Wales Farmer May 2013 NEWS 9


GOOD FOOD MANAGEMENT: Robert Pryce-Jones (right) manages his herd diet with input from his specialist nutritionist, Keith Gosney, of CCF Ltd.


PICTURE: Debbie James.


Three-way partnership key to farm’ssuccess


■ Attentiontodetail helps farmer scoop top dairy producer award


AN AWARD-WINNING dairy farmer says athree- way partnership has been


key to his success. Robert-Pryce Jones took on


the tenancy of Buttington Old Hall Farm,near Welshpool, 12 years ago. He wasnamed Arla- ASDADairylink Dairy Farmer of the Year in recognition of his attention to detail. Robert says areason forhis


success is the three-way collabo- ration between himself and his staff,


Arla-ASDAand


Clynderwen and Cardiganshire Farmers (CCF) Ltd. Over the last 12 years Robert,


in common with manynew starters in business,has had to cope with tight financial con- straints on his 300-acrefarm. The land rises steeplytomorethan 800 feet and half the farmlies on the flood plain of the River Severn. Robert has shown greatdeter-


mination to drive forwardabusi- ness based on 200 cows with yields approaching 10,000 litres. He adopts high standards of hygiene and wherepossible he


has utilised and adapted existing farmbuildings to minimise capi- tal expenditure. It is in Robert’smeticulous


approach thathehas found the assistance of the twooutside businesses invaluable. Through the Arla-ASDA Dairylink partnership,hewas prompted to introduce rubber matting in the parlour and groov- ing to the concrete in the collect- ing yardsand the cubicles.The partnership also helped him both directlyand indirectlywhen he switched from haylage towers and belt-feeding the cows to a system of silage clamps and semi- TMR. Information Robert gained from visiting other Dairylink farms also helped him in the design and fabrication of his owncubicles. Managing the waythe cows


arefed involved his other partner, CCF Ltd, through his specialist nutritionist, Keith Gosney.This collaboration helped the farm overcome health issues associated with copper toxicity. The Severn Plain is lowincop-


per,but cows at Buttington Old Hall Farm were inexplicablysuf-


By Debbie James


fering from the effects of high copper levels.Assoon as the problem wasidentified, CCF Ltd reformulated the cowdiets and arranged with the manufacturer, H. J. Lea Oakes,toremove and replace the existing diets.This wasdone within 12 hours of the problem being identified. Robert believesthis swift action wasonly possible because of the close rela- tionship he has with his supply partners. Diets arebased on perform-


ance and areregularly reviewed. This is done against aweekly updated Brinkmanship yield monitoring system and takes into account fertility,milk quality and the production profile required by Arla-ASDA. All the diets at Buttington Old


Hall Farm arebespokeand for- mulated to complement the farm’sgrass and silage. “In the summer we use ahigh-


fibre, high-energy caketobalance the grass,and later in the season we move to astarch-based feed as we followboth the quantity and quality of our grass and silage,” Robert explained. The collaboration on the herd


diet pays offbecause his milk supplyvaries very little from his forecast, making him one of Arla-ASDA’Smost predictable suppliers. Robert believeshis semi-TMR feeding system, together with the


flexibility and openness the CCF Ltd/H. J. Lea Oakes manufactur- ing arrangement, is amajor part of the farm’ssuccess. He buys his feed as amember


of an informal group of farmers whohavebeen working with CCF Ltd forten years.Robert and his contemporaries view CCF Ltd not onlyastheir feed supplier,but as their ‘buying arm’ too.


The three-way partnership is


also central to Robert’sgrassland management system. He uses a plate-meter to measuregrowth and givesattention to individual fields and their fertility status, encouraged by Arla-ASDA. CCF Ltd’sphilosophyof working with its individual cus-


tomers extends to grass produc- tion at Buttington Old Hall Farm.With 50% of the farm prone to flooding, the co-opera- tive selects seed varieties that thrive in these conditions. “Weselect intermediate peren-


nial varieties which stand up well to the flooding and also head at the same time to get the best quality silage at the right time,” said Keith. Cows aregrazedacross apad-


dock system with leys selected to stand up to long-termgrazing and to give an evenspread of palatablegrowth through the sea- son. Varieties arepredominately chosen from the DANI breeding programme in Northern Ireland, wheregrasses have to showthey


can handle heavy rainfall condi- tions.These aresupplemented with Aberystwyth varieties. The line of attack Robert took


when floodwater contaminated part of his silage crop highlighted his exacting approach to his busi- ness.


“When we were walking the


silage fields we noticed amud residue on some of the grass after serious flooding and this would have affected silage quality,” Keith explained. “Robert asked me if therewas


anything thatcould be done to neutralise the effect of the flood- ing. We were able to work with a specialist micro-biological com- panywho produced aproduct specificallyfor the problem.’’


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For the latest Wales farming news: walesfarmer.co.uk


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