‘Little wins’ improve milk and protein yield on Cornish farm
© MAG/Judith Tooth Milk quality has not been compromised as yields have increased on a 550-cow dairy farm near Bodmin, Cornwall.
In fact, while yields at Treveglos Farm are up by 1,200 litres in 12 months, to 9,317 litres, milk protein has risen from 3.35% to 3.36% in this period, with total milk solids up from 636kg to 710kg a cow on average.
See also: How herds can cut soya without hurting milk yields
However, yield is not the top priority for Andrew Kellow.
“I’m not looking for 10,000 or 12,000 litres – our cows are not ‘extreme’ Holsteins,” he says.
“Protein is our biggest driver with our Saputo [cheese] contract.
“I’m also looking for a robust cow that gets in-calf, can walk out to graze and produce yield when indoors – and is worth something at the end.”
Farm Facts
Treveglos Farm, St Mabyn, Cornwall
Andrew and Dan Kellow © MAG/Judith Tooth
- 299ha grass and 85ha maize
- 550 Holstein Friesians
- Milk supplied to Saputo
- Cows housed; rotational grazing for lower yielders
- Average yield 9,317 litres at 3.36% protein 4.26% butterfat
- 3.16t concentrates a cow a year
- 2,700 litres of milk from forage
- Rear own replacements
- Four family members, three full-time staff and four part-time milkers
Andrew, who farms with his wife Sally, son Dan, and daughter Abby, has achieved the increase in milk yield and quality through a series of “little wins”, according to the farm’s vet, Phil Dawber of Cornwall Dairy Vets.
A strong cull price has also helped, speeding the departure of cows suffering with lameness or high somatic cell counts (SCCs).
While the average number of lactations a cow sits at 2.75, the improvements made to housing, rationing and milking routines are expected to benefit long-term herd health and longevity as well as milk yield and quality.
Housing and feed management
Milking cows move between three sheds according to stage of lactation, while low-yielders graze with twice-daily moves to fresh grass.
Calving takes place during eight months of the year; those calving last September were turned out in late March, while spring calvers will be turned out in June.
Fresh calvers, which are averaging 45 litres/day, are housed in the newest shed.
This doubled capacity 18 months ago to provide 100 cubicles in a double row, with 60cm of feed space a cow.
Two older sheds have a total of 430 cubicles in three rows.
New housing for high-yielding cows © MAG/Judith Tooth
Cows are fed a total mixed ration (TMR) based on 60% maize silage and 40% grass silage, which is fed daily at 7.30am.
To improve intakes, the ration is pushed up four or five times a day – up from twice a day 12 months ago – using a telehandler and rotating tyre.
“Five years ago, we raised the feed rail for the mid-yielders by 5in to improve feed access,” says Andrew.
Now, he is planning a further improvement.
Having installed concrete feed barriers in the new housing and found how much easier the feeding area is to maintain, the wooden feed barriers are to be similarly upgraded in the older sheds.
The calf house © MAG/Judith Tooth
Excavations into the side of the hill to build the extension to the newest shed created the opportunity to open the side of the adjacent cubicle shed.
This has improved natural ventilation – though additional, mechanical ventilation to further improve the cows’ environment in the older shed is planned.
“As the cows are working harder producing more milk, they are also producing more heat, so they need to keep cooler to keep eating,” explains Phil.
Feed ration
Three main cuts of silage are taken following an early crop of ryegrass, which is sown as a catch crop after harvesting maize.
Grass and maize silage are ensiled in one large clamp.
The farm’s diet feeder has recently been upgraded to a larger-capacity model, as the old one was being overloaded, which prevented ration ingredients being mixed properly, says Andrew.
For the past 12 months, methionine has been included in the TMR.
“Methionine is the first limiting amino acid, and its inclusion improves the efficiency of protein utilisation, increasing milk yield and protein content,” says Andrew’s nutritionist, Dr Robin Hawkey of Mole Valley Farmers.
“Cows only need 8g/day of methionine, so it’s put in as a diluted package at 200g a cow a day to give a greater chance of dispersal in the ration,” he explains.
Silage clamp grass and maize © MAG/Judith Tooth
Blood sampling groups of heifers and cows before and after calving showed that some were struggling to maintain energy levels.
As a result, close-up dry cows and fresh calvers are supplemented with mono-propylene glycol to increase the energy density of their diet.
Cows are supplemented with vitamins D and E as well as selenium to boost their immune system.
They are also vaccinated for bovine viral diarrhoea, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis and – this year – bluetongue, as lots of cows will be in-calf over the summer.
Udder health
Andrew admits SCCs “never used to be that good”.
The introduction of penalties by Saputo for counts above 200,000 cells/ml, spurred him on to address the issue.
Five years ago, the herd’s rolling average was 281,000 cells/ml; it is now down to 116,000 cells/ml.
“Number one was culling persistently high-cell-count cows,” says Phil.
Next was to carry out a milking time test, which showed that incorrect vacuum pressure was causing teat-end damage.
This made it difficult to clean the teats effectively, so affected cows were not sufficiently prepared for milking and were not milking out properly.
The pre-milking routine was improved by cleaning teats using cloths soaked in peracetic acid.
An automatic dipping and flushing system in the parlour has also helped by ensuring steady vacuum pressure in the liner mouthpiece, encouraging milk flow, and dipping teats while still inside the liner.
Weekly dressings of sand in the cubicle beds – with additional top-ups in damp or muggy weather – help maintain good udder hygiene.
And fly control has been improved by starting treatment earlier in the season – rather than in July when populations have already multiplied – and treating more regularly.
Pour-on is applied as cows exit the parlour.
In addition, relocating where the diet feeder is stored has created more room in the calving shed.
An additional water trough has increased drinking space, and more regular cleaning out and bedding down is reducing the risk of clinical mastitis developing in the dry period.
Youngstock
Overall herd health is promoted by getting calves off to a good start in a large, airy shed that currently houses 300 calves, of which 230 are dairy heifers.
Dry cows are given a broad-spectrum calf scours vaccine for further protection.
“Calf health is very good here. There’s lots of space and excellent ventilation – there’s never a smell of ammonia,” says Phil.
Sally and Abby take the calves to weaning, while Dan takes overall responsibility for youngstock.
“We’re stockmen at heart,” says Andrew, adding that he is grateful to have a longstanding team of dairy staff.