Cumbria: Grazing strategies for dairy youngstock

Join us for an on-farm event at Ninezergh Farm to find out how Adrian Bland is hoping to meet growth rate targets for his 180 head of youngstock, using a rotational grazing system. This will enable Adrian to improve productivity, growth rates and overall net return to the farm.

You will hear from James Daniel, Precision Grazing, who is helping Adrian to have a greater control over grass production, enhance the quality of the grass grazed, improve animal performance per hectare and potentially extend the grazing period.

The session will involve a farm walk around the grazing fields. During the walk we will also hear about Adrian’s first year as a Strategic Dairy Farm and find out how his grazing plans have fared so far this season. The event will cover:

• how rotational grazing systems work
• the basic principles of graze and rest
• managing rotational grazing during extreme weather
• understanding how rotational grazing can maintain the long term health of the grass and soil

Due to ongoing covid restrictions there will be NO REFRESHMENTS except bottled water. Please bring your own packed lunch and drinks.

To assist with biosecurity and conform to government guidelines please ensure outer clothing and vehicles are clean and that clean boots that can be disinfected are worn. Please note children under the age of 16 and dogs are not allowed at the event, even if they are staying in the car.

Health and Safety guidelines for AHDB Events

Directions

Entry to the event is opposite Beetham Hall Crematorium

About Ninezergh Farm

The farm extends to 250ha, which currently supports a dairy herd of 120 cows yielding 8,000 litres and approximately 80 replacement heifers. Other livestock include a flock of 550 sheep and approximately 120 beef animals from the dairy herd reared to around 24 months.

Cows are summer grazed, calve in an autumn block between mid-August and late-October and are milked twice a day. They operate a four-way breeding programme, split equally between dairy and beef, that results in saleable stock from the herd.

Over the next three years Adrian will continue to maximise production by utilising the four separate plots that divide the farm in the most efficient way possible. Adrian is passionate about bringing farmers together to learn from each other and is particularly interested in stimulating debate and feedback at forthcoming farm events. They will continue to ensure all business decisions have a positive impact on the overall profitability of the business.

Learn more about Ninezergh Farm

About Strategic Dairy Farms

Strategic dairy farms help farmers learn from each other through regular on-farm meetings where we share key performance data and showcase what the best farmers are doing.

They form part of the Optimal Dairy Systems programme which aims to help dairy farmer’s lower costs and increase efficiency by focusing on either a block or all-year-round calving system.

The growing network of strategic dairy farms have calculated key performance indicators (KPIs) for their enterprises which are shared at meetings and published online. These are physical and financial performance measures that are critical to success. Farmers can benchmark their businesses against these KPIs and identify areas for improvement.

Explore our other strategic dairy farms