A Dramatic Change in Breeding Policy for Shropshire Farmer
By Jennifer Mackenzie
Shropshire dairy farmer Gareth Hotchkiss is breaking with current milk production trends by running a cross-bred, low-input herd maximising grazed grass.
Traditional breeds including the Dairy Shorthorn and Jersey have been crossed with the cows which were high-indexing Holsteins until 10 years ago and, while overall yields are less, higher constituent values earn a similar price per litre while hybrid vigour helps herd health and longevity, reducing input costs from feeding to labour and vets bills.
The dramatic change in breeding policy for the herd at Wall under Heywood, near Church Stretton, came about after Gareth spent a year in Australia, during which time he was impressed with the cross-bred dairy herds he worked with.
Now, at peak, he milks 280 cows after calving in a tight six week period starting at the end of January. Surplus stock is sold after numbers reach 250. In 2009, 320 are due to calve. Over the last decade, the milking herd has been moved from its village base in Wall under Heywood to a nearby greenfield site at Boystone Farm half a mile away.
Here a commitment to the future of dairying has been made with investment in a building housing a 44 station Westfalia rotary parlour and collecting yard with handling facilities for scanning and AI work, a separate cubicle house for 300, youngstock cubicles and a grain store. There is additional youngstock housing at the original village farm.
“Over the last 10 years the UK dairy industry has faced tough times and this has forced me down the grass based system which seems to suit the farm. The use of Dairy Shorthorn has helped me achieve this and we will carry on using the breed in the future,” said Gareth.
“The biggest cost to me is in the land. We’re in a grass growing county and for me the best way to make money from milking cows is to make the best use of grazed grass,” said Gareth, who farms in partnership with his brother Paul who runs the second enterprise, a 100,000 bird broiler unit supplying chickens on contract to Sun Valley.
“My view is that if you give a man an easy job he will try to make it harder and this is what I’m trying to avoid.”
Gareth is a member of the local forward thinking Stargrazers discussion group who share ideas and benchmark their enterprises not just locally but nationally. A number of the group’s members have switched to cross-breds in their dairy herds, some of them being organic.
Originally, the black and white herd comprised up to 140 mainly autumn-calving milkers giving up to 9,000 litres. Now the crossbred herd averages 6,700 litres at 4.2 per cent butterfat and 3.2 per cent protein on a grazed grass system from 1.1 tonnes of concentrates fed. Milk is sold on an Arla/Tesco contract.
As a sideline, Gareth’s wife Becky, makes a cream cheese similar to camembert from an English recipe selling an average 50 cheeses a week to local delicatessens and farm shops which has enabled her to stay at home to look after their children Owen 11, Harold, nine and Betty, five.
Predominantly, Dairy Shorthorn and Jersey AI bulls have been used to produce the crossbred milkers and now some NZ Holstein is being re-introduced. The Jerseys initially brought down the size of the cows and Dairy Shorthorn bulls were bought from Shropshire breeders Graham and Neil Madeley for their size and good legs, feet and udders with the aim of getting two steps away from the Holstein and introducing hybrid vigour.
The choice of which breed to use is determined by the height of the cow being served with the aim of achieving as uniform a sized cow as possible – a similar size to the Shorthorn.
Now only a few of the longer-lived pure Holsteins are left in the herd with most of the cows being third and fourth crosses. Some of the original cross-bred Jerseys are still milking and in their eighth lactation. Since optimum herd numbers have been reached an Angus bull is used to sweep up after AI. The herd is now closed.
Cattle are less susceptible to health problems which in turn helps them get back in calf easier.
The crossbred cattle have numerous management and cost benefits says Gareth. The herd’s high conception rate is reflected tight six week period of calving. Cattle are less susceptible to health problems which in turn helps them get back in calf easier. Heifers are calved at two years old, although they are not expected to milk well in their first lactation. Only five per cent of cows sold are barren. Cows which calve outside the six week period are sold off privately. In 2008, 46 cows were sold to conventional herds.
The smaller sized cows allow an increased stocking rate and help minimise poaching in wet weather.
Overall, the simple management system which suits the type of cow means less work is involved.
“One thing we have noticed since cross-breeding is that you don’t realise you have problems until you haven’t got them any more! With the Holsteins at the time we didn’t realise how poor their fertility and feet were and the level of mastitis we had and every year the situation was getting a little bit worse.
“With having the cross-breds, life is a lot easier. No way could I and my herdsman of 12 years Richard Tipton look after this number of Holstein cows.”
Over the last 10 years the farm size has increased from 250 to 350 acres and recently a further 25 acres has been bought which would allow herd numbers to be increased. Gareth reckons he would need to be milking 330 to 350 cows to justify more labour.
Gareth keeps a close eye on his costings and says that even when the milk price was in the doldrums at 16p a litre he was making money. He calculates that concentrate costs ate 2p a litre; labour, which includes a college student, amounts to 3p a litre, not including contractors’ costs, and vet bills, including a vaccination programme against leptospirosis, BVD and bluetongue, costs 2p a litre.
On the system at Boystone, all the grassland is grazed with the theory that the cows fetch their own feed and spread a lot of their own muck, again saving on input costs in terms of artificial fertiliser and diesel. An infrastructure of roads and tracks at Boystone allows the cows to access paddocks with five acres available a day on a 30 to 35 day rotation from the middle to the end of February to the beginning of November at housing, even though it is a heavy, clay farm.
Early spring and late autumn grazing is limited to three hours a day to minimise poaching. As soon as the first cow lies down they are brought inside. Cows are fed a diet of apple pumice from the cider factory in Hereford, home-grown maize, grass silage, soya and concentrate during the winter.
Silage is made usually in one cut at the end of May to control the grazing with around 250 tonnes going into the clamp.
Because of the calving pattern, for two months of the winter cows are dry and fed a straw based diet, which helps keep cost down.