‘
We were mainly buying fourth, fifth and sixth calvers and found it easier to manage in-calf cows coming onto a new system
“We were fortunate to have lots of opportunities for milk buyers in Cheshire and spent weeks on end pestering Wiseman for a contract. Persistence paid off and we were fortunate enough to get a Co-op contract in August 2011. This has added some security to our business and Co-op have committed for another three years with Wiseman.” At the first milking 48 cows went through the parlour, as well as six cows already milking in herds nearby a further 42 cows had been purchased privately from Ian and Philomena Scarisbrick’s Galastar herd. “Once we were up and running we slowly bought more cows at dispersal sales and at Beeston collective sales. We also had in-calf heifers already in the pipeline with recipients and embryo heifers due. “We were mainly buying fourth, fifth and sixth calvers and found it easier to manage in-calf cows coming on to a new system. As mixing a lot of fresh calved cows meant we were struggling with fertility, it seemed to take 18 months until they really settled in to the herd, so we preferred to buy cows that were already in-calf and then calve them down here.” The herd is run on a high input, high output system mainly due to not having enough acres to graze too many cows, but also
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LEFT Calves are reared in hutches because of limited shed space.
40 THE JOURNAL APRIL 2015
the land being too heavy to graze extensively.
“It is a learning curve when taking on a farm until you find what works best. The first two years we tried growing maize which was a complete disaster. Unfortunately, one year was the complete washout of a summer and the crop was as good as wasted and the decision was made not to grow it again. “We have taken an extra 55 acres of rented ground and grow 80 acres of first cut silage and between 50 to 60 acres of second, third and fourth cut silage, as well as 30 acres of wheat alkalage.” A TMR is fed, with the ration for high yielders targeted for 35 litres and lows aimed at 27 litres with up to an additional 5kg topped up per day in the parlour. The TMR consists of blend, rolled maize, grass silage and alkalage. “There are currently 100 cows milking to average 9500kg at 4.2%bf and 3.25%p with a calving interval of 396 days. We place a heavy emphasis on fertility with the aim to increase the milk output per cow. “In 2014 we paid £10,000 less for concentrates and sent away an extra 50,000 litres of milk by reducing the calving interval compared to 2013.”
Everything is ketone tested at 10 days to check they don’t have ketosis, explains Louise. “When needed following the test they are drenched with Pro 90 for three days. Everything is then vet
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