BIG INVESTMENT FEARS SHED
BIG INVESTMENT FEARS SHED
Making a financial
commitment in a new dairy
shed, three years ago,
made the next year or so
a worrying time for one
North Yorks producer,
but he is now sure that
investment will pay off.
Wendy Owen reports
HAVING increased cow numbers and put up a new £160,000 shed for the herd three years ago, Geoff Spence wondered whether he had made the right move, as milk prices fell rapidly.
But he is now seeing an increase in profits, as well as an unplanned 15% rise in individual milk yield across the herd.
In 1999, Mr Spence, Lowfield Farm, Brompton, Northallerton, decided he had two options: He could either renew the cattle housing or give up dairy farming. His cow building was old and the loose-housing was proving labour-intensive and impractical.
He also felt it was contributing towards the high incidence of mastitis with almost half his cows treated for the disease in one winter. When he added up the cost of mastitis treatments, plus additional labour and his annual straw bill, he estimated that the old loose-housing system was reducing profit by about £15,000 a year.
But since building the new shed, he has been able to increase the herd size from 220 pedigree Holstein Friesians and followers to more than 250 cows. Mastitis is no longer a problem and yields have risen from 7600kg to 8600kg, largely due to the better facilities in the new housing.
It turned out that Mr Spence had been lucky in his timing in more ways than one. Just as his 0.8ha (2-acre) site was being cleared for the new building, he was contacted by a housing development company looking to offload a large quantity of rubble from a site in the nearby village.
They offered to deliver, crush and roll the material without charge, which saved around £10,000, and he also sold them some topsoil from his farm.
Because of the drop in the milk price at the time of building, competition was fierce and he was able to buy the shed, materials and concrete for much less than he could buy them today.
But there were some hidden expenses and to make the new system work, he had to invest in a feeder wagon, a tractor to pull it and a slurry store and tanker.
He was keen to have a timber-panelled structure as he believes it creates a better and more natural environment for cows. The top third is Yorkshire boarding, which allows plenty of airflow without being draughty. There is also a 30cm (1ft) ventilation gap between the walls and roof.
The 216 new cubicle beds are designed to allow plenty of room. "They measure 8ft 6in and have a 6in concrete heelstone preventing the cows from lying too far forward and getting stuck," he explains.
One of the most important features is the 4.2m (14ft) wide passage, which cost an extra £10,000 to build. But the additional expense was justified because the wider aisles encourage the animals to move about to feed and drink and reduce bullying of heifers by older cows. They also keep slurry from building up, so cows feet are kept clean.
Mr Spence has two full-time staff and previously it took about two hours a day to bed up and clean cubicles. In the new building he uses sand, which is spread by a mechanised loader/conveyor belt once a fortnight.
"Some cows are giving high yields and milk was running from their partly-open teats on to the straw, creating an ideal breeding ground for bacteria. But the mastitis bugs cannot survive nearly so well in the sand," says Mr Spence.
"Many people predicted that sand would block up the slurry tank, but that has not been the case. The tank is emptied about once every three weeks and agitated just before the slurry is removed to stir up any sand which has settled on the bottom.
"Straw is generally expensive and the price can vary, but sand is readily available and the price is more consistent, so budgeting is much easier."
Another idea which has been successfully incorporated into the new building is the plastic bubble-wrap, which lines the space between the roof and purlings. The material blocks ultra-violet rays, keeping the building cool in the summer, and provides insulation during winter without a build-up of condensation.
When they were loose-housed, cows had to stand outside in the yard for up to two hours at each end of the day while ring feeders in the shed were being filled. With the new feeding system, this is no longer necessary. Cows can spend more time feeding and drinking and Mr Spence feels that this has contributed to the milk yield increase.
As well as the cost of the building, Mr Spence needed extra milk quota for the additional cows he kept. He had been leasing quota for a decade but he felt leasing was too insecure and was draining his income, so he increased his bank loan to include the purchase of 1.5m litres of quota.
With just 85ha (210 acres) of grassland and a further 12ha (30 acres) rented, the farm has to be highly efficient in forage production and cubicles have brought additional benefits in this area too. Because he is now dealing with slurry instead of solid manure, he finds it much easier to assess exactly what nutrient the grass is receiving and there have been some savings on fertiliser.
Traditionally, new calvers have been sold to other producers throughout the year. Despite foot-and-mouth having taken its toll on this side of the business, he is expecting to find a market over the next year for restocking of culled herds. *
SAVINGS MADE
• Less labour/cow.
• Sand cheaper than straw.
• Vet bills reduced.
• Less purchased fertiliser.
• Cow output increased.