the four robots, and Andrew says he has no intention of increasing the herd size beyond that.

He says: “Fresh cows are flying. We have three cows giving just short of 70 litres and multiple heifers giving well into 50kg. We have also noticed heifers are coming into milk very fast with the robots. I put it down to them being milked whenever they want. We will see the real effect when they have all calved.”

Cows at Cottage Farm

Calving all year round, the best of the cows receive sexed dairy semen, as do the heifers. The cows will get two rounds of sexed semen, while heifers may get three rounds. Then, conventional semen will be used or the home-bred Holstein stock bull.

Breeding

Following on from his background in pedigree showing, Andrew flushes the best of the herd and uses the bottom end of heifers as recipients. Andrew says his greatest success

in terms of breeding so far has been the development of the Alicia family, which has bred three generations of VG87 two-year-olds.

“The oldest was scored at 94 points before calving and has just achieved 60t in four lactations, while her daughter is now EX92 in three lactations.

With a passion for developing cow families, Andrew thrives on seeing daughters progress through the herd and improving to reach their full potential. When supplying Arla, kg of milk solids are key, and the family aims to hit 1,000kg solids per cow per annum.

Andrew says: “We need cows which are going to get milk in the tank, so we are striving to breed high-yielding families. I want to be in a position where I can sell both milk and genetics.

“Currently, I sell stock through

the Black and White sale at Carlisle and Shrewsbury Auction Centre.”

Looking forward, Andrew says he would like another heifer yard and a calf building. This year, they will be covering the silage clamps and finishing concreting the yards.

Support

He says: “Chris from Kite has been very good. We see him about every other month and when we are busy building, we see him even more often. He has provided great support and advice when making infrastructure improvements and investment.

“I never want to be average –I want to do the best I possibly can. We are breeding for type and milk. I want powerful, balanced cows which I am pleased to look at in the sheds. I want to be able to push our genetics as far forward as possible.”

Andrew Sutton flushes the best of the herd and uses the bottom end of heifers as recipients.

Cows at Cottage Farm are fed a total mixed ration of maize, grass and straw.

Three new silage clamps have recently been installed.

Moulds present in maize crops become stressed when ensiled, which can lead to them producing mycotoxins.

Experts are warning farmers that the delayed maize growing season and expected late harvest will bring a higher risk of mycotoxin problems in silage.

To help prevent potential spoilage and feed-out losses, Lientjie Colahan, forage technical support at Lallemand Animal Nutrition, says farmers should take action to control increased fungal loads from fresh forage.

She says: “We are expecting this year’s maize crop to contain a higher load of moulds and spoilage yeasts, because of wet growing conditions in spring increasing the risk of mycotoxin development.

“Much maize drilling across the UK was delayed and done in less favourable conditions, leading to an estimated later harvest. With the plant being in the soil for longer, this naturally increases the yeast and mould load.

“Wet weather also prevented many farmers from being able to travel on maize fields to apply fungicide, further increasing potential fungi loads,” she adds.

Negative impacts

Mrs Colahan says that the moulds present in maize crops become stressed when ensiled; this can lead to them producing mycotoxins that can have a negative impact on animal health, production and fertility.

“When maize is harvested and ensiled, the crop goes from an aerobic environment outside to an anaerobic environment within the clamp,” she says.

“Moulds thrive in an environment containing oxygen, so when fermentation starts in the silage clamp and their environment becomes anaerobic, the stress can lead to mycotoxin production – a mould’s self defence mechanism.”

She adds: “The fermentation process does not break down mycotoxins effectively so any mycotoxins

Mycotoxin threat looms in maize silage

brought in from the field will remain in the clamp.

“Failure to control the other type of fungi present – yeasts – when ensiling your maize will lead to silage instability at feed-out. Then, when exposed to oxygen again, the dormant yeasts which survived fermentation will reactivate and start consuming lactic acid, causing the pH of the silage to rise.”

A normal silage pH has an inhibitory effect on the growth of moulds, she adds.

“So when the silage pH rises due to yeast activity, it creates the opportunity for mould growth at feed-out, and the risk of mycotoxin development rises once more.”

Failure to address high fungal loads could lead to problems with maize silage quality, palatability and overall herd health, so taking steps to manage microbiota is essential, she says.

“Farmers should start by walking their maize crops now, checking for

fungal infections on the cob or leaves. If there is an infection, there is an even higher risk of costly mycotoxin problems and greater need for proactive steps to control yeast and mould.”

To help prevent moulds and spoilage yeasts from impacting silage quality, farmers are encouraged to use a crop- and condition-specific silage inoculant.

The fermentation process does not break down mycotoxins effectively so any mycotoxins brought in from the field will remain in the clamp

PICTURE:

Feeding transition milk to newborn calves in their first 10 days and enriching it according to their immunoglobulin G (IgG) status has helped a Pembrokeshire dairy farm slash mortality rates pre-weaning. Farmers Guardian reports.

Dairy New feeding programme revolutionises calf health

Will and Alex Prichard calve 500 cows in a spring block at Escalwen, near Letterston, and also run two 200cow autumn calving herds.

That high throughput of calves can present disease challenges – in the three years to 2023, calf mortality from neonatal diarrhoea averaged 9.5%, peaking at 16% in 2022 when the herd was subject to bovine TB movement restrictions.

Mr Prichard says: “Over my entire farming career, one of the most depressing things I have experienced is when calf rearing goes wrong and when mortality and sickness in calves becomes almost insurmountable.”

In an attempt to correct weaknesses in their system, in 2023 the Prichards and their calf rearer, Tom Phillips, embarked on a new feeding programme, guided by veterinary consultant Dr Ryan Davies. They invested in two pasteurisers, part funded by the Welsh Government Small Grants – Efficiency scheme, feeding cow transition milk enriched with whole bovine powdered colostrum after calves had received their colostrum feed.

Transition milk is produced by the cow from the second milking after calving, up to the sixth, and contains a higher percentage of milk solids, antibodies, vitamins and minerals than milk produced after this point in the lactation. It also has elevated levels of

growth factors, natural antimicrobial proteins and other bioactive substances.

But the quality of transition milk is highly variable. That, in conjunction with the transfer of passive immunity (TPI) from colostrum dictating a calf’s antibody levels, will make a significant difference to health and performance.

Antibodies

If calves do not receive sufficient antibodies, they are more likely to die, suffer from diarrhoea or respiratory issues, and require treatment with antibiotics.

Taking blood samples from calves and using IgG as a biomarker to standardise transition milk is one solution, and this is what the

Prichards did, supported by the Farming Connect ‘Try Out’ Fund, an initiative which funds individuals and groups of farmers and growers to experiment with ideas and bring them to life.

