Join us for this webinar to explore how to make the most from your buildings at calving with strategic dairy farmer Tim Downes from The Farm in Shropshire.
As a spring block calving herd, Tim can calve up to 180 cows in 6 weeks. This high throughput requires careful management of the calving shed to ensure the area is always clean, avoiding any potential issues such as mastitis or uterine infections.
Tim will also be joined by farm vet Nathan Loewenstein and dairy building expert Ian Ohnstad of the Dairy Group, who will look at how to best utilise the current building space and consider where a potential investment would have the greatest impact.
In this session you will learn about:
- Tim’s spring 2021 calving review
- The principles of calving building design
- How to utilise building space
- Investing wisely in building improvements
To book: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
Who should attend?
Dairy farmers who are interested in utilising their building space to the best of its ability and general principles of housing.
For more information regarding the event please call Knowledge Exchange Manager, Emily Collins on 07776599778.
About Ian Ohnstad – The Dairy Group
Ian Ohnstad is an internationally recognised specialist in milking technology. He leads The Dairy Group team of milking technology specialists, which provide independent advice on milking parlour specification and operation, hygienic milk production, mastitis control and dairy building design.
Ian has considerable experience in the preparation of reports for the purpose of litigation and has acted for claimants, defendants and as a single joint expert in all areas relating to milk harvesting, milk quality and animal husbandry.
He has an active research portfolio and collaborates on research projects in many different countries. He is often requested to manage field trials and product evaluations.
Ian is the Chairman of the British Mastitis Conference and is on the Board of Directors of the National Mastitis Council in the USA. He is an active member of the Central Mastitis Review Group and sits on the AHDB Dairy Mastitis Control steering group.
About Nathan Loewenstein – Shropshire Farm Vets
Nathan graduated from the University of Bristol in 2006 and spent 4 years working in mixed practice in rural Carmarthenshire and Wiltshire. After spending a year and a half working and travelling abroad, including time spent in the dairy heartland of the Waikato in New Zealand’s North Island, he joined the Shropshire Farm Vets practice as a locum at the end of March 2012. Nathan’s main areas of interest are bovine fertility, surgery and the management of Johne’s Disease.
The herd at The Farm is currently made up of 260 Irish and New Zealand based Friesian cows crossed with Norwegian Reds. Average yield is 6500L with 4% Fat and 3.4% protein. The Farm is made of up 365 acres for the milking platform and heifers, with silage and beef rearing ground across multiple other sites. The grazing platform mainly consists of Red and White Clover with Aber grasses that also include Chicory and Plantain where possible.
The Farm runs a spring block calving system with planned calving starting in mid February, with 72% calving within the first 6 weeks. Breeding decisions are data driven using somatic cell counts and milk quality as the current main drivers. They use sexed semen and beef straws and sell excess heifers once weaned. Bull calves are all raised for beef and sold to Waitrose.
The extended farm team includes Tim’s father and mother who look after the beef operations. Herdsman Sean McKay, Assistant Herdsman Taylor Corke and regular placements from Harper Adams University.
Learn more about The Farm.
