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FEEDS SUCCESS

AGRICULTURE

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE• Dumfries sales team developments• Transition cow signals• Holistic approach to herd management• Getting ready for winter

FEEDS SUCCESS

AGRICULTUREYour NWF Newsletter – October 2014 – Issue 24

Autumn ShowsAs the year draws to a close NWF have three shows

remaining on the calendar. Come and meet the

team and enjoy complimentary refreshments.

Borderway Agri Expo - Friday 31st October 2014 - Carlisle Auction Mart

Agri Scot - Wednesday 19th November 2014 - Highland Centre, Edinburgh

Royal Welsh Winter Fair - Monday 1st & Tuesday 2nd December - Builth Wells, Powys

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A new product designed to pro-actively target the cause of production diseases in fresh-calved cows has been launched by NWF Agriculture as part of its new Transition Cow Programme. NWF DryFix, fed as either a compound or blend during the crucial 21-day close up period immediately prior to calving, prepares the cow for optimum calcium mobilisation in early lactation.

“Treating dry cows like the forgotten poor relation on the dairy farm is an outdated way of thinking. Research shows that management of cows during this crucial, short period of time within the production cycle determines her health, fertility and productivity for the rest of the year,” says Rachel Lander, Technical Manager at NWF Agriculture.

“The new Transition Cow Programme is designed to give farmers technical advice and supporting products to set cows up to succeed once they calve. One of the key elements of that is the metabolisation of calcium post-calving; this is critical to avoid milk fever.”

“Cows need to increase the efficiency of calcium metabolism at the time of calving to meet milk production requirements. To aid this, cows need be fed diets low in calcium during the close-up period three weeks prior to calving, to stimulate calcium metabolism and mobilisation from the gut, kidney and bones.”

“In practice, it’s almost impossible to formulate practical diets supplying less than 50g calcium per cow per day, particularly on traditional UK dry cows which feature grass silage and straw. Rather than trying to substantially alter the ration ingredients, NWF DryFix works by locking up dietary calcium during the close-up period, thereby tricking the cow’s metabolism into maximum calcium efficiency by calving,” says Rachel.

DryFix contains CalFix®, a new and patented feed technology from Trouw Nutrition. CalFix® is a specifically selected food grade ingredient high in phytic acid, which is processed to ensure it bypasses the rumen; the phytic acid then binds calcium in the small intestine, carrying it out through the system.

NWF Agriculture launches innovative feed technology DryFix as part of its new Transition Cow Programme

Take a positive NEW direction

NWF Transition

Cow Programme

Published research from Dutch and German universities demonstrated CalFix® minimised blood calcium depletion at calving, lifting blood calcium levels above that associated with the incidence of sub-clinical milk fever, as well as increasing early dry matter intake (DMI) in fresh-calved cows, thereby minimising negative energy balance.

“Dairy farmers are only too familiar with milk fever and the associated costs, but research has shown that, for every case of milk fever on a farm, it’s likely another six or seven cows are suffering from sub-clinical milk fever – over 40% of cows from second lactation on suffer from sub-clinical milk fever,” says Rachel Lander.

“This increases the risk of metabolic diseases in early lactation, including ketosis, retained placenta and mastitis. Surveys show the overall cost of metabolic diseases is over £200 per cow in the herd.”

NWF DryFix is fed at the rate of 3.5kg/day (of which 2kg is CalFix®) in the 21 days to calving. The cost is around £20 per cow, depending on whether it is fed as a compound or blend.

“To put that into context, you are looking at needing to produce an average extra 70 litres per lactation to cover the cost of DryFix. Trials show an increase in DMI of 1.64kg per day over the first 10 days of lactation, equivalent in energy terms to 38 litres of milk, even before the reduction in diseases like milk fever and ketosis are factored in,” says Rachel.

As well as CalFix, NWF DryFix contains 22% protein including soyabean meal and Ultra Pro R by-pass protein and is balanced in energy. It contains rumen-protected B vitamins as well as Vitamins D and E, DCAB salts and amino acid chelates for maximum availability and efficacy.

More information on NWF DryFix and the Transition Cow Programme is available at www.nwfagriculture.co.uk.

