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Potstown Farm
Name:
Gareth Owen
Location:
Lockerbie
Farm sectors:
Dairy
About Potstown Farm
About Potstown
- Joined the strategic dairy farm network in October 2021
- 367-acre farm
- All-year-round calving herd with 255 cows and 240 youngstock
- Half the herd are pure Holstein while the other half are Jersey
- Yields are now 9,000 litres with 4.8% butterfat and 3.6% protein – previously this has been as high as 11,000 litres but with only 4.09% butterfat
Follow Potstown if you are interested in:
- Maximising cow and heifer performance
- Utilising home-grown forage
- Increasing longevity of your cows
- Identifying expansion opportunities
Overview
Potstown, near Lockerbie on the Scottish border, is owned and managed by brothers, Gareth and David Owen, along with their father Tom. The family first moved to the farm in 1988 and have been gradually growing the size of both the herd and the farm since. They have recently changed half the herd to Jersey and run a robotic milking system.
Our farm
The Owen family moved to Potstown in 1988 having split the herd initially run by Tom and his brother. Starting with just 90 Holsteins and 177 acres, the family have gradually been building the size of both the farm and the herd. Today, the family farm over 350 acres and have recently invested in a new cubicle shed as well as two additional robots.
A full-time member of staff, Kenny, is employed and works closely with Gareth and Tom. David is also a consultant and develops the farm's business plan.
Our herd
In 2020, the family decided to change half the herd to Jersey cows and today cow numbers at 255 and almost 340 followers. Yields are now at 9,000 litres at 4.80% butterfat, compared to 11,000 litres at 4.09% butterfat in the previous year. The team are hopeful that as the jerseys move from heifers to fully grown cows, they can push this yield up slightly while maintaining a high solids percentage.
Sexed semen is used exclusively on cows and heifers with beef semen used on 2 or 3+ service. Bull selection is done on a mainly PLI basis although milk yield, butterfat percentage, type merit, legs and feet and fertility are used as well along with teat length and placement for robotic milking.
Our journey
Gareth and David wanted to join the strategic dairy farm programme to help them focus on how the Jersey herd could help improve their performance and to increase their understanding of genetics and genomics. They are looking forward to sharing their journey and learning from other farmers attending their events. They are exploring how to make the most of existing buildings for their youngstock and how they can gain the most from their assets. They are focused maximising the potential from their infrastructure.
News and past events
- Update on milking shed ventilation, calf housing and genomic testing (August 2023) Doreen Anderson, senior knowledge exchange manager, catches up with Gareth about what he has been up to (YouTube, 3 minutes)
- Optimising herd management with metabolic profiling (February 2023) Find out how Gareth has used metabolic profiling to find out more about the requirements of his herd
- Healthy feet in your dairy herd (December 2022) Gareth was joined by lameness expert Nick Bell to explore how to identify, treat and reduce lameness in the dairy herd
- Dairy calf health and management (February 2022) Gareth Owen talks about some new protocols that have been put in place at Potstown and what data they are collecting to underpin the best practice on farm for their calves (YouTube, 1 hour 30 minutes)
- Potstown strategic dairy farm launch (October 2021) Gareth and David Owen offer a virtual tour of their farm and provide an overview of its background, operations and the team involved (YouTube, 1 hour)