Throughout the calving season, Dr Davies took daily blood samples from newborn calves in their first 24 hours.

Results showed that 21% had an excellent TPI, 7% good, 41% fair and 31% poor.

“This is about average for the UK and good for a dairy block calving herd,” says Dr Davies, of Veterinary Technical Consulting.

The total solids in the pasteurised transition milk were measured with a Brix refractometer and, depending on the reading, it was enriched with a colostrum powder to standardise it to a minimum of 12.5% Brix or 14.5% milk solids. Another option is to add whole milk colostrum instead of powder.

Dr Davies says: “If we did not reach that threshold, we added whole bovine colostrum powder to it to increase the Brix reading.

“The average Brix for the milk at Escalwen was 10.5%, so we raised that to 12.5%, but every farm will be different.”

Top tips for feeding transition milk

■ Adhere to good hygiene practices when collecting and storing prior to feeding

■ Heat to the correct temperature before feeding

■ Take the health status of the herd into account to reduce risk of disease transfer, particularly if pasteurisation is not used

■ In systems which feed calf milk replacer instead of whole milk, the equivalent mass of milk powder should be removed and replaced with colostrum powder to maintain the solids percentage and prevent osmotic diarrhoea

Alex Prichard with her daughters at Escalwen, along with Dr Ryan Davies, veterinary consultant.

As well as transition milk feeding, improvements were made to hygiene and cleanliness to reduce the disease challenge.

Other parameters used for the milk were a total bacterial count of under 100,000 colony-forming units (cfu)/ml, a total coliform count of less than 10,000 cfu/ml and no antibiotic residues.

Dr Davies says: “It is important that calves are not fed any antibiotic residues because they inhibit the growth of the normal healthy gut microbiome.

Improvement

The milk was fed to calves up until day 10. This approach resulted in a significant improvement in calf health and a major reduction in mortalities.

Mortality resulting from neonatal diarrhoea reduced from an average of 9.5% to 3% and antibiotic usage in pre-weaned calves to 16%, from the five-year average of 45%.

Importantly, no highest-priority critically important antibiotics (HP-CIA) were used pre-weaning in 2024; in 2022 use of these had hit a high of 1.98mg/PCU.

Although feeding transition milk comes with some additional cost –from labour and equipment for its collection through to storage and heating – Mr Prichard says the improvements had completely changed the mood on the farm during the calving period.

He says: “Once you get your head around how important IgGs are, it almost becomes a passion to harvest as much of that IgG as you

The average Brix for the milk at Escalwen was 10.5%, so we raised that to 12.5%, but every farm will be different

DR RYAN DAVIES

possibly can and utilise it in your own herd.”

As well as transition milk feeding, improvements were made to hygiene and cleanliness to reduce the disease challenge.

Pasteurising the milk was a ‘game changer’, he adds, to reduce disease risks such as Johne’s and bTB.

The milk was pasteurised for 60 minutes at 60degC to destroy pathogens, including mycoplasma, salmonella, e.coli and listeria.

Pasteurising at higher temperatures or for a longer duration can reduce antibody levels, although studies have shown this is more effective in the destruction of Johne’s and bTB organisms which can be detected after heating to 60degC for 60 minutes.

The installation of robots in 2019 paved the way for David Luxton and his family to realise system benefits by managing fixed costs more efficiently and focusing on generating more milk with lower operating costs. Farmers Guardian reports.

Adapting to robots to drive greater efficiency

Newlands Farm is owned by Robert and Elizabeth Haworth.

Their daughter Sarah manages the farm with her partner David Luxton, and in 2019 the farm chose to switch from milking through a herringbone parlour to three DeLaval VMS V300 robots.

“We have maintained the herd size and, rather than grow, we have chosen to use the robots to enable us to manage our time and costs,” says Mr Luxton.

“We have 180 in milk, 200 in the herd and 200 followers, which suits the 270 acres we farm.”

His aim has been to manage the

fixed costs of the business to prevent any unplanned expense. This has included changing the farm’s main tractor and telehandler to a permanent hire agreement.

“I’m not an engineer or a mechanic, nor do I have any experience with robotics. I see my role as farm manager, making sure that everyone and everything involved is working as it should so I can focus on driving milk yield efficiency,” he says.

And this is where the robots have provided the farm with significant gains. Average milkings have risen to 2.7 and the robots are taking 11,500 litres per cow per year, which has increased

from 10,000 litres when the robots were first installed in 2019.

“The increase in yield is a mixture of the cows milking well through the robots and the improvements we have made to genetics, forage management and reducing the time the cows spend at the robot,” he says.

Selecting cows

Working with Cogent to accelerate genomic gain, Mr Luxton is selecting cows with characteristics best suited to robots.

“We want to speed up box [robot] time, so we have been breeding cows with udders that are better suited to the robots. This is an

ongoing process and one that is having consistent benefits. By milking the cows through the robots faster, while maximising yield, we are increasing what each of the three robots can yield,” he says.

The robots are realising 2,000 litres per robot per day. However, he believes this could rise to 2,200 or 2,300 litres as adjustments are made. He suggests that some cows seek to be milked too often and take up valuable robot time as each needs to be prepared to milk and sometimes is not giving sufficient milk per visit.

“Number of visits is less important to us than the yield achieved

Sarah Haworth and her partner David Luxton (pictured) chose to switch from milking through a herringbone parlour to three DeLaval VMS V300 robots in 2019.

We have maintained the herd size and, rather than grow, we have chosen to use the robots to enable us to manage our time and costs

DAVID LUXTON

from each visit, because we are trying to maximise milk from the three robots we have. By changing permissions and reducing the time each cow spends at the robots, we can milk more cows. This is all extra milk for the same overhead, we are just getting the cows through the robots faster to provide more time for additional cows to be milked,” he says. By having all the cows housed, the farm has fixed the system and its costs in a consistent and constant cycle. This has helped manage staff and control costs.

“We employ Sally, Nathan and Lily to help us, and their tasks have become more structured into a routine that is helping us to achieve more across the farm. The seasonal constraints associated with a grazing system are no

longer a concern and we can concentrate on managing our forage to improve milk yields and lower our concentrate costs,” he says.

The farm operates a multi-cut system, taking five cuts each year along with homegrown maize.

“We are maximising our grassland and working with an agronomist to improve our maize yield. Before the robots, I struggled to plan and make the most of the weather windows because milking took so much time. Now, I can follow the weather and take grass when it is at its best,” he says.

Inefficient

He considers grazing inefficient, suggesting that too much ground is lost to damage and the cows rarely take the full amount of forage on offer.

