Perry Farm

Follow our journey if you are interested in:

• Managing a tight autumn block calving herd – aiming for an 8-10-week block
• Improving your herd fertility – excellent six-week in-calf rates
• Improving grass utilisation – John Roche setting some targets in April
• High cow health status – very low mastitis cases and high % on SDCT
• Milking herd accommodation investment – Cow Signals designed
• Achieving a better work/life balance – Paul Harris supporting the team

Overview

Perry Farm has been in the Bennett family for 84 years and is managed by Kenton Bennett in partnership with his partner Charlotte and his parents. The Bennett’s were fortunate to be able to buy the originally tenanted farm some years back and have made an investment in cow health and welfare. This is a true family farm that has a passion for their cows.

Our farm

Based in Bagber, North Dorset, just to the west of Sturminster Newton, off the A357, the farm consists of 256 acres – 10% of which is down to arable to feed and bed the herd with the remaining land down to grass.

Our herd

The herd is currently made up of 200 autumn calving cows Holstein Friesian cows, some Ayrshire and with an increasing number of Danish Red, achieving 8,500 litres of milk per cow per year with 4.25% butterfat and 3.47% protein, milking twice per day. 

They graze from March through to October and generate 70 home-reared heifers with an average age at first calving of 24 months. 

Our journey

Their journey has seen them concentrate on switching from All Year Round Calving four years ago to a 12 week Autumn block. Cow health and welfare have always been a major focus and they won the Cream Award in 2018 in recognition of their achievements. 90% plus of the herd are on SDCT and their attention to detail on all aspects of cow health is exemplary.

Our key performance figures

Perry Farm openly share their KPIs so you can see how they perform against a number or technical and financial measures.

• Review Perry Farm's key performance indicators

News and past events

• January 2020 - strategic farm launch - Kenton and Charlotte Bennett launch Perry Farm with a guided tour of their facilities, an overview of their operations, and an illustration of their total dedication to animal welfare.
• June 2020 - Building effective teams - People management expert Paul Harris joins Kenton and Charlotte to explore the successful elements of building happy high performing teams.
• September 2023 - Perry Farm final strategic dairy farm meeting - Laura Awdry, dairy knowledge exchange manager chats about transition management, drying off protocols, the use of anthelmintics on farm and the role of dung beetles.

Explore our other strategic dairy farms