Futureproofing farm infrastructure

This webinar is a past event - watch the recording

If you’re interested in developing infrastructure to drive performance and efficiency, this webinar will look at getting the most from cow housing and slurry systems.

Investing in farm infrastructure for the 21^st Century is tricky. Not only does it have to consider cow comfort and current regulations, but also be able to meet rapidly changing environmental requirements whilst not over-stretching you financially.

The Tucker family will share their approach as they consider moving from loose housing to cubicles and a slurry system to help with ease of management for their 222 spring calving cows.

We want to make the session as interactive as possible, so we’d love you to sign up and share your experience if you’ve recently invested in cow housing or slurry storage.

David Ball, AHDB Buildings and Environment specialist will lead a discussion with the Tuckers about the options for improvements, including:

• Getting it right for cow comfort, health and productivity
• Compliance with NVZs, SAFFO and upcoming ammonia regulations
• Creating a simple system that works for cows and people
• Cost – what’s the wisest investment for a spring-calving herd?
• Other considerations – stocking rate, bedding type/frequency, housing period

About Ditchett’s Farm

Richard Tucker, together with his parents Nigel and Brenda, runs a spring-block herd of 222 New Zealand Friesians and Friesian Jersey X’s on 182 ha at Dichetts Farm near Tiverton in Devon.

The cows have an average mature weight of around 500 kg. Annual yield per cow is 5,400 litres, with average solids of 4.61% butterfat and 3.62% protein, supplying Arla.

The grazing platform extends to 61 ha plus 20 ha for silage. A 20/40 swingover parlour was installed in 2006 with subsequent investment in cow/youngstock housing and tracks. Youngstock are reared on a second rented farm where 6.5 ha of kale are grown for outwintering. The Tuckers also produce 360 geese for the Christmas market and have 140 breeding ewes.        

The family have been long-time members of the ‘Grassmasters’ discussion group and Richard is currently Chairman of Devon NFU. 

To follow their story visit www.ahdb.org.uk/farm-excellence/Ditchetts-Farm 

About Strategic Dairy Farms

Strategic dairy farms help farmers learn from each other through regular on-farm meetings where we share key performance data and showcase what the best farmers are doing.

They form part of the Optimal Dairy Systems programme which aims to help dairy farmer’s lower costs and increase efficiency by focusing on either a block or all-year-round calving system.

The growing network of strategic dairy farms have calculated key performance indicators (KPIs) for their enterprises which are shared at meetings and published online. These are physical and financial performance measures that are critical to success. Farmers can benchmark their businesses against these KPIs and identify areas for improvement.

Follow the programme and find other local SDFs at www.ahdb.org.uk/farm-excellence