Clyde Jones
Clyde Jones
Clyde Jones manages two
200-cow herds on a
dairy/arable farm near
Dorchester in Dorset. One
herd is spring calving and
the other, late autumn
calving. Both are managed
using New Zealand farming
techniques over 140ha
(350 acres) of chalkland
FOLLOWING completion of the new parlour at Rainbarrow, we are now getting back to some kind of normality.
First, dry cows joined pre-calvers and are now on grass by day. They were followed by the first batch of 25 calves, which went out in a small paddock with their arc. But I think an ark would have been more appropriate.
Next we moved 125 spring calvers who went through the new parlour in about 70 minutes. They were doing 15 litres each on once-a-day milking and on the first day through the new parlour, did 23 litres on twice-a-day. That, as an arable friend of mine would say, is a result.
We are still looking at improving cow flow. Heifers have settled instantly and we hardly notice them during milking. We intend to pass dry cows and heifers through prior to calving, just to put them at ease.
The consequence of a month with no stock on the farm is that grass has grown rapidly. Average cover is 2400kg DM/ha and rising. The rotation planner graph says we should be on 1ha/day (2.5 acres). We have also cut cake levels to just 2kg mineral carrier to increase grass intakes because individual paddock covers are up to 3000kg DM/ha.
In contrast, grass on the autumn calvers side has an average cover of 1900kg DM/ha, after the addition of the spring herd helped reduce winter cover. We are now left with 220 cows raring to go. If we continue feeding some silage and cake, and have a slow first rotation, we should be able to get round OK.
All autumn cows have been tail-painted to check they are cycling. The herd will be served soon, to calve in January next year, so both herds will be spring calving.
We have had a snipe resident in the high grass covers carried over winter – not what you expect on a dry chalkland farm. But least expected was a pair of ducks in the grazing paddocks. I know ducks like mud, but this is taking the mickey. *
Milk yields shot up from 15 to 23 litres/day when Clyde Jones moved from once to twice-a-day milking in his new parlour.