Dorset: Starting down the road to rotational grazing

Join strategic dairy farm host, Kenton Bennett, to hear why he has started using rotational grazing this year and what benefits he predicts. 

Keith Davis, British Grassland Society Grazing Mentor has been supporting Kenton through this process. They will share the highs and lows of what has been a challenging year for grazing as well as the next steps Kenton will be taking to improve the system and ensure maximum benefit.  

Discussion will include: 

• Update on Perry Farm and impact of TB breakdown
• Why change the grazing protocol
• How the paddocks were adapted
• What it has cost in terms of infrastructure
• Impacts of a cold start to the season
• Learnings so far and next steps
  
  

This meeting is relevant for farmers and staff interested improving grass utilisation, rotational grazing and reducing feed costs whilst maintain high cow health and welfare.  

Our speaker – Keith Davis 

Keith Davis is the dairy manager for Lydney Park Farms. From 2008 the farm has milked 1000 cows once a day on an intensively managed grazing system with the target of maximising grass growth and utilisation. As part of his job at Lydney Park Farms, Keith also manages a team of up to 11 members of staff who are both full and part time. He takes great delight in working with the different characters and getting the best out of them for the farm as well as developing their skills so that they can move up through the business or the industry. Keith has learnt his grazing skills from discussion groups. Livestock Improvement grassland consultants and personal study tours of New Zealand. Keith is a former board member for AHDB Dairy and is the Chairman of The Genetics Advisory Forum to AHDB. 

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.

About Perry Farm

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.

The herd is currently made up of 120 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. 

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