UK Dairy Day 2014On Wednesday 17th September the first UK Dairy Day was held at Telford. The

new industry specific autumn dairy event focussed on all the facets of milk

production drawing visitors from across the Midlands and surrounding counties.

The event featured 192 trade stands, including a ring side stand for NWF who

led sponsorship as Platinum sponsors alongside Cogent and Holstein UK.

Cattle classes for Holstein, Ayrshire, Jersey, Dairy Shorthorn and Brown Swiss

breeds drew breeders from across the UK. Neils Erik Haahr judged a fantastic

show of Holstein’s placing the champion as Bilsrow Gibson Ada (shown right) from the Tomlinson family. The

standing reserve was David Yates’ Meiklefirth Plaid Lutske with Brian Weatherup’s Parkend Sanchez Tamara

receiving an honourable mention.

The 2015 UK Dairy Day will take place on Wednesday 16th September at Telford, Shropshire.

vet Paddy Gordon suggested a fortnightly routine fertility visit, arranging a specialist mastitis visit and staff training in better use of medicine and monitoring of lameness.

Paddy and Ian looked at key performance indicators to identify areas which needed attention.

Herd output has increased by 800 litres per cow over three years and Ian attributes this to his herd health regime the expert feeding advice he has had from NWF.

“Stephen has tailored the ration to our specific need and we have been able to adjust the ration at short notice – even within 24 hours of ordering a load, and we find our NWF Sales Specialist Luke Johns extremely helpful.”

Taking a more holistic approach working with herd health and feeding has paid dividends at Church Farm.

Ian concludes “Although it’s taken time and effort to put all these pieces into place, it’s certainly worth it. If you get the feeding and herd health right then everything else just falls into place.”

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Holistic approach to herd management

Milk powders for healthy calves

The decision to adopt a more “holistic” approach to the management of his dairy herd has proved to be a wise move for Wiltshire dairy farmer, Ian Meeker.

Ian milks 247 Holstein Friesians with an average yield of 9,200 litres, with milk protein currently standing at 3.18% and butterfat at 4.00%, at Church Farm, Kilmington.

The farm has been in the family for three generations and covers 420 acres of which 170 acres are cut for first cut silage, plus a further 100 acres for second cut.

“We used to grow maize,” says Ian “but the farm stands 750 feet above sea level and a couple of years ago we had exceptionally cold winds and the maize actually turned blue. This caused huge problems with forage stocks and so we switched all the maize to wholecrop which we have always found more reliable”.

The milk had been sold to Wyke Farms for cheese production since 1991, but Ian decided to change to Muller Wiseman as milk yields increased and milk solids decreased.

“I decided to take a long, hard look at our feeding regime as I felt we had gone as far as we could on forage and I also wanted to review herd health procedures” explains Ian. He was purchasing his cake and blends through a buying group and also received advice from a consultancy group.

“I was not happy with the cows’ performance,” says Ian “The low yielding cows were putting on too much weight and I felt that the high yielders were not really producing to their full potential and this also put pressure on fertility.”

The ration constantly needed to be “tweaked” to increase energy density and to get good rumen function. The cows were fed a

TMR daily and also fed in-parlour.

When Ian was approached by NWF Agriculture’s Stephen Taylor he decided to try Stephen’s ration for a month.

“I knew of their good reputation as NWF deal with a large number of dairy herds in our area” Ian says.

The change of feeding regime soon began to deliver massive benefits. The cows are now fed NWF’s dairy diet, Energy Master 16% and the blend is also a high energy ME of 13.8%.

“Stephen looked closely at the dry cow ration and immediately picked up that we were not including enough straw and we always had milk fever from grass silage” Ian comments. “We started using “Alka-Straw (Straw chopped and treated with “Home and Dry”).”

Stephen also increased the energy density in the highs ration and used a blend to balance the quality of the forages. He also wanted the low yielding group to be challenged much harder so the protein content of the TMR was increased to prevent weight gain and increase production.

This new regime soon began to produce a number of benefits. Apart from increased yields, there was no ketosis and no acidosis and these had been underlying problems within the herd.

“We noticed that after adopting the new regime, the cows were healthier, we were seeing less extreme body condition and we have no fat cows now” says Ian. “We have a virtuous circle now, instead of a vicious circle!”

