Supporting the journey towards net zero

Farmed by the Campbell family since 1928, today, Low Ballees is run by David Campbell alongside his father Tom. And since 2000, they have steadily expanded. While David is the first to say they are still very much on their journey to net zero, the team have already made significant steps to improve their environmental credentials.

The farm operates at a high level of carbon efficiency. “Their focus on high herd performance, coupled with a real concern for the farm’s natural capital means that output and sequestration are both significant. While the farm is performing well when compared to the standard data, small changes and implementation of new targets and management practices could push the farm closer to net zero emissions,” says AHDB Senior Knowledge Exchange Manager, Doreen Anderson.

First and foremost, Low Ballees is a successful dairy business.  There are currently 145 cows in the milking herd, with about 90 followers, producing an average of 11,000 litres per year. Cows calve all year round and are fully housed in a newly built portal frame shed, adjoining the pre-existing cubical housing. This incorporates their two robots and has been in operation since 2019.

Cubicles are fitted with mats and sawdust is used for additional bedding. The newer part of the building is particularly well ventilated with an open ridge and open sidewalls which benefit from automatic curtains. Stocking density is less than 85% and the Low Ballees cows enjoy over 8.5m² of floor area per cow. The farm operates complementary zero grazing and cropping components.

Replacements, once in-calf, and far-off dry cows currently graze during the summer months, and they have an average age-at-first-calving of 24 months.

Introducing robots

Recent developments at the farm include introducing robots, a decision that has been driven both by what was best for the cows and overcoming restricting factors. “We increased cow numbers, but this coincided with a period of bad weather,” says Tom. “We brought the cows in and moved to a zero grazing system. But this increased their production and the cows needed milking more than twice a day. We tried three times a day milking for a while, which worked well, but wasn’t great from a labour point of view.

“With the cows in all the time we started to look at different accommodation options. We wanted to create an environment where they would rather be in than out. This also gave us the opportunity to address the labour issue, especially with David, the next generation, getting involved as well. We were looking at what this set up could look like in ten years’ time and that’s when we started thinking about robots as the answer.”

The Campbells have seen a number of advantages since moving to robots in 2019. “The cows are still milked at least three times, sometimes five times a day, which is important,” says Tom. “But there are other benefits including the heat detection system and the data that allows us to monitor the health of each individual cow. We’ve also seen an increase in lying time and benefits to herd health, particularly hoof health.” The team have also seen a notable increase in the longevity of cows in the herd.

Focusing on slurry management

Slurry is transferred via slatted channels and an underground storage tank to an above ground steel tower. From there it can be tankered or pumped via lay-flat pipes to a newly constructed, lined lagoon. “We installed the lagoon in 2018,” says David. “This is a 4500 m³ lined lagoon, away from the steading.” This has allowed them to import additional digestate which has reduced the reliance on inorganic fertilisers.

The lagoon is situated away from the farm steading but positioned centrally to the farm making it easy to spread across the land with the umbilical slurry spreading equipment. “The lagoon was installed with a 10 year outlook. The reality of payback is less than five years, given the increase cost of inorganic fertiliser,” says Tom.

Dirty water is managed through a, recently installed, constructed farm wetland with clean water being channelled directly to the nearby water course. This provides a habitat for birds and waterfowl and enables clean water to be returned to the environment. “This works without any mechanical machinery, which means no breakdowns, saving money and time. It also provides additional storage for low nutrient value waste. It allows all the dirty water to go through the cleaning process in an environmentally friendly way.”

A heaven for wildlife

The farm extends to 125 ha with over 13 ha of woodland, 8 ha of which has been planted in the past six years, and 1.3 ha of deep peat that also allows them to sequester carbon. Tom and David are looking to plant additional hedge rows and wind breaks over the coming years.

Cereal crops, including winter barley and winter wheat, are grown on 20 ha of the land. The farm is 80% self sufficient for home-grown barley and 100% self-sufficient for wholecrop, feeding and bedding straw.

The constructed farm wetland that cleans the water has the additional benefits providing a rich habitat for birds and waterfowl, both of which are a common sight at the farm. The eco system is given a further boost by a local beekeeper who maintains six hives on the farm.

Good business sense

Every decision the Campbells have made to improve the efficiency of the farm has been driven by good business sense and financial benefit. However, this has also ensured their sustainability for the future, helping to reduce their carbon footprint, all while keeping their eye firmly fixed on the commercial output.

AHDBs existing strategic dairy farm network is part of the wider Farm Excellence programme and aims to help farmers learn from each other, sharing their journey at regular on-farm and digital meetings, where key performance data is shared and best practice is showcased.

They are aligned with AHDBs Optimal Dairy Systems programme which itself aims to help dairy farmers reduce costs and increase efficiency by focusing on either a tight block or all-year-round calving system.

The new, environment focused farms joining the network demonstrate both excellent farm business practice while also offering an emphasis on environmental sustainability. They will share their key figures and learnings, hosting both on-farm and digital meetings on a variety of topics including animal health, forage and youngstock, to ensure that others can benefit from their experience and learn with them as they make further improvements.

“We are excited to be able to add these farms to our existing strategic dairy farm programme,” says Nic Parsons, AHDBs Head of Knowledge Exchange, Dairy. “Our current network has proven extremely successful. These new farms tick all the usual strategic farm boxes but have already started on their journey focusing on their environmental credentials. We hope this will help other farmers understand the small changes they can be that will ultimately benefit their business while also helping their own journey towards net zero.”