He has also begun to follow a reseeding strategy to improve the grass yield. This has included looking into Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) options to realise

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By changing permissions and reducing the time each cow spends at the robots, they can milk more cows, says Mr Luxton.

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“I attended countless meetings about SFI incentives and came away concerned about the impact on the farm,” he says.

He explains that, with the grassland system the farm operates, he knows what the cows are yielding, and there was no suggestion this would improve sufficiently to cover the uncertainty of moving sig-

nificant portions of land to an SFI scheme.

“We are working on a long-term strategy to maximise the productivity of the farm without increasing the herd size. Risking our highly productive grassland by planting herbal leys for SFI payments could jeopardise our forage quality and our milk yields. It is something we are considering, but we will be cautious with our commitment,” he says.

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Working with Cogent to accelerate genomic gain, Mr Luxton is selecting cows with characteristics best suited to robots.

By having all the cows housed, the farm has fixed the system and its costs in a consistent and constant cycle. This has helped manage staff and control costs.

Calculating margins and making decisions in this way was not a luxury the farm could afford prior to the robots. Mr Luxton is now in a position to weigh up any change to the system and ensure it has a sustainable and positive effect.

“I have friends with herds five times ours and I have been taking a lead from larger farms to apply their strategy to our farm.

“We have also become an AHDB strategic dairy farm, part of a group of about 20 throughout the UK. By bringing industry leaders to the farm, we have been able to learn from them and the others in the group,” he adds.

He suggests the farm’s goal is to

milk 200 cows as efficiently as possible. There is little desire to increase the land being farmed or the buildings needed to house more cows. For Mr Luxton, it is not about improving income through growth, but instead by efficiency.

“Modern farming is forcing system changes. One way is to grow and increase overall farm income, but we have chosen to focus on profit. By focusing on milk production, we have been able to see gains in yield while better managing our costs,” he says.

He concedes that his own role on the farm has changed considerably to facilitate the transforma-

The farm operates a multi-cut system, taking five cuts each year along with homegrown maize.

tion and sees himself now as a manager rather than a milker.

The list of outside help is considerable, with Cogent, Penbode Vets, Daw Refrigeration, Excel Agri nutritionists and agricultural contractor Moores of Froxton all on board to help make improvements. However, Mr Luxton has welcomed this working arrangement.

“We have created business relationships to improve efficiencies and these need to be managed carefully to make sure everyone involved is working together for the good of the farm and the productivity of the herd. In doing so, we have seen an uplift in milk while carefully managing our costs,” he says.

Additional income

By freeing up time, Mr Luxton is also able to bring in additional income by working with Moores of Froxton as a tractor operator. This makes the machinery overhead more efficient and provides the farm with newer machines that reduce operating costs.

“By fixing as many costs throughout the farm as possible, and concentrating on making incremental improvements to each, we are saving time and money while helping the cows to produce more milk.

“It has been a switch from milking cows to managing whole-farm productivity and it has improved the business and our quality of life.”

I see my role as farm manager, making sure that everyone and everything is working as it should so I can focus on driving milk yield efficiency

DAVID LUXTON

Farm facts

■ The herd is housed and calved all year round

■ The farm has moved to pedigree classification and is selling in-calf heifers as an additional income

■ Through DeLaval’s service plan, Mr Luxton works with dealer Daw Refrigeration to provide the robots with all the consumables and chemicals needed. He only pays labour and parts over £75

Nutritionists

are recommending farmers ensure choline is in the transition cow diet to promote health for both the cow and calf. Ellie Layton reports.

Researchers are seeing the benefits of supplementing dairy cow diets with choline after 25 years of research by Balchem and Trident Micronutri.

They have found choline is an essential nutrient for transition cows as it reduces the fat burden on a cows liver around calving.

Speaking at a transition cow management seminar held by Balchem and Trident Micronutri, Dr Jose Santos, of University of Florida, said: “Research suggests that 50% of cows suffer moderate to severe fatty liver, which can put major strain on cows throughout the calving period.

“Traditionally, choline has been fed as a form of ketosis prevention due to its impact on the liver.

“By supporting and optimising the liver in the dry period, the body fat that is mobilised in early lactation is broken down effectively and avoids being overwhelmed by ketones allowing the liver to fully perform converting volatile fatty acids into lactose.

“The liver’s role in milk production makes it crucial to support and maintain its function. Supporting the liver in the dry period and into lactation is vital as the demand for fat breakdown on the liver increases dramatically after calving.

“Supplementing choline will aid milk production, and energy levels which reflects in conception rates.”

He said the period of 21 days preand post-calving was a crucial period for the animal with many metabolic changes occurring during this time.

Choline is frequently supplemented in the diet of periparturient dairy cows to support postpartum health and performance.

Choline – the underestimated calving nutrient

“It has been found that 90% of choline supplementation is broken down in the rumen, so feeding rumen protected choline

ECONOMICS OF THE DRY PERIOD

RESEARCH shows the positive effects that choline can have during the calving period, but Anna Millar, ruminant technical manager at Trident Micronutri, said feeding throughout the whole dry period can lead to even further benefits.

She said: “Feeding for the entire period will obtain pre-calving benefits, and reduce metabolic disorders with a possible 60% milk increase.

“This can provide a return on investment of 13:1 on a 60-day period or 17:1 over 45 days,” she added.

Trident Micronutri carried out a study at Metcalf Farms, Leyburn looking at the result of feeding choline.

The study, held in 2022, aimed to improve transition, enabling an increased three-week milk yield to improve the health of transition cows.

Metcalf Farms run a 1,100 pedigree Holstein herd averaging 37.5kg/cow/ day at 3.9% butterfat and 3.2% protein in a three times a day milking system.

“The group of cows were fed choline at a rate of 30g/cow/day with a bespoke diet after they had previously been fed a source of rumen protected choline. We saw minimal incidences of metabolic diseases of ketosis, milk fever and metritis of less than 2.5% and an improvement in colostrum quality,” said Ms Millar.

reduced the rate vitamins are broken down.

“Significant increases in milk production up to 3.5 litres can be seen, compared to cows that do not receive choline,” added Mr Santos.

When looking at the benefits to calves, he said when cows were fed choline, their colostrum yield rose by 2.5kg/cow/day and colostrum quality was maintained.

■ Up to 85% increase in colostrum yield

■ Positive impact on transition cow health

■ Improved growth and health of calves

■ Supports fat metabolism

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Supporting the liver in the dry period and into lactation is vital as the demand for fat breakdown on the liver increases dramatically after calving. PHONE OR ORDER ONLINE Tel: 01738 842996 www.bdsupplies.co.uk sales@bdsupplies.co.uk

Benefits of choline

A Welsh dairy farm is companion cropping maize with sunflowers to reduce its purchased protein costs. Debbie James reports.

