Developing farm systems for business resilience

Having arrived at Harper Adams in 2003, with the ambition of becoming a rural surveyor, I now find myself as assistant farm manager at the aforementioned institution.

My grandfather was a tenant dairy farmer in Cheshire having hailed from his family farm near Carlisle in the 60s. I enjoyed many summers on the family farm, I was positively aware of my desire for a career in the industry from an early age. My family were cautious of this, having seen the impact struggling milk prices can have on a relatively small tenanted dairy farm.

The solution was to embark on an undergraduate degree in Rural Enterprise and Land Management. Having successfully completed this I was acutely aware that I would rather be involved with agriculture on a practical level. I returned to Harper soon after graduating, as a member of staff, working in the new dairy unit, which was a far cry from the family farm! A year later I found myself applying for my current role, perhaps a little ambitious but nevertheless I was successful. To date, alongside the day job, I have achieved a Masters degree in Farm and Agri-Business Management and I have recently completed the FACTS course enabling me to take responsibility for nutrient management on the estate.

I am principally responsible for forage production on the farm, an enterprise we have spent much time and effort developing in the pursuit of increasingly sustainable dairy production. Lucerne is a major interest of mine, a fascinating crop with the potential for dry matter yields approaching those of maize and with an elevated protein profile (20-22 per cent) when compared to grass silage. I select maize varieties with starch and energy profile at the forefront of my mind. Increasing milk yield from forage is constantly on the agenda, particularly as we see global commodity price volatility and currency shifts. Our recent improvements in forage production enable us to feed around 3.4t/year of concentrates to cows yielding 10,000 litres, a figure we are slowly eroding. Such benchmarks are important measurements of continuing business resilience.

Research, as you would expect is a major part of a university farm. We have recently embarked on a new study in collaboration with AHDB Beef and Lamb, the Hereford Cattle Society and Dunbia aimed at creating a sustainable and commercial beef finishing system based on forage alone for autumn born dairy bred steers. Grazing is managed on a paddock-based system with weekly grass measurements taken for budgeting purposes. Using 2-3 day paddocks, this enables us to put top quality grass in front of the calves constantly. A recent grass analysis returned 21.3 per cent protein, 13.7 MJ/kg ME and 85.5 per cent D value. Early results indicate that the Hereford X Holstein Friesian calves are achieving an average of 0.9kg/d DLWG whilst their HF counterparts are achieving 0.76kg/d. The challenge is to achieve 1kg/d throughout the grazing season. We will then outwinter the group on fodder beet with an aim to finish them at spring grazing at around 21 months of age. Watch this space!

Another major part of my role is the task of deploying the seemingly endless quantity of manure associated with our approaching 400 cow herd. This is the primary reason my fiancé Marie willingly becomes a food delivery service during the spring! We have a number of muck for straw agreements with local arable farmers enabling us to export manure whilst helping our neighbours improve soil quality through increased organic matter. A win-win situation! A number of these farmers also grow maize for us as part of a yearly contract growing agreement. We aim to maximise the nutrient requirement of all our maize with available organics. All in the pursuit of keeping the fertiliser lorry out of the yard!

The farm Harper Adams has 380 dairy cows, beef, sheep and arable. Cropping is split 60/40 forage/arable over some 1400 acres.