Ian also approached Shepton Veterinary Group to discuss herd health issues such as fertility, mastitis and lameness. Group

The NWF range of calf milk powders enable fast cost effective growth and development with enhanced concentrate feed intake at the critical stage of life.

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NWF Ultra Milk Yellow 22% Protein, 18% OilThe first choice for farmers wanting a skimmed milk product with the benefits of Protimax. Contains 50% skimmed milk powder. The high casein content helps to reduce the speed of digestion to help maintain and support a healthy gut. Formulated for high intakes and growth rates combined with excellent coat bloom.

For prices and a free NWF milk powder leaflet call 01829 262382.

Adopting a holistic approach to herd management had turned a “Vicious circle into a Virtuous Circle” for Wiltshire dairy farmer Ian Meeker.

Key Performance Indicator

2010-11 2012 2013 2014

Herd Size 206 211 226 247

Cutting Rate 26% 27% 26% 22%

Milk per cow per year

8416 8460 8863 9200

Calving Index 432 422 403 395

Mastitis Rate 62% 34% 27% 23%

Cell Count 249 211 193 155

Bactoscan 47 23 23 20

Did you know NWF have over 20 certified Cow Signals Trainers who have completed extensive training with Drs. Joep Driessen of Cow Signals.

Trained NWF sales specialists can visit your farm and help you understand the concept of reading cow behaviour. This enables problem areas to be identified in the dairy herd’s surroundings or routine enabling you to more closely meet the needs of your cows, leading to increased production and lower costs.

Master Trainers

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As the weather turns and cows start coming in for winter housing, analyses of grass silages from around the country indicate wide variations in quality. With this in mind, farmers must test forages regularly to ensure ration formulation is on target, says NWF Technical Manager Rachel Lander.

“Laboratory results are showing wet, mature first cut silages with some being very acidic. They are lower quality than expected and inevitably that is causing a drop off in performance compared to last year.”

“When you take into account the decline in grazed grass quality from late July, combined with the poor silage results, there is a risk of herd performance slumping in October/November time as cows try to make up nutrient deficiencies from late summer and early autumn,” warns Rachel.

She also advises farmers to think carefully about making up energy deficits using too much wheat and barley in the ration; a temptation when cereal prices are down.

“While it does work in some situations, adding large amounts of wheat where there is already acidic grass silage is a recipe for acidosis. In those situations the NWF Ultramix rationing programme uses parameters such as acid loading to assess how a diet may impact rumen function.”

“The starting place is forage analysis, which we can offer on a fast turnaround from our own laboratory. Our sales specialists use calculations based on Intake Potential (IP), which is an index taking into account the effect of range of factors give an accurate estimate of cow intakes for each feed; figures for first cut grass silage this year shows IP at 92, compared to 103 in 2013.”

“NWF forage reports use the RAFt (Rumen active fibre) parameter to give an indication of the physically effective NDF, this value considers the physical effect of fibre upon chewing and rumination. It allows for the best use of forages on each individual farm, as well as giving an indication of which products to feed alongside those forages to get the best performance from the herd,” says Rachel.

This time of year is also one where farmers should be closely monitoring body condition score (BCS). Don’t be fooled by milk production staying relatively constant if BCS is falling, advises Rachel.

“By the time you see that fall off in BCS, it is almost too late; feed pro-actively now to smooth out any energy deficit. The energy cost of cows trying to regain just a 0.25 drop over a 3 month period in BCS is equivalent to 1l per cow per day; if BCS has dropped 0.75, then you start seeing really significant impacts on milk production as cow struggle to replace lost condition.”

Shepton Mallet Vets believes very strongly in training and has held more than 125 training courses this year with 1,200 attendees. Courses include AI, calving, foot trimming, and proper use of medicines.

To gain an insight into the current challenges facing famers in their practice area, NWF met with members of the farm vet team to hear what they had to say.

“We’ve had some effects from heat stress, although people did not have a lot of silage left so cows were grazed early.”

“Milk quality has been fantastic compared to the last two years, butterfat and milk protein have both improved.”

“Cow condition has been good, but there has been a lot of eye related infections about due to the large number of flies.”

“On the positive side, last year was financially good for farmers, cow numbers have increased but there is always a negative to follow with the recent fall in milk prices”

“This could be offset a little as feed prices are sown and forage is cheap, but it’s still a big blow.”