Sunflower protein proves financially attractive to business

Dyfrig and Elin Griffiths and their son, Llyr, produce milk from 500 pedigree Holsteins at Tafarn y Bugail, near Cardigan, growing most of the feed that goes into the total mixed ration (TMR).

They grow 67 hectares (165 acres) of maize, 202ha (500 acres) of grass silage, 30ha (75 acres) of barley and 32ha (80 acres) of hay on the 516ha (1,275 acres) they farm.

The herd, which yields an annual average of 9,200 litres a cow, is grazed through the summer but the high yielders are housed at night to give greater control of feed consistency and intakes.

Zero grazing on the shoulders of the season helps to increase the volume of milk that can be produced from forage.

The principal protein source in

You probably would not want to go above 20-30% of this forage within the total forage in the diet because sunflowers contain a lot of oil

IWAN VAUGHAN

the TMR is a rumen-protected rapeseed expeller.

As protein is one of the most ex-

pensive components in the ration, reducing overall reliance on this purchased input is a financially attractive option for the business.

Sunflowers are naturally high in crude protein and could displace some of that purchased product.

Intercropped

This year, to explore if this could work without compromising production, 8ha (20 acres) of the maize crop has been intercropped with sunflowers, supported by the Farming Connect Try Out Fund, an initiative that funds individuals and groups of farmers and growers to experiment with ideas and bring them to life.

A mix of 80% maize and 20% sunflower was drilled, a ratio selected because a higher percentage of sunflowers could lead to shading.

Speaking at an on-farm event organised by Farming Connect, the

Farm facts

■ All-year-round calving

■ 24/48 swingover parlour

■ Milk supplied to Freshways

■ Four full-time staff

farm’s agronomist, Lawrence Couzens, said one of the biggest challenges with bi-cropping was weed control as it restricts herbicide use.

Dyfrid (left) and Llyr Griffiths (right) are exploring if sunflowers can displace some of the purchased protein in their cows’ TMR.

Although the crop at Tafarn y Bugail has yet to be harvested, the sunflowers are expected to produce a good yield.

“There is only the option of one pre-emergence spray and then you have to close the gate,’’ he said.

The weeds in the crop at Tafarn y Bugail were outpaced by both crops.

“The sunflowers are very competitive once they get up and away, as long as they are not swamped by weeds earlier on they will swamp out the weeds themselves,’’ said Mr Couzens.

“But it can be a double-edged sword because if they grow quicker than the maize they can shade the maize, so that is why we have gone for a ratio of two rows of sunflowers to every four of maize.’’

Diseases

There are two main diseases that sunflowers are susceptible to: botrytis and sclerotinia.

Botrytis is a head rot induced by warm, wet conditions, while sclerotinia rots the plant stem.

Mr Couzens advised that if botrytis occurs in a sunflower crop, glyphosate can be applied to dry down the crop to speed harvest, but this is not an option in a maize bi-crop.

“In this situation the only option is to harvest as early as possible,’’ he said.

“Sclerotinia is generally more manageable.’’

Slug, rabbit and pigeon damage can be a problem at emergence, he added.

“Aphids can be an issue as the plant grows but they do not seem to affect the yield.’’

Although the crop at Tafarn y Bugail has yet to be harvested, the

sunflowers are expected to produce a good yield. Data from Canada, where pure stands of sunflowers are grown, shows yields of around 47 tonnes/ha (19t/acre).

“A lot of that would be water, so the later that they can be harvested the better, to get the dry matter level up,’’ said Mr Couzens.

Maize analyses at around 8% protein, but including sunflowers in the mix should increase the protein level overall to 11-12%.

That protein is mainly rumen degradable protein, there to target a lower crude protein diet and reduce total inputs. A good-quality bypass protein will also need to be fed, advised dairy nutritionist Iwan Vaughan, who formulates the ration at Tafarn y Bugail.

He said: “Maize and sunflowers combine quite well because if you can bring protein in as an rumen degradable protein plus starch from the maize you are utilising more in the rumen, driving rumen fermentation and microbial protein synthesis.’’

It is important to get the crop analysed, he added.

“As long as you have an analysis the nutritionist can work around it but the cow will soon tell you if she is happy or not, she is the first judge.

“In terms of percentage, you probably would not want to go above 20-30% of this forage within the total forage in the diet because sunflowers contain a lot of oil.’’

Sunflowers are high in fibre, too, and provide a good balance to multi-cut silage.

If they [sunflowers] grow quicker than the maize they can shade the maize, so that is why we have gone for a ratio of two rows of sunflowers to every four of maize

LAWRENCE COUZENS

Mr Vaughan added: “If you are on a five-cut system where you have lush green grass that is high in protein and energy but low in neutral detergent fibre, you need the fibre.

“If you have stalky grass on a two-cut system, you would want to reduce fibre from other sources like straw if you are feeding maize and sunflowers. It all depends what else is going into the diet.’’

Energy

While protein is expensive, Mr Vaughan said energy in the clamp is potentially more valuable to a dairy farm and therefore needs to be considered when bi-cropping.

“I would rather have a 12ME

silage in the clamp which is 14% protein rather than a 9ME silage which is 18% protein. I can make that work and it is easier to buy in protein than energy.’’

Sunflowers are mainly grown on the continent for their oil, and varieties have been bred for that climate and purpose rather than as a livestock feed.

The high oil content, although beneficial to butterfat levels in milk production, can cause issues.

Mr Couzens added: “It is about getting the balance right because if you have too much oil in the ration, it upsets the cow’s gut – 80% maize and 20% sunflowers gives about the right mix.”

Dairy UK Dairy Day Preview

The internal and external exhibition areas at this year’s UK Dairy Day will once again host trade exhibitors, including feed manufacturers, animal health suppliers, vets, milk buyers, dairy and farm equipment suppliers, plus professional service providers and charities.

With more than 280 trade stands and the first floor Sharing Knowledge Zone, there will be an extensive display of products and services, supported with expert advice.

A showcase of new products exhibitors have launched in the past 12 months will feature in the concourse.

As well as industry panels and seminars, there will be live foot-trimming and knife-sharpening demonstrations from Tim Carter, and Scarsdale Vets with the ‘Beneath the Black and White’ calf painting.

