Michael and Chris King from Kingspool Holsteins, Iron Acton, south Gloucestershire are winners of the 2010 NMR/RABDF Gold Cup.
The fourth generation at Two Pools Farm, Iron Acton, Bristol, Michael and Chris have made significant changes in the past 20 years. They ‘reinstated’ the dairy herd in 1990 and expanded it very gradually from 47 cows on 120 acres to its current 560 Holsteins – with 314 cows in the milking herd - and a total of 405 hectares which includes 182hectares of arable crops.
Confidence in the dairy industry has fuelled the Kings more recent expansion in the dairy unit – in the past four years cow numbers have increased by about 25% and they are just completing a £98k investment in improved housing and new slurry handling facilities.
“We have sold our milk to Farmright since it started in 2000 and we are very involved in producing milk for its niche markets,” says Michael, who shares the running of the company, which also includes a business park and a vinegar production business, with his brother Chris.
“We’re involved with some trial work in functional milk products at the moment, but the bottom line is that our milk must be top quality with low cell counts and from a high welfare system.”
To this end, the Kings and their team – that includes husband and wife team Martyn and Lyn Smith, value the cows as their most important asset. Production has gradually increased to an average of 9843kg of milk at 3.85% fat and 3.15% protein with an average cell count of 184,000/ml. This is achieved from a modern yet unpressurised system. “We milk twice a day and cows are fed a flat rate TMR based on grass and maize silage,” adds Michael. “High yielders and heifers are housed 365 days with minimal diet changes to reduce any stress.”
The philosophy on this farm is to achieve high performance from healthy, stress-free cows and with a replacement rate of only 11% this appears to be met. Michael admits that a lot of the progress that they have made over the past few years – and he considers progress to be in cow health, welfare and longevity as well as production - is down to the meticulous detail that Martyn and his team adhere to.
“We have few metabolic disease problems, cell counts are kept well under control and cow welfare is top of the agenda. We also use a stepmatrix weight platform that cows walk across as they leave the parlour. It detects the slightest change in locomotion before it can be detected by the human eye. This has reduced our incidence of lameness by more than 50% and paid for itself in 15 months.”
“The perception that larger herds jeopardise cow health and welfare is a threat to our industry and we can demonstrate very clearly that the reverse is the case here. We can also show the benefits of mixed farming and how we manage the soil on a three year rotation of grass, maize and cereals. We use cattle slurry, and chicken manure from a local poultry unit, that reduces our use of artificial fertilizer to 100tonnes across the whole farm.”
Looking ahead, Chris and Michael want to keep developing the business and take advantage of the opportunities that the dairy industry presents. “After many years of building up the herd, we feel we have a solid base with the management in place for a fit and healthy herd that can perform well as we move ahead.”
Kingspool Holsteins, along with the other seven finalists, were visited by this year’s judges: David Cotton, Chairman RABDF, Philip Kirkham, Chairman NMR and Ian Macalpine, 2007 Gold Cup winner.
NMR/RABDF GOLD CUP 2010 – Runner up
Runner up in the Gold Cup 2010 and recipient of the NMR Silver Salver is Mary Mead from Holt Farms Ltd, Blagdon, North Somerset.
Organically farmed since 2007, the Lakemead herd of 400 Friesian cows and 360 youngstock including beef cross animals, is split across two units but with one set of milk records for the whole herd.
The herd average production for the year ending September 2009 was 7,764kg at 4.08% fat and 3.32% protein with an average cell count of 136,000/ml. The calving interval is 385 days. These performance figures are well above the breed average. Milk is sold to Yeo Valley
CHRIS MAY MEMORIAL AWARD 2010
The Chris May Memorial Award, for the herd with the highest average lifetime daily yield among Gold Cup entrants, went to DC and B Wilcox Wall Farm, Aldworth, Cheltenham, Gloucester. Their 120-cow Holstein herd achieved a lifetime daily yield of 17.85kg for the year ending September 2009. In second place is Chris Simmons from Folly Farm, Wootton under Edge, Gloucester. His 285-cow Holstein herd achieved a lifetime daily yield of 17.6kg. Chris is also a finalist in the 2010 Gold Cup.
ENDS
For more information on the winners and runner up and photographs contact:
Karen Wright, 07860 504047 karen@karenwrightpr.com
THE EIGHT NMR/RABDF GOLD CUP FINALISTS 2010 ARE:
Mary Mead, Holt Farms Ltd, Blagdon, Bristol
Messrs Higgins, Wilderley Hall Farms Ltd, Pulversbatch, Shrewsbury
Mike and Chris King, Kingspool Holsteins, Iron Acton, Bristol
Chris Simmons, Simmons Farms Ltd, Kingswood, Wootton-under-Edge, Gloucs
Barry Coombes, BM Coombes and Sons, Blackford, Wedmore, Somerset
James Burrow, J Burrow and Son, Barton, Preston, Lancs
Neil Baker, FAW Baker Kingston Farms Ltd, Haselbury Plucknett, Crewkerne, Somerset
King Family, Vortex Holsteins Ltd, Martinstown, Dorchester, Dorset