“For some reason there has been a run of displaced abomasa, but these seem to have dried up now.”

“Replacements from now on could be a bit of an issue. In Europe no one seems to be culling animals. Replacements will be expensive and you can bet that the price of heifers will go up.”

“What will kill this industry is the speed of change. Supermarkets will be looking at milk supply and they will not want milk going into cheese from cows with Johnes disease.”

“There will be a lot of external pressure from supermarkets and processors – dairies like the idea of grazed cows.”

“BVD is still a problem. Restriction on the use of antibiotics is almost here, and it just takes one of the big buyers to say “no”. That’s why we do training in the correct use of medicines on the farm.”

“Stocking density is rising, and the farmer will need the ability to manage any related problems from this. Incidents of lameness have fallen and this could be down to training in foot trimming.”

“If we point out the cost of a problem to the farmer, they will almost always address it as they don’t want trouble. Young farmers see that there is a different way to do things.”

“Calf rearing has greatly improved due to better buildings and feeding, and we certainly don’t see the amount of pneumonia and scour.”

“Farmers are realising that they must take a more holistic approach and are seeing the impact of training as very important. If we can get a good group of farmer’s together on-farm, then they can see for themselves what can be done.”

“For example AI, conception rates and attention to detail. The oldest person we have had on a course was 81 and still milking, and he was as enthusiastic about the course and what he was learning as were the 18 year olds!”

“All the focus has been on the negatives in farming, but just think how much has changed for the better.”

“Routine work has gone up slowly with the majority of our herds now on routine visits. Cow numbers have increased, in fact doubled in the last 9 years.”

“Basically, our job now is preventative medicine and this is the cornerstone of our business - improving health and production.”

“There’s such frustration in the industry over TB. The farmer has done his very best to improve everything on his side, but we still have the disease growing every year.”

“The average cost of a TB outbreak on farm costs £20k. Farmers are now setting up their businesses with this in mind.”

The vets who took part in this interesting session were; Peter Morley, Lottie Meire, Michael “Spike” Head and Peter Edmondson.

NWF would like to thank Shepton Mallet Vets for their time and invaluable insight.

Getting ready for

winterChallenges this winter

Interested in a FREE Cow Signals Workshop for YFC Members?Email Abbigail England - abbigail.england@nwfagriculture.co.uk

Join our Facebook page ‘NWF Cow Signals Workshops’

Michael Head

NWF and Shepton Mallet Vets have been working closely for a number of years. There are 16 vets working in the practice with 12 large animal vets plus 4 small animal vets. The area stretches from Shepton to Bath and Wedmore to Longleat.

Rachel Lander.

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The sideboard in their welcoming farmhouse kitchen is literally “groaning” under the weight of the silver ware won by both their son Sam and daughter Rachel. They both work on the family’s Well Farm, at Bickleigh near Tiverton, with Rachel helping on livestock and Sam undertaking the arable work.

This “hands-on” experience has reaped many rewards in both

stock-judging and ploughing championships for them both.

At only 23 Rachel is an excellent stockwoman, rearing calves, lambing, keeping all the records for their pedigree Simmental herd and in her spare time doing relief milking!

But stock judging is her real passion, which she acquired as a 15

New generations bringing in the silverware

It soon becomes obvious when visiting long term NWF customers, Graham and Sarah Reed that they are really proud to have “champions” in the family. And well they might be!

need it, making Calcifert Lime ideal for targeting specific fields, for preision farming and for use on rented land where a quick result is needed. Calcifert Lime also has the added benefit of being suitable for spreading at up to 36 metres bout widths, helping to reduce compaction on ground that’s damaged and saving on fuel costs. It also stores well, so can be kept in stock for whenever it’s needed.

Calcifert Lime is effective on all crops including fruit, vegetables, rape and hops. It improves grassland by encouraging root development and grass growth. Calcifert Lime can also be applied to help control clubroot fungus.

Calcifert Lime is produced in the UK from limestone mined in the Peak District, which is ground to fine flour and combined with a water-soluble organic binder.

It is then granulated to a regular size and shape to ensure an even spread and rapid uptake.

Application rates are lower than conventional lime, and vary depending on soil type, pH level and type of crop. Trials on sandy soil have shown that an application of just 248kg per hectare (100kg per acre) increased pH by 0.9 within four weeks at a depth of 2-3cm.

