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Over 250 attend Somerset dairy farm walk

6 April 2010

More than 250 dairy farmers travelled from as far a field as Cheshire, Yorkshire, Kent, Pembrokeshire and Cornwall to attend a Milking Grass for Profit farm walk at Batch End Farm, Lympsham, Weston-Super-Mare on 30 March and organised by ourselves, the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers together with British Grassland Society and DairyCo.

Host farmer, Mat Boley who manages a 350 cow herd plus followers, explained how detailed attention to grassland management had enabled him to achieve high levels of herd fertility from a low input regime, including no concentrate, for the past nine years. He discussed his herd’s crossbreeding strategy and why profit per hour was the most important benchmark. Mat then went on to explain why he made the radical decision to introduce once a day milking and its subsequent benefits.

“Farmers attending this event found it was time well invested regardless of whether they were managing a 10,000 litre herd or a lower output system. They were all provided with the opportunity to do some thinking about their systems and how they could improve their efficiency,” said RABDF’s chief executive, Nick Everington. “Grazed grass continues to remain the cheapest form of forage, therefore starting to optimise its management from turnout should enable farmers to be well placed to maximise its potential throughout the season and subsequently have the opportunity to reduce input costs.”

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