Number of staff: Six full time staff plus extra staff for night milkings. Milk buyer: Strathroi Dairies, liquid contract. What do you focus your breeding decisions on? GMS is used for breeding with 60% of the focus on type, longevity and health and 40% on production. All in all, the focus is to breed healthier cows with better feet, legs and udders. As a large herd can you face milk market volatility more sure footed than smaller herds? No, we can’t reduce overheads. I need all the staff to look after the number of cattle. Banks look at the amount lost and don’t consider the number of cows in the herd. How did you expand? The herd had 180 cows 11 years ago and the expansion to 600 happened over five years including the purchase of the neighbouring herd plus other cows. What’s the biggest challenge for a large herd? Milk price is the biggest challenge. We have no control over it. Health and other factors can be managed.
Has the media coverage of Nocton dairy stigmatised large herds in the UK? It hasn’t helped – large herd management and cow comfort is usually better, but I don’t think this was portrayed by the media.
Kerr McMinn Prefix: Louchdougan. Cow Numbers: 660 total. Herd Average: 8200kg 4.11%bf and 3.35%p. Ration: Total TMR grass silage, whole-crop, homemade pre-mix blend, soya, molasses, beat pulp, caustic wheat and super grains. Calving age of heifers: 27 – 28 months but aiming to reduce to 24 – 26 months. Culling rate: 26%. Number of staff: Two full time dairy staff, two full time general farm workers, one self-employed, plus Kerr and his Dad Richard. Milk buyer: Lactalis. Industry services used: The vet does all fertility work at least once a week and Alta run their breeding programme. What do you focus your breeding decisions on? Creating productive cows. Firstly we look at daughter pregnancy rate and productive life, then cell count and production. What drove you to expand? Initially the option of neighbouring farm and then we aimed to increase profitability and efficiency. For the first two years we bought cattle in, but the last purchase was three years ago. We’re now retaining homebred heifers and using sexed semen. What’s the biggest challenge for a large herd? Management – finding space for young stock, ground for cows and output space for slurry.
Michael George Prefix: Brynhyfryd. Cow Numbers: Two herds of 700 cows. Herd Average: 10,900kg at 3.6%bf and 3.22%p. Ration: 24kg grass silage, 10kg maize silage, 16kg concentrates including rolled maize, ground wheat, beat pulp, soya, rape, wheat distillers and Megalac with an energy blend and protein blend. Everything is bought separately and mixed on farm allowing control. Calving age of heifers: Currently averaging 26 months, but working to reduce to 24 months in the next year. With 500–600 heifers calving on a new young stock unit the aim is to focus on a tighter control of management and conception. Heifers are mainly served with AI and then a sweeper bull, with no more than 10% calving to the bull. Average lactation of the herd: 4.3. Replacement rate: 23%. Number of staff: 14 including family plus four part time. Milk buyer: Muller, liquid contract. What do you focus your breeding decisions on? Production has always been the focus, along with type, as well as health traits, which are very important. We’re currently using 50% genomics, but that is rising all the time. As a large herd can you face milk market volatility more sure footed than smaller herds? Personally I think family farms are able to cope better with volatility. Large herds have to have good margins when prices are high to deal with prices when they are down. What drove you to expand? Being in a TB1 restriction we had to change our focus. I like the idea of large production and I’m driven by managing cows in a protocol fashion. Once the system is in place it isn’t hard to increase numbers. Has the media coverage of Nocton dairy stigmatised large herds in the UK? I think it has improved the perception, showing well run large herds with good animal welfare. I think there will always be a variety of small and large herds in the UK, it won’t become completely American.
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