Calcifert has a calcium carbonate of approximately 98%, a total neutralising value (TNV) of 98.44% and reactivity of not less than 98%.

Call Leigh Berrisford on 01829 262 294 for latest prices and availability.Get more

from your soil

Making sure soil is at the right pH is vital to avoid wasted fertiliser application. Acidic soil that tests at below pH 6.0 will not respond as well to fertiliser, giving less chance of achieving those all-important crop and forage yields, and making it vital to ensure your soil pH is the correct balance.

Using Calcifert Lime is a quick and effective way to optimise and maintain soil pH, helping make sure you get the most from the fertiliser you spread and in some cases removing the need to fertilise altogether.

Calcifert Lime is available in easy-to-handle 600kg bags and can be spread with a conventional farm spreader. Using your own spreader means less heavy machinery in the field and also gives you the flexibility to spread exactly what you need, where you

year old member of Withleigh Young Farmer’s Club.

“As a member I had the chance to do some training in stock judging” says Rachel. She soon discovered that she had a talent for it and progressed from winning her first competition at the age of 16 at the Devon County Show to winning this year the “Champion Beef Stock Judging”. Rachel has also won awards at the English Winter Show, which is a national YFC event held annually in Staffordshire.

Sam, who is 26, has a passion for ploughing. “It’s just such a satisfying job” he says “it’s great to see a nicely ploughed field with even furrows.”

This passion has encouraged Sam to enter many ploughing matches where he has won so many awards that they’re too numerous to mention, but include the All Devon Championship (twice!), and in 2013 he won the National Young Farmer’s Championship in the reversible class.

Sam has recently organised a major fund-raising ploughing match with more than 50 competitors taking part. “Our local YFC has an annual charity event to raise funds for the Farming Community Network, which gives practical advice and help to farming families who are in need” he explains. This year there was no-one to organise the event so Sam decided to take it on, with a lot of help. Over 50 competitors took part, with ages ranging from 13 to 81 years, and more than £600 was raised for this worthy cause. “I’m keen to organise it again next year” he says.

The Reeds have been tenants of Well Farm since 1986. Initially, Graham and Sarah farmed only 40 acres “with no house” in the area, but when they were offered Well Farm they jumped at the chance.

The farm covers some 350 acres of Devon red soil, with another 200 available in “various places”. It’s extremely steep, which makes it suitable for sheep but not cultivation.

The land is mainly put down to grass with 250 acres of silage grown, “ We grow rye grass for the horse people” says Sarah “

and make hay mainly for our 850 strong flock of pure Dorset sheep”.

There is also a magnificent herd of 80 pedigree Simmental cattle at Well Farm. The herd prefix is “Skylark” and Graham and Sarah chose this name in an unusual manner. “We could not think of a name for our herd” says Sarah. “We racked our brains but still could not come up with anything, until one day we were walking in the fields and a skylark flew up in front of us, and Graham said “that’s it!”

So why choose Simmental? Graham explains “We used to buy in calves from local dairy farms, but during the BSE crisis in 1996 we decided to do something better.”

“Simmentals have a good temperament, produce a large milk yield, easy calving and they are a great commercial breed” he continues.

The first 9 pedigree maiden heifers were purchased in 1996, followed by a bull and they have just progressed from then on.The cattle are all sold through St Mirren and all grade out with excellent U+ and E’s.

The cows are fed on grass and silage, and they creep feed calves from 3 months onwards on home-grown cereals plus NWF 34% Protein Pellets. They are weaned at 9 months, and the heifer calves go onto silage, home-grown barley and NWF protein pellets.

The bulls have a ration of home-grown barley, NWF protein pellets, all fed ad-lib in troughs with fresh barley straw.

The plans are to go onto a higher health scheme, so it seems that this farming family never stand still and love to challenge themselves!

Their NWF feed sales specialist, Philip Kingsland says “It’s such a pleasure to work with a family who are so dedicated to improvement both in the stock, and in personal development.”

Philip K ingsland

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Preparing cows for the dry period

“Look at the cost per cow or on a herd basis of problems like milk fever, retained placenta and displaced abomasum and it soon becomes clear why getting dry and transition cow management right is so critical. With heifers, this is even more so: they are very vulnerable to acidosis and hoof lesions associated with lameness such as white line disease.”

