Why Lucy would be an effective mentor
Lucy, who grew up on a farm in the West country, has for the last five years farmed alongside her husband at his family farm near Cardigan.
The couple milk 300 Holstein Friesian cows including 190 followers and rearing around 90 heifers annually.
Lucy is passionate about Animal Health & Welfare, and in addition to her part-time role as a dairy adviser, at home she is responsible for all aspects of calf rearing which includes nutrition and husbandry as well as computerised record keeping, milk recording and vaccination planning. She also handles all the farm’s business and financial administration and grant applications.
Her specialisms include management accounts; analysis of production costs and benchmarking; Rural development grant schemes; Nutrient Management Plans (NMP) and Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) compliance.
A friendly and confident communicator, Lucy has significant experience of the dairy sector and in particular, animal health and welfare, where she is a great believer in prevention and best practice ahead of cure!
Choose Lucy as your mentor and expect to be inspired by her positive and pro-active approach which could help you find solutions to challenges.
Current farm business
Farming 220ha (545 acres)
Growing 24ha maize, 2ha fodder beet, 8ha winter barley, 24ha winter wheat and the remainder grass
Milking 300 Holstein Friesian cows – autumn/winter calving. Switching from all-year-round to autumn calving around six years ago has helped the Allisons reduce the age at first calving from 30 months to 24 months, which also helped lower their carbon footprint alongside increasing milk from forage
Milking through a 16/32 swingover parlour
Yielding 10,103 litres at 4.34% butterfat and 3.37% protein
Selling approx. 2.6million litres milk annually to First Milk/Tesco
Selected as suppliers to Tesco cheese group (2017 to date)
Qualifications/achievements/ experience
Farming 220ha (545 acres)
Growing 24ha maize, 2ha fodder beet, 8ha winter barley, 24ha winter wheat and the remainder grass
Milking 300 Holstein Friesian cows – autumn/winter calving. Switching from all-year-round to autumn calving around six years ago has helped the Allisons reduce the age at first calving from 30 months to 24 months, which also helped lower their carbon footprint alongside increasing milk from forage
Milking through a 16/32 swingover parlour
Yielding 10,103 litres at 4.34% butterfat and 3.37% protein
Selling approx. 2.6million litres milk annually to First Milk/Tesco
Selected as suppliers to Tesco cheese group (2017 to date)
Top tips for business success
“Address your carbon footprint because a few tweaks can add up to significant benefits that will make your business more sustainable, efficient and resilient.”
"Always aspire to the highest standards of animal health and welfare so that you raise happy, healthy animals that contribute to the performance and profitability of your herd.
“Approach every situation with an open mind, look at the bigger picture and don’t make assumptions until you’ve checked all the facts.”