FEATURED PRESS | March 2008
With the massive rises in food and production costs on dairy units set to continue, the need for efficient, durable cattle is more vital than ever, and, according to David Douglas, that role is fulfilled on Bellfield Farm, by the sturdy Ayrshire herd that has ruled supreme there for 92 years.
David is the third generation of Douglas' to take on the management of Bellfield, a 500-acre unit at Holywood, Dumfries, which is owned by the Weatherall family, more specifically Percy Weatherall, who has always insisted that the Ayrshire herd should be kept pure.
"Obviously, years ago when the Holsteins were increasing in popularity, it did cross my mind that the higher yields they could achieve would be an advantage, but Percy was adamant that we use no red Holsteins, insisting that markets always come full circle," explained David.
"As it's turned out, he was certainly right and I've no qualms about the pure Ayrshires now. The Holsteins may produce higher yields, but Ayrshires last longer, they're sound on their feet and legs, and they have great spirit which seems to help them to fight problems - keeping vet bills low."
"The breed has improved to a bigger, more milky, modern cow, that easily lasts for eight or nine lactations. One of our oldest cows is 15 years old and we refer to her as "the invisible cow" as she does her job and causes no problems," said David, who runs an entirely closed herd, which calf at two and a half to three years old.
All replacement heifers are home-bred, with any surplus females being sold on privately or at sales. Notably, David has noticed a big increase in demand for the pure Ayrshire heifers, which, he says, is down to the fact that people are again realising the benefits of their longevity.
"Another change we've noticed recently is that the choice of Ayrshire A1 bulls for use is becoming greater. Previously, we sourced a lot of semen from Canada, as it was difficult to get a UK-bred Ayrshire, with no Holstein in it, but that is certainly changing now," said David.
In addition, Belgian Blue and Angus Bulls are used to produce fattening calves which are finished on home-grown barley, protein and haylage, and sold to Highland meats, at up to 30 months old.
Stockwoman Diane Glendinning is in charge of rearing all the calves, including the Ayrshire bulls, which for the past 18 months have gone at 14 weeks for veal, through the family's business Weatherall foods. Mainly, they supply veal to several restaurants in London, where there is an increasing demand for the meat.
In the cubicle shed, the 190-cow herd is split into two groups, high yielders and low yielders - normally they go out around April 20th, with the high yielders coming in from August and the lower producing cattle staying out until as late as the beginning of November. "However, that all depends on the weather," added David. "We're on heavy land here, which takes a lot of repairing when it's wet!"
Seven years ago, the parlour was refurbished and doubled in size, to a Delaval 12/24 - this improved efficiency by saving time and allowing the milking to be a one-person job. Overall, the herd's rolling average is 8100 litres, at 3.35%P, 4.10%BF, and to achieve that, the cattle are fed for maintenance plus 26 litres - a mix of silage, barley, a protein meal to balance the diet, and they receive Davidsons cake in the parlour.
"We try to be as self sufficient as possible," said David. "We grow 250 acres of grain, split into winter barley, spring barley and winter wheat, which helps reduce the feed costs, plus we have a lot of our own machinery, so virtually no contractors are needed, apart from spraying and combining.
"There has always been direct contact here between the owners and the managers - Percy and his family are very much involved in the farm and I'm grateful for that."
Just last year, David took on the management of another neighbouring farm on the estate, Rosehill, which together with Bellfield, brings the land total to more than 1000 acres - 280 of which is woodland. Prior to this, the slurry at Bellfield was stored underground and there was a need for extra storage, but the solution came along with Rosehill, which had its own 200,000 gallon slurry tower.
"We quickly found a major issue with the tower at Rosehill - a third of the tank was unusable due to a thick crust which had formed on it. It's really important for us to have a good storage capacity, as the unpredictable weather in the area means that ideal spreading days are few and far between.
After trying an over the top stirrer, which was unsuccessful, David was advised by his Harbro representative, Stuart Cameron, to try Epizym, a liquefying product which comes in powder form and is mixed with hot water before being added to the slurry.
"I decided to give it a try and after pouring it in the tower, left it for 10 days. Within a short time the solids had broken into lumps, then fluid, which quickly became easy to stir.
"I've been delighted with the results - there was a noticeable reduction in the smell of the slurry, which makes a huge difference, especially since we are really close to a lot of houses. In addition, the slurry is now a level consistency, which means we can get an even spread over the fields.
"It will certainly save us time and money, exactly how much, it's too early to tell, but in the long-term, I'm hoping that it will allow us to reduce the need for bought in artificial fertiliser," explained David.
The challenge to become more efficient is ongoing for David and he's not afraid to make changes, to both the system and steading, when he needs to, but with inputs constantly increasing, he realises that the future of the industry is still uncertain.
"We're with First Milk at the moment, but are seriously considering a change. The milk price is up to 25.03p a litre at the moment, but with inputs going through the roof and a constant need to reinvest, that's not enough. It really needs to be up to 30p now so we can have sight of where we are going.
"That said, the global food shortage is becoming more of an issue, despite the fact everyone was well warned it was likely to happen. So, maybe we are getting to a stage where farmers will become more important again."
For more information on the product visit www.epizym.com
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