Farming Talk – December 3
We at Walford Farm have decided to work with LIC International and their Pasture to Profit team.
They are a collaborative network of farmers and consultants who specialise in maximising profits and sustainable cow performance from pasture-based dairy farming.
This is a great opportunity for us to develop best practice with a collaborative network of like-minded farmers. We have opened our doors to work with LIC as a Monitor farm.
There are significant challenges to be faced when we move the cows to a pasture-based system. We are now starting the transition from a high input Holstein herd to an autumn block grazing herd with the use of LIC semen to bring in a higher proportion of Friesian genetics.
Every step of this transition is discussed with our students. We hope that the move to a very transparent and collaborative system will help them understand the benefits of networking, utilising new technologies and data management.
Our aim is to have 250 milking cows with 60 replacements coming in every year. The long term size of the cows is expected to be 550kg to 600kg, producing 7,500 to 8,000 litres of milk.
You can follow our progress on Facebook and we will be holding our first Monitor farm open day on April 8.
Bronwen Bray is Head of Walford Campus
