11 soya.”
Crops grown include 150 acres of grass silage, 220 acres of maize, 180 acres of wheat and 30 acres of peas. “The farm is largely chalk based, so we average 15 tonnes an acre of silage on two cuts which provide forage for the milking cows, third and fourth cuts are fed to youngstock,” says Robert. When it comes to management Richard runs a strict culling policy for fertility and mastitis. The aim is to have cows pregnant by 200 days in milk and if they are not pregnant by 220 days they are put on the cull list, as he believes their fertility isn’t good enough and they aren’t efficient enough. “I am strict on culling, when
a cow has had four cases of mastitis she is down the road. The cost of mastitis depends of the stage of lactation, but when she is a 50kg yielding cow each case of mastitis costs £130 - £140,” reckons Richard. Richard’s drive to keep cows fresh is down to his management. The voluntary waiting period runs at 42 days after calving with an average of 54 days to first insemination. Pregnancy rate currently runs at 23% with average days to conception 108 and a calving interval of 388.
Having a low calving interval means that cows can be dried off at between 35 and 40kg, they are treated with antibiotics and teat sealant and then put on
a hay diet. The hay diet gives them a low energy ration, but maintains rumen fill. They are on hay for four weeks before being moved on to a transition diet of 4.5kg straw with 17kg maize.
“The dry cow ration is still evolving to suit,” explains Richard. “It requires close management looking after cows that are being dried off at 35kg, but in order to be efficient and have fresh cows, it is necessary.
“Heifers are currently calving at 27 months. I serve by size, but hope to work at reducing the heifer calving age down to 23 months. We use Cogent’s Precision technology to help serve heifers with a
The herd is milked three times a day through a 30:30 GEA parlour.
As well as the latest technology Richard still uses a bray board to give a visual indication of what is happening.
Eastknook is a tenanted farm totalling 450 acres with a further 200 acres owned and 100 acres rented or contact grown.
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