The UK Dairy Day 2024 cattle show will feature six dairy breeds, with a leading line-up of judges, who will cast their professional

TIMETABLE

9.30-10am

■ SEMINAR presentation one: Mycotoxins in grass silage – risk factors and remedies presented by Jessica Webster, Harper Adams University 10am-11am

■ INDUSTRY panel one: The opportunities – cows 11am-11.30am

■ SEMINAR presentation two: Lely’s yellow revolution by Andrew Wilson, sales manager at Lely 11.30am-12.30pm

■ INDUSTRY panel two: The opportunities – carbon 12.30-1pm

■ SEMINAR presentation three:

The countdown is on to UK Dairy Day, which takes place at the International Centre, Telford, on September 11, 2024.

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of UK Dairy Day

eyes over the showring. The Holstein UK banners will be presented to the Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor. One of the af-

Breeding for healthier feet; an update on lameness genetics research and on the role of the UK Hoof Health Registry by Prof Georgios Oikonomouof, Liverpool University 1pm-2pm

■ INDUSTRY panel three: The opportunities – culture 2pm-2.30pm

■ SEMINAR presentation four: Detecting pregnancy in milk: yes, it is possible presented by IDEXX with vet Owen Atkinson and farmer Duncan Hughes 2.30pm-3.30pm

■ INDUSTRY panel four: The opportunities – costs

ternoon’s highlights in the showring is always the presentation of the Holstein UK Premier Herd Award, with the 2024 winner being announced, judged by last year’s winner, the Wills family, of Willsbro Holsteins.

The full cattle show will be livestreamed, with commentary for those unable to attend.

UK Dairy Day

■ September 11, 2024; doors open at 8am

■ Free entry and parking, with no need to pre-register

■ UK Dairy Day is an accredited event with Dairy Pro CPD and BASIS CPD points

MORE INFORMATION

For more details and to view the live-streaming of the cattle show, visit ukdairyday.co.uk

The internal exhibition area by Hall 3 cattle stalls will feature type classification and linear scoring demonstrations for the Ayrshire, Jersey and Holstein breeds.

The demonstrations, by National Bovine Data Centre (NBDC) classifiers, will be held at 12.30pm and 2.30pm.

The NBDC type classification scheme currently evaluates more than 130,000 dairy and beef animals every year, operating an internationally recognised appraisal system, providing an overall classification score for heifers and cows, which can substantially increase their value.

The first floor Sharing Knowledge Zone will feature four industry panels with leading industry representatives.

The hour-long panels will run alongside four seminar presentations, with speakers covering key dairy subjects and each broadcast on screens, plus recordings available to watch after the event.

Crowds gathering at last year’s UK Dairy Day.

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Dairy UK Dairy Day Preview

Cumbrian dairy farmer Willie Taylor will be judging the Jersey entries at this year’s UK Dairy Day. Wendy Short spoke to him ahead of his assignment.

Jersey judge gears up for show

After buying a Jersey for a ‘bit of extra interest’, Willie Taylor was so impressed with the breed that he went on to establish the 20-cow ‘Jaytee’ pedigree Jersey herd, which is milked alongside 80 Holsteins and a flying summer herd at the family’s farm, The Harras, near Carlisle.

Many producers add Jerseys to their herds to boost milk constituent figures, but this was not the motivation for Mr Taylor.

“I bought my first Jersey cow in 2005, and because she fitted in so well another soon joined her, and the pedigree herd grew from there,” he says.

“The Jerseys have a lot of good qualities. They may be smaller than the Holsteins, but they are definitely the bosses. The cows are strong and fit, with good longevity.

“Some are in their seventh and eighth lactations and they are still making a positive contribution to the business. They do help to improve milk butterfat percentages for our contract with Arla, and that is an added bonus.”

The ideal Jersey cow ‘has yet to be bred’, says Mr Taylor, who also

judges Holstein cows. However, he has a clear idea of what he will be looking for when he takes to the judging ring. He says: “I like something that catches the eye. It must have a lot

Alongside a 20-cow Jersey herd, there are 80 Holsteins and a flying summer herd at The Harras, near Carlisle.

of style, but functionality is also very important. A winning animal should have good feet and legs and correct locomotion. The udder must be well attached, and the body will need plenty of width at the

front end. A cow is like a sports car; if it lacks a powerful engine, it will not be able to go very fast. Therefore, I will pass over a cow which looks narrow in the chest.

“The size of a Jersey cow is lower

Any calves not required as replacements are bucket-fed and moved on to group pens.

Willie Taylor (right) and his nephew, Rhys McKie, with Jersey cow Clifton Bethany.

PICTURES: JOHN EVESON

A cow is like a sports car; if it lacks a powerful engine, it will not be able to go very fast. Therefore, I will pass over a cow which looks narrow in the chest

WILLIE TAYLOR

down on my list of priorities, so leg length is irrelevant, provided the body has the capacity to turn grass or silage into milk.”

Mr Taylor farms 101 hectares (250 acres) with his mother, Evelyn, and his nephew, Rhys McKie. The herd calves all year round and is housed in cubicles, with the total mixed ration (TMR) topped up using concentrates fed to yield in the parlour.

During the grazing season, which usually runs from May to October/November, the cows are housed overnight. Numbers are expanded through the spring purchase of an additional 20-25 head of black and whites, which are culled in the autumn. This takes advantage of the summer seasonality milk payment.

Judging

Mr Taylor sits on the Jersey Cattle Society judging panel and has travelled extensively in his role, assessing cattle all over the country. He is also a past chair of the Cumbria-based Lakes Jersey Club. He finds a ready explanation for

Jersey cows are strong and fit, with good longevity, says Willie Taylor.

Dairy UK Dairy Day Preview

his strong commitment to being a show cattle judge for the past 25 years.

He says: “I like being around good cows.

“It is enjoyable to travel to parts of the country that I would not otherwise visit and to meet new people, as well as catching up with old friends on the show circuit. I also attend the Society’s annual general meetings.”

Showing

At home, the family has a long history of showing Jerseys and Harras Holsteins at local events, including the Dalston and Skelton Shows in Cumbria.

Bovine TB restrictions have prevented show outings in recent years, and their most recent achievement is a breed championship with a Holstein at Skelton Show in 2018.

They also had a placing with one of the Jerseys at the same event,

and have taken red ribbons locally on many previous occasions.

Sexed semen is used extensively on the Jerseys, with the lower end put to a British Blue sire. Among the Jersey bulls used are Rivermead Casino Addiction and Bayview Explore, both of which have calves on the ground. Meanwhile, the first batch of heifers put to Unique Webcam are due to calve.

Mr Taylor says: “There are plenty of good Jersey bulls to choose from, although one or two that have been used across the herd have failed to click. That has to be accepted, because it is all part of breeding cows, and it is what makes it such an interesting subject.

