Bodysgaw Isa

Follow our journey if you are interested in:

• Profitably raising milk solids - from 568kg MS to 586kg MS/cow
• Developing low maintenance 'easy care cow' systems and processes
• Improving your silage quality whilst continuing to use contractors
• Improving milk yields from forage 
• Reducing instances of Neospora and Johnes on your farm
• Follow our journey on Twitter by searching for #SDFBodysgawIsa

Overview

Bodysgaw Isa has been tenanted by the Owen family on the Cefn Estate since 1939.  First managed by his grandfather, Arthur Owen now runs the farm alongside his 2 sons Guto and Gwion, Wife Marian, plus father in law Clwyd.

Our farm

Bodysgaw Isa is based in Llannefydd, Conwy, just 6miles off the A55, the farm consists of 185ha grassland, of which 103ha is grazed from early Feb through to late Nov.

Our herd

This Autumn calving herd consists of 375 Friesian Crossbred ‘Easy Care Cows’ average 6,788litres (568kg MS) per cow per year at 4.53% butterfat and 3.60% protein.  The herd, which calves onto grass, has an impressive 5 year average of 93% cows calving within the first 8 weeks of the block.  All cows graze from early Feb until late Nov, average stocking density 3.65LU/ha across the year.  All replacements are home reared.

Our journey

During Arthur’s time as an SDF, he hopes to further streamline and fine-tune his farming of Bodysgaw Isa. He has already developed a resilient business, stripped out costs, and achieves a good return on tenants' capital. Over the next 3 years, Arthur aspires to raise milk solids above 586kg/cow through improvements in silage quality. Upgrading slurry storage as well as and gaining better control of Johnes and Neospora are also key targets. 

Our key performance figures

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

• Review our key performance indicators

Previous meetings

• September 2019 - Bodysgaw Isa launch overview  - Arthur Owen and AHDB's Richard Davies provide a detailed introduction to Bodysgaw Isa, their systems, key performance indicators and aims and objectives over the next three years 
• January 2020 - Spring grazing in Autumn calving systems - Arthur Owen is joined by AHDB's Richard Davies and Graise Consultancy's Andre van Barnveld to explore their work on Bodysgaw Isa preparing the ground for spring grazing as well as providing practical advice on obtaining better yields from forage
• June 2020 - Managing and treating Johnes - Karen Bond, Veterinary Technical Advisor at National Milk Records joins Arthur for a detailed look at Johnes, it's three stages and how to dramatically reduce this in your dairy herd over time.
• February 2020 - Maximising Grass Silage Quality – Learn about the principles and benefits of producing high-quality silage. You will learn about the practicalities, key processes, and targets in producing high-quality silage for your cows and youngstock with the support of Dave Davies, of Silage Solutions.
• September 2021 - Breeding for efficiency - Arthur Owen shares how he has increased milk production and solids per cow over the last two years.
• March 2022 - Using farm data to improve hoof health - Find out how Arthur and the team are using data to reduce lameness

Find out more about the funding of our strategic dairy farm programme in Wales

Explore our other strategic dairy farms.