Demonstration Site Project - Moor Farm

Welsh Pasture Project

Project aims:

We have selected cross-sector farms located across Wales which will measure and monitor their weekly grass growth rates for Farming Connect’s new Welsh Pasture Project.

Each farm will use a plate meter to collect measurements and will also take monthly samples for quality analysis.

The farms will all measure the growth and quantity of available Dry Matter. They have all been asked to identify and compare different ways of managing grass – but the goal remains the same, to find the system which can best match the supply and demand of livestock needs. Each farm will also address the utilisation of quality feed.

This project will enable you to keep up to date with the progress from each location by clicking on our Welsh Pasture Project map and data.

Click here for the latest data

Improving Herd Health

 

Project aims:

  • Improve herd health status and explore the potential financial benefits of achieiving high herd health status certification in terms of improved productivity and value.
  • Develop precise youngstock selection criteria and targeted use of measuring and recording to aid selection of replacement heifers to improve future health status.
  • Improve youngstock performance and use growth rates as early indicators of livestock performance.
  • Explore ‘gold standard’ protocols for youngstock rearing with a view to improving herd health status by better colostrum and early life management.

Strategic objectives:

  • Improve business resilience and cost management
  • Improve animal lifetime productivity
  • Improving environmental impact and reduce carbon footprint
  • Improve image of dairy farming

Project in practice:

  • Herd health status will be measured and benchmarked using both blood sampling and milk sampling to identify prevelance of BVD, Johnes and possibly IBR and Leptospirosis.
  • Current farm policy will be reviewed to include vaccination and biosecurity protocols and best practice demonstrated.
  • Develop a thorough Johnes Disease monitoring programme, examining herd family trees to identify any relations to any cows testing positive to allow improved surveillance and management of ‘cows at risk.’
  • Calves born to cows highlighted as Johnes risk cows will be isolated in their early days to ensure no contamination between the ‘clean’ stock and snatched calves who could have been exposed to Johnes and prevent any transmission.
  • Growth rates of youngstock (spring-born beef and dairy stock) will be monitored throughout and linked to parentage. At calving, calf rearing protocols will be adjusted to ensure best practice, including use of colostrometers/spectrometers to test colostrum quality before the calf’s first feed. 

Grazing Infrastructure

Project aims:

  • Improve grazing infrastructure and demonstrate the importance of setting up for success, increasing grazing period and reduced sward damage. Targeting increased grass yields and utilisation, and higher milk from forage, while at the same time reducing lameness in the herd.

Strategic objectives:

  • Improve grass utilisation
  • Reduce lameness
  • Improve labour and fuel efficiency
  • Improve environmental impact and reducing carbon footprint

Project in practice:

  • The grazing platform will be GPS mapped and a plan drawn up for where to ideally place tracks and water provision for the grazing system.
  • Cow track design will be considered to include the track materials, drainage and shape to reduce incidence of lameness in the herd and increase longevity of the infrastructure. The location of tracks will be calculated to ensure even paddock size for successful grass budgeting.
  • Multiple paddock entrance/exit designs will be incorporated to allow improved access to grazing areas with the view to reducing sward and soil damage and an extended grazing season.
  • Automatic latches will be installed on gates, opening them via a timer, allowing the cows to return to the parlour independently.
  • Cow walking time will be analysed, man-hours required with and without the auto gates, cases of lameness analysed. Fuel records will be analysed.

Project update:

  • Host farmer Andrew Rees has reported that cows transitioned to the Battlatch automatic gate routine very easily, returning to the parlour independently in the mornings. This has saved 20 minutes a day of the morning milker’s time following cows from the field to the parlour.

Project Updates:

Article: Dairy producers urged to utilise more grazed grass to cut costs

Article: Farmers advised to assess root structure of grass before reseeding

Blog: Time saving opportunity for grass based dairy farmers

Technical Publication (Issue 4, page 3): Moor Farm Demo Farm – Grazing Infrastructure