Breeding

“I always study the bull’s dam in detail, as a good cow is the end goal. Sire figures are considered, but only if the dam pedigree stacks up.”

Dance, Pet and Eileen are among the main cow families at The Harras.

“Some of our cows go back to the Shellen herd, and we also have cows from the Twinkle family, which came from the Bayview herd in Lancashire,” says Mr Taylor.

“Jaytee Precision Fenella was probably the best cow we have ever bred; she won her class at Skelton Show, had good conformation and milked extremely well. Her sire, Shellen Precision, gave great performance in the herd. I would describe him as the complete package, with the figures to back him up. Precision was such a tremendous bull that I would like to find another like him. He offered a perfect fit for our stamp of cow.”

Mr Taylor is not a fan of technology, but his nephew is keen to embrace new ideas and the cows have recently been fitted with smaXtec boluses. The product helps with heat detection and pregnancy onset, giving early disease alerts and monitoring rumination, inner body temperature and water intake.

The sexed semen policy has been in place for about six years and artificial insemination is carried out in-house, with favourable results for conception rates. Any Jersey and Holstein calves that are not required as replacements are bucket-fed and moved on to group pens containing about half a dozen head. The beef calves are sold when weaned at 10-12 weeks old.

Soil type

The soil type at The Harras is made up of sandy loams and clays. The fields can be prone to summer drought, and Tyfon – a cross between a stubble turnip and Chinese cabbage, sown in the spring – is grown as a supplementary feed to

Farm facts

■ The average Jersey yield is just under 7,000kg, with the Holsteins at 9,000kg

■ Heifers are calved at 24 months

■ Given the flying herd, the herd is vaccinated extensively for protection against all the major infectious diseases, including leptospirosis, IBR and BVD

make up for any shortfalls in grass productivity within the rotational grazing system. Wholecrop wheat is also grown as a TMR ration ingredient on the unit.

In addition to the dairy herd, the farm also carries a flying flock of Texel, Suffolk and Mule hoggs. Purchased in the autumn, they go to a Texel tup and are sold with their lambs at foot in May.

This summer, the Jerseys will be grazing fields up to 228 metres (750 feet) above sea level with their Holstein companions. Mr Taylor points to the benefits of keeping the two breeds.

“I like them both,” he says.

“The Holsteins fill the tank and the Jerseys make up for their lower cull value because of their durability. They each have qualities that match with our farming system. Cow numbers are likely to stay the same in the future as the farm is fairly tightly stocked.

“The biggest challenge faced by the business is milk price volatility, but there is little that we can do about that, so our focus will remain on trying to get the best out of the two breeds and on keeping input costs as low as possible,” says Mr Taylor.

The average Jersey yield at The Harras is just under 7,000kg.

Dance, Pet and Eileen are among the main cow families on-farm.

Expert judges are set for UK Dairy Day

BROWN SWISS BLAISE TOMLINSON

LEICESTERSHIRE dairy farmer Blaise Tomlinson has been selected by the Brown Swiss Cattle Society to judge the National Brown Swiss Show.

Mr Tomlinson, along with his wife Deborah, runs the Sandyford herd comprising 200 Holsteins and 50 Ayrshires in Loughborough.

The family has been showing cows for nearly 40 years and enjoyed much success, winning inter-breed titles at The Royal Show, Royal Welsh Show, AgriScot, Great Yorkshire Show and the Dairy Show, to name just a few.

Mr Tomlinson has judged at many

local and national shows all over Great Britain and Ireland, as well as Australia, South Africa and Jersey.

HOLSTEIN MARCEL EGLI

MARCEL Egli of Lucerne, Switzerland will judge the National Holstein Show. Mr Egli has judged many shows in his home country along with international shows in France, Germany and Ireland, and joined the European Holstein and Red Holstein Confederation European judges panel in 2022. He has worked for the breeding association, Swiss Herdbook, since 2014 and has been an official judge for Swiss Herdbook since 2017. In 2020, he took over his wife Fabienne’s farm in Les Breuleux,

JERSEY WILLIE TAYLOR

WILLIE Taylor farms in the Eden Valley on the edge of the Pennines, where he runs the Jaytee Jersey herd alongside Harras Holsteins on a 101-hectare (250-acre) farm with his nephew.

He has judged many shows up and down the country from Cumbria to Somerset in the past 25 years.

He is a past chair of the Lakes Jersey Club and a member of the Border and Lakeland Holstein Club.

PAUL Harrison, a second-generation dairy farmer, with his wife Ann, has a milking herd of 30 Dairy Shorthorns and 50 Holsteins, calving all year round. The Breckney Shorthorn herd was established in 1989 when they purchased a maiden heifer Winbrook herd.

Mr Harrison has shown and judged dairy cattle for more than 40 years — first as a member of the Holstein Friesian judges panel then a member of the new Holstein Society judges and the Dairy Shorthorn panel.

Over the years, he has judged numerous shows, herd competitions and stockjudging competitions with highlights being judging the inter-

breed group of five animals at the Royal Show, along with the Dairy Shorthorn calves and showmanship classes at the National All Breeds calf show, and visiting Australia twice to judge the Illawarra classes.

AYRSHIRE AND GUERNSEY IAN COLLINS

UK Dairy Day will welcome Ian Collins for the Ayrshire Cattle Society’s National Show, and the Guernsey judging.

Mr Collins is owner and breeder of the Churchroyd herd after farming in partnership with his late parents. He has been involved with the Ayrshire Society since he was 10 years old, when he competed in the young members’ competitions at the Royal Show.

He is an experienced judge, being on several breed panels, and having

judged

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DAIRY SHORTHORN PAUL HARRISON

Jura, where he manages 22 hectares (54 acres) and rears around 60 heifers. He is also a partner in the auction business, Genetics Sale.

the Ayrshire calves at the National Calf Show to inter-breed classes in the UK and overseas.

For more on Mr Taylor, see p34-36.

Dairy UK Dairy Day Preview

The UK Dairy Day new product competition is sponsored by IDEXX and this year features 11 products. Katie Jones reports.

New product competition finalists

ALKAPROSTAR

FROM HOME N’ DRY BY DUGDALE NUTRITION

ALKAPROSTAR is a new alkaline, high-protein, high-starch feed material for partial and total mixed ration diets, and is designed to stabilise and enhance rumen function and improve overall feed efficiency.

AlkaProStar is supplied in a ground meal format and comprises Home n’ Dry, the foundation of Dugdale Nutrition’s Alkasystems technology,

with cereal (wheat or barley options), giving a consistent finished product. It provides protein, starch and buffering and the ground meal form enables users to mix the product with ease into partial mixed rations or total mixed rations, and this will also avoid cows sorting at the trough.

n More information on stand E43.