“Heifers suffering from acidosis or lameness in this way are likely to have lifelong problems; they never really recover. Her potential lifetime yield can be compromised by poor management at drying off after her first lactation,” says Bertjan.

The aim must always be providing good comfort and nutrition so that the cow can be healthy and stress-free.

“Observation is essential; cows don’t lie! What you see will tell you how she is, so my advice is look, think and act on those observations.”

“Figures show that 25-30% of cattle are culled in the first month post-calving. Good dry and transition cow management can reduce this figure, as well as increasing longevity and lifetime production; the best farmers in Holland are achieving 50-60,000 litres’ lifetime yield.”

Well begun is half donePreparing for drying off is the start of a successful transition period. The goal of the dry period is the renewal of milk producing tissue, as well as the chance for the rumen to regenerate and recover from any problems like acidosis.

“The aims of a successful dry period are: no milk fever or fatty liver problems; minimal negative energy balance; healthy feet and; no (endo)metritis. The dry period is not a time to just forget your cows – quite the opposite,” warns Bertjan.

Set five goals at drying off

1. Body condition score of 32. Teat condition score of 1-23. Milk production down to 10-12 litres per day4. Healthy feet5. A checklist or protocol to ensure each cow is

checked for points 1-4

Body condition score (BCS)Getting BCS right at the start of the dry period means close observation of cows in late lactation, says Bertjan.

“Cows with a BCS of 2.5 or less need pushing on to gain condition. Check these cows for twin pregnancies and adjust feeding accordingly – they may also need bringing into the dry cow group earlier as they often calve 10 days sooner.”

“With fat cows, it is important not to suddenly stop feeding them, as this increases the risk of them going into negative energy balance. Using Cow Signals and monitoring BCS through the production cycle should help farmers avoid excessively fat or thin cows.”

Teat condition Cows with serious teat end calluses or keratosis have 2.5 times higher risk of mastitis during their next lactation. Assessing and scoring teats should highlight a herd problem; an incidence in excess of 10% of cows with teat lesions is indicative of poor parlour function.

Milk production at drying off“Ideally, I would like to see cows going into the drying off period producing less than 10 litres per day. This reduces the stress on the cow and also reduces her risk of mastitis at teat end closure is improved.”

“In practice this can be difficult to achieve and certainly creates more work, as cows in the immediate period before drying off should ideally be put into a separate group on low energy rations and even reduced to once daily milking. Managing cows at this time does mean being aware of the metabolic stress they are under and being vigilant for problems such as hypocalcaemia.”

“Cows leaking milk are susceptible to infection via the teat canal, so bedding must be kept clean and fresh. It is also critical that they have unlimited access to water and roughage during this period,” advises Bertjan.

Healthy feetDrying off offers the perfect opportunity to assess and if necessary trim cows’ feet to ensure optimal foot shape. Routine foot bathing at drying off allows control of infections and, for

those cows needing remedial work, there is a six-week recovery period before they rejoin the milking herd.

Dry cow checklistA successful dry cow protocol should only take one person a matter of minutes to complete if everything is set up in advance. This includes having the foot trimmer available, preparing crushes, gates and treatment areas, filling the footbath and having medicines to hand.

The checklist should include:• PD the cow • Dry cow tube application• Score for BCS and teat end condition• Assess foot condition and trim/footbath as required• Bolus if required• Trim tail and clip if required• Apply ear tags for fly control if required

Post-drying offCows should be checked at least twice daily, with udders assessed for swelling and mastitis. It may be necessary to dip daily if mastitis is an issue.

“Getting into the habit of regular monitoring of the cows, including keeping a diary, allows farmers to identify changes in BCS as well as behaviour changes. Variations in BCS within the dry cow group may be due to ration sorting, or high ranking cows pushing others away from the feed barrier,” says Bertjan.

“All cows must be able to eat at the same time; if you’re observing your cows and there are animals walking about searching for a space; that is a problem. This leads to increased hoof lesions as well as added stress.”

“Where barn design is such that cows cannot eat at the same time, make sure a mixed ration is fed to minimise sorting. Ideally, it should be fed out twice daily and regularly pushed up so that fresh feed is always available.”

