JF Temple and Son >>
animal for milk production, but what’s needed now is an animal that does well on forage.
Calving index “We were running at a calving in- dex of 450 days, with at least half of the cows having problems at calv- ing, and we never seemed to get rid of lameness,” he says. “So we wanted to improve the health of the herd and bought a few Brown Swiss from south Norfolk, and then a few more, until they made up 20 per cent of the herd. “We had always looked at yield
per cow, but really it’s the cost of producing a litre of milk that’s im- portant – and we saw that fall. So we decided to go for 100 per cent Brown Swiss, and Clive Norbury from what’s now Wright Marshall and who we knew had a very good eye for animals, went to Bavaria and organised three lorry loads of heifers to be brought to the farm. “We now have 130 cows, and I’m really thrilled with them; they’ve got such character. One thing that really hadn’t clocked was how easy
the calving would be: we’ve had ten problems in four years. So now the cows start their lactation with- out stress and the herdsman, Paul Thorne, is not worrying at night. And the calving index has gone from 450 days to between 370 and 380.”
The structure of proteins in the milk is also more suited to chee- semaking: while Holsteins pro- duce mostly alpha kappa caseins, Brown Swiss produce largely beta kappa caseins which capture more fat globules when rennet is added to the milk, so that less disappears in the whey.
Cheese Stephen’s wife, Catherine, produc- es a range of seven cheeses under the brand ‘Mrs Temple’s Cheese’, using about a third of the herd’s milk. Of the 33t produced last year, 20t was Binham Blue, with Copys Cloud, a soft cheese with a white mould rind, the next best seller. The remaining milk is supplied
to Arla, and the higher milk solids attract a better price than with the
Stephen Temple with Brown Swiss youngstock grazing in meadows along the River Stiffkey
previous herd. Feeding lucerne has also brought great benefi ts, and the farm is now growing its own. Traditionally grown and dried in the area until it went out of fash- ion, Stephen knew it would do well: he takes between three and fi ve cuts a year and feeds a round bale to the herd each day.
As well as the herdsman, the farm employs a second cowman, Paul Lyons, two full-time staff on the arable crops, Stewart Walden and David Philips, and a third, James Vawser, who is joining full-
time having just completed his degree at Easton College. And a further three staff are employed full-time cheesemaking.
CONTACT E: sjt@jſt
emple.co.uk
BUSINESS FACTS
• On-farm biogas plant • Move from diesel to electric • Brown Swiss dairy herd • Mrs Temple’s Cheese
TRANSFORMING
Proud to support J F Temple & Son Why Ratatak?
THE FUTURE
• Over 25 years experience of agricultural pest control • Technicians with agricultural knowledge and experience • Latest methods and techniques used • Covering Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire • All pest control complies to ACCS/RTA standards
• All technicians BASIS PROMPT CPD scheme members, NPTA accredited and CRRU supporters
Johnson Bros 58 ANGLIA FARMER • JUNE 2017
afquartermay17.indd 1 17/05/2017 15:14:02
Agricu ltural Sales & Service JB
We are proud to be associated with J.F. Temple & Son and we wish them continued success.
01328 863812 |
www.johnson-bros.co.uk | Fakenham NR21 8ET
Ratatak Ltd, 3 St Mary’s View, Farnham, Saxmundham, Suffolk IP17 1GZ
J Riley Beet Harvesters (UK) Ltd
www.jrileyagri.co.uk Tel: 01603 262526
07919 104298
info@ratatak.co.uk www.ratatak.co.uk
Church Farm, Attlebridge, Norwich NR9 5ST
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