DELAVAL

PLUS FROM DELAVAL UK

DELAVAL Plus is an advanced customer portal powered by DeepBlue, a unique artificial intelligence system which collects and analyses herd data to provide actionable insights and health alerts.

Key features include disease risk prediction, reproduction performance analysis and several other analytical applications. Integrating data from various

CLODAGH FROM GOLDCROP

CLODAGH is the UK’s newest white clover variety and was developed by Teagasc in Ireland.

It has proven performance across the UK under a range of conditions. It is a large leaf variety, and unlike existing large leaf varieties, it can persist under intensive grazing and cutting while providing vastly superior yield in comparison to the current market standard.

It has ground cover more akin to a small leaf variety.

In the all important third harvest year, Clodagh has 32% more clover yield than the mean, and has the highest autumn ground cover at the end of the second harvest year, under both light and hard defoliation. This indicates a higher stolon mass, which is proven to result in improved clover persistence.

n More information on stand L10.

DELTAFEEDER FROM HANSKAMP AGROTECH BV

THE compact anti-spill feed dispenser DeltaFeeder is a high-quality feed doser made of high-quality industrial polyester and is easy to assemble in the milking parlour.

The drop tube can be made of all kinds of materials and in different widths. The specially designed feed

outlet is easy to cut to the right size for the drop tube.

It can dispense small portions of feed (as little as 50g) during the entire milking process, which results in relaxed cows during milk. It has a low energy consumption and is compatible with all systems.

n More information on stand L2.

FRESH BOOST FROM PROVITA ANIMAL HEALTH

FRESH Boost is an oral paste supplying beneficial bacteria, vitamins, dextrose and egg powder for transition and fresh cows.

Between 60-80% of clinical diseases in the lifespan of highyielding dairy cows occur over the transition period during which cows experience a certain degree of stress, negative energy balance, reduced appetite and dry matter intake, sub-optimal rumen

fermentation and low immunity. Failure to adapt to these changes may result in excessive fat mobilisation, immunosuppression and, ultimately, metabolic or infectious disease in the postpartum period.

Fresh Boost helps to directly address these problems allowing a smoother transition with fewer disease problems.

n More information on stand H130.

LELY DISCOVERY COLLECTOR C2 FROM LELY

THE Discovery Collector C2 is specifically designed for barns with solid floors and takes a revolutionary approach when compared to traditional manure scrapers.

The Collector does not push manure, but vacuums it, which not only makes for a cleaner floor, it also ensures the cows’ hooves

MIPULSE FROM INTERPULS

remain cleaner. This improves both cow health and the well-being of the animals.

It sprays water from the front and back of the machine. Spraying from the front results in better manure intake, and from the back leaving behind a wet floor for additional grip.

n More information on stand H227.

sensors, DeLaval Plus offers a comprehensive overview of farm operations, enabling improved decision-making and sustainability.

With streamlined access to herd data anytime anywhere, farmers can efficiently manage cow health, fertility and milk production, enhancing productivity and management efficiency.

n More information on stand H143.

MIPULSE is a diagnostic tool which helps farmers maintain high milking performance by ensuring liners and pulsators are always working at their best. MIPulse monitors the condition of pulsators and vacuum line 24/7, enabling problems to be spotted and resolved quickly before they affect the animals.

It also provides important information on milker performance

including pulsation phase control, milking point failure alert, milking time recording and vacuum level monitoring. The data is always accessible and can be viewed remotely on a PC or smartphone with an internet connection.

The MIPulse can be installed on all types of installations, all makes, new or used.

n More information on stand H162.

UK Dairy Day Preview Dairy

NOBACZ NAVEL FROM NOBACZ HEALTHCARE

NOBACZ Navel is a unique, patented solution which rapidly disinfects and dries the navel. It is antibiotic-free, consisting of feed grade materials; a combination of a natural polymer with metal ions in a surgical spirit base, which forms a lasting waterproof seal, keeping pathogens out.

Developed specifically for navel and eartag use, in conjunction with a leading ruminant veterinarian.

NoBACZ Navel can be used instead of your traditional navel treatment and can be applied by dipping or spraying.

n More information on stand TB19.

ROBOSPRAY FROM DAIRYMASTER

DAIRYMASTER’S RoboSpray is a robotic teat spraying arm which gives a more precise and consistent spray pattern, closer to the udder, to ensure a better coverage of all teats and a more effective use of the teat spray solutions.

The Dairymaster RoboSpray is designed to provide an automated, enhanced and more efficient teat spray solution for high throughput farms removing the need for manual teat spraying.

The robot is equipped with state-of-the-art robotics and artificial intelligence-driven vision system for ultimate spray accuracy.

n More information on stand H236.

PULSE OXIDATION FOR ROBOTIC MILKING SYSTEMS FROM OXI-TECH SOLUTION

PULSE Oxidation for Robotic Milking Systems is a new retrofit clean-tech system for existing automated milking systems.

The product uses just water and low voltage electricity to create the most effective industrial biocide on the planet.

The technology which can be integrated into existing robotic systems, features next generation software with secure cloud data and remote phone app monitoring which optimises Oxi-Tech’s unique chemical-free disinfection system.

n More information on stand F20.

PEDIVUE FROM HOOFCOUNT

PEDIVUE is a new state-of-the-art lameness detection device from Hoofcount designed to daily visualise changes to hoof health, provide early detection of any potential issues and, in turn, enable dairy farmers to make the earliest treatment.

Located in a unique position in the door of Hoofcount automatic footbath, a high-speed camera takes footage of the moving hooves each time the cow steps away from the footbath.

It then identifies changes to the hoof which indicate the very

earliest detection of lameness and specifically digital dermatitis.

The system is able to identify lesions at the M2 active stage before they reach the M4 chronic stage.

The information downloaded to a farmer friendly dashboard for viewing on the farm’s PC web browser or phone app.

The system will inform the farmer of the affected cow, which hoof and if the lesion is chronic or active. It will also offer information and treatment protocol.

n More information on stand E33.

Dairy UK Dairy Day Preview

Castle Farm, on the outskirts of Newport, was originally a dairy unit, but when the original milking herd was dispersed in the 1970s, the focus turned to beef and sheep.

However, after the Rickard family began to take an interest in showing calves, the farm is now home once again to a dairy herd, which is farmed alongside sheep, beef and a freerange laying hen unit.

The business is run by husband and wife, Sian and Kevin Rickard and their children, nine-yearold Archie and seven-year-old Maya, along with Sian’s father Martin Webber.