As well as feed, adequate bedding provision is critical to dry cow health. Large, soft beds are best suited to a stress-free calving; ideally, having pens close to or adjacent to the close-up group pen allow cows to be moved into individual pens at calving to minimise stress.

“I would also advise having a separate close-up group for heifers on large farms. This reduces bullying and stress, resulting in an 11% increase in time spent eating and a 12% increase in silage intake,” says Bertjan.

Farmers who take their eye off the ball when it comes to the dry period are storing up production and financial problems for the rest of the year. That is the message from Dutch vet and Vetvice adviser Bertjan Westerlaan, who says 80% of vet care and farmer time input is spent on cows as a result of mismanaging the critical dry period.

Bertjan Westerlaan

When Michael Partington took top honours for his milk at this year’s Great Yorkshire Show, it was recognition of something he and his family – and their customers – have known for years.

“Ayrshire milk is really good drinking milk – children especially really like it,” says Michael, who farms at Deardens Farm, Over Hulton, on the outskirts of Bolton.

Friend Bill Bruce had been entering on behalf of the Partingtons for years, but this time Michael decided to go for it under his own steam. He won Best Milk From An Individual Cow and went on to be Champion Product in the Fridge; not only that, but daughter Laura was second in the maiden heifer class with homebred Hulton Saracens Lindy.

The family took over the tenancy at Deardens Farm in 2005 and now milk 50 Ayrshires and around 15 black and whites, which are gradually being bred out to the Ayrshire. Milk from the cows, which go through the parlour twice a day, is either bottled on site and sold through the farm shop and to local shops and nursing homes, or sold to Arla.

“We’re now the only farm in the whole of Bolton which pasteurises and bottles its own milk – we’ve been doing so since 1986. The farm shop has been going for 40 years,” says Michael.

Originally a small market stall sat just outside the farmhouse door, the farmshop was moved into a converted shippon 10 years ago and the product range expanded to include meat, fruit and veg alongside the original milk, eggs and potatoes. Like the farm, it is very much a family affair, with wife Anne Marie serving in the shop if Michael is out on the farm.

“Once our customers have tried our milk, they don’t want anything else. There’s something very appealing about Ayrshire milk,” says Michael.

The cows yield an average of 6,800 litres, with the bunker grass supplementing grazed grass through the summer and then silage used during the winter. NWF Target 18, supplied by Ken Hough, is then fed to yield through the parlour.

Top Honours for Partington

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FEEDS SUCCESS

AGRICULTURE

Northern sales team investment Investing in high quality staff and a new manufacturing capacity in Dumfries are at the heart of exciting strategic growth for NWF Agriculture. This has presented the business with an opportunity to bring new skills, expertise and experience into the business.

As a result of the exciting developments we have invested in strengthening the team and recently appointed new members to the team.

Patricia Goldie NWF Technical Sales Manager Scotland Patricia, who has a Bsc Honours degree in Agriculture with Animal Science, will manage the formulations for blends produced at the new NWF blends plant at Dumfries, working very closely with the technical and trading teams at the Wardle head office.

Shona BrownNWF Sales SpecialistThe exciting future plans at NWF drew Shona, who has 20 years agricultural industry experience, to the role where knowledge, expertise and nutritional advice can be shared with farmers.

Lynsey ForrestNWF Sales SpecialistLynsey brings to the team extensive sales experience from previous roles within the agricultural industry and practical knowledge from her own family sheep farm.

Evonne GunnNWF Sales SpecialistEvonne joins with over seven years’ experience in the industry, with expertise in beef, sheep, straights and moist feed selling.

Have you visited the NWF You Tube channel recently?

The channel features videos from recent farm and college workshops including manure sieving, body condition scoring and rumen fill

Visit www.youtube.co.uk/nwfagriculture

NWF are pleased to announce the appointment of Andy Jackson who has joined the business in the role of Operations Director.

Andy has over 20 years’ experience with AxzoNobel and brings vast experience in running multi-site operations.

Overseeing the production and transport operations for the feed business Andy will be taking over from Steve Howe who is relocating to Switzerland.

New OperationsDirector

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Andy Jackson

Working closely with the Northern Team and reporting to Bruce Harding, Patricia will also lead three new sales specialists who joined NWF on 1st October.