The farm, which looks over the Severn Bridge across to Bristol, is 76 hectares (190 acres), all of which is grass, except for 8ha (20 acres) of maize which is used in the cattle total mixed ration. Sian’s brother, Ben Webber, runs the flock of 300 cross-bred ewes on the farm and a small herd of 30 beef cattle.

Sian and Kevin explain they are now milking 65 Holstein and Jersey cows, which is down slightly on previous herd numbers, with the herd reduced in 2018 to support the establishment of their 32,000 free-range laying hen unit, which spans 16ha (42 acres).

Showing dairy cattle is a passion for the Rickard family, who have built up a successful dairy herd from scratch, and future-proofed their family farm along the way. Ellie Layton finds out more.

Welsh herd all set for UK Dairy Day

Kevin, whose family have a dairy farm nearby, joined the business to set up and work on the poultry unit, following a career with Cogent as a breeding adviser.

Local suppliers

Eggs are sold to Country Fresh Eggs, owned by Victoria Shervington-Jones, who lives near Newport. The family say they are grateful to work with a local supplier who they have a good relationship with and fully understand fluctuating input costs.

Sian says: “In efforts to futureproof our system, we sold most of our dairy herd in 2018 to fund the

poultry unit, knowing once it was stable, we could rebuild cow numbers.”

To go alongside the diversification, they built a farm shop and milk vending machine,

The Rickard family’s home-bred heifer, Starlet Haniko Atlee is part of the team entered at this year’s show.

Maya and Archie Rickard with Riverdane Hot Date.

which saw their home-reared beef, lamb and pork sold.

However, following issues from the local council, the shop was forced to shut its doors.

Sian says: “As a family, we found this incredibly frustrating. As an industry, we are encouraged to diversify, however, legislation contradicted our opportunities.

Lucky

“We are lucky to have two enthusiastic young children, and want to protect the business so they have an opportunity to farm in their future.”

But, despite this setback they continue to sell milk via the milk

If we

sold our milk through a processor,

we would need to keep more than double the head of cows to achieve the same income, which would limit other areas of the farm

KEVIN RICKARD

vending machine, which has proven to be a success, living in a highly populated area. And they have also started to make ice cream on-farm.

Kevin says: “In 2021, we installed a pasteuriser in a newly set up processing room, which allows us to make ice cream which is produced just metres away from the parlour, and we attend local events with our pod trailer.

He says selling their milk is what enables them to keep a small, high-quality herd and make a profit.

He adds: “If we sold our milk through a processor, we would need to keep more than double the

head of cows to achieve the same income, which would limit other areas of the farm.”

The herd is all year round calving to get a consistent milk supply, and the Jerseys within the herd help with milk quality, important for their ice cream-making. The herd’s butterfat levels stand at 4.4%, protein at 4.5%, with an average yield of 9,500 litres.

Grazing

Cows graze during summer and some fields are given free access to housing, while in winter they are housed.

A simple diet of grass silage, maize, feed blend and molasses is

fed, and show cows are given additional hay.

After reducing numbers in 2018, the Rickards have used embryos and sexed semen to build up herd numbers, while being able to breed the best possible genetics. Each cow is carefully matched with its mate and artificially inseminated at home, which is something Archie shows a great interest in.

Kevin also works part-time for Blondin Sires, as a breeding adviser.

This year bulls being used include Major, Legend, Willow Ray, Hallmark and Salute.

Kevin says: “We want to use the best genetics, to improve breeding

Left to right: Sian, Maya, Archie and Kevin Rickard.

After reducing numbers in 2018, the Rickards have used embryos and sexed semen to build up herd numbers.

Dairy UK Dairy Day Preview

year on year and to breed the best animals. We aim to breed a complete animal, which would suit any system.

“I like something which is showy, a balanced cow with good type and strong milking ability.”

After the replacements have been selected, the Rickard family offer high quality breeding stock privately, and at the Border and Lakeland Black and White sale, Shrewsbury Spotlight sale and the Highlights sale at Sedgemoor.

They have had a successful year, most recently with their heifer Starlet Legend Barbara sold at the Black and White sale for 4,200gns to Will Horsley’s Penrith-based Woodcatt herd.

The Rickards also like to buy-in fresh blood and a recent notable purchase is the April 2023-born calf, Riverdane Hot Date, a Farnear Delta Lambda daughter which was purchased from the Theatre of Dreams sale.

Last year she won champion calf at the Welsh Dairy Show 2023. Their other purchase from the Riverdane sale, Riverdane Awesome Ambrosia, a VG89 scoring second calver also picked up a third prize ticket at last years UK Dairy Day.

Showing is something the family enjoys doing together throughout the year and is something they say

has helped to put the Starlet prefix on the map, making it worth the financial outlay.

Sian says: “Showing at major shows is very expensive but if you have a good year, it is brilliant advertisement, and we can reap the rewards.

“We thoroughly enjoy showing, it is a great social for us and the children and an opportunity to stand against some of the best cows in the dairy industry.”

It is a team effort for the Rickards, who go to major shows as a team with Kevin’s family and have a team to help get the cattle from the yard to the show ring, and they are doing just that for this year’s UK Dairy Day.

Enthusiasm

Kevin says: “We are lucky to have such an enthusiastic team who get on so well, creating a real team spirit and bringing out the enjoyment of the job.

“As well as family, we have help from Arwyn Wilson who clips the cattle alongside Jack O’Neill, and Gwen Strudwick, Chloe James and Hannah Glyn Jones who help both in and out of the ring.”

Following last year’s win at UK Dairy Day with their Holstein senior yearling heifer, Starlet Rae,

who was later sold at the Black and White sale in 2023 for 4,500gns to Scotland, the family would like to bring home another ticket this year.

They have a team of four entered for this year’s show including four Holsteins and their Jersey, fourth calver, Whitefire Dazzler Flamingo.

Back in calf to Ghost, this cow has had a rollercoaster year after they nearly lost her at calving, following a win at the Welsh Dairy Show taking reserve champion at the Bath and West show.

She will be joined at UK Dairy Day by the EX94 classified Berry-

Martain

Farm facts

■ Castle Farm is a mixed farming system, with dairy, beef, poultry and sheep enterprises

■ They run 65 Holstein and Jersey milking cows

■ They have diversified with a milk vending machine and selling ice cream at local events

holme Lighthouse Flo, Starlet Haniko Atlee, owned in partnership with

Ley and Sophie Powell.

The herd grazes during summer, and some fields are given free access to housing.

Archie Rickard, with Riverdane Hot Date, at the Welsh Dairy show in October 2023.

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