Farmer Focus: Beaconhill Holsteins, Cullompton, Devon
The 180-pedigree Beaconhill Holstein herd is run by Andrew, Oliver, Wendy and Becca Reed. In 2016 the Reeds invested in a completely new 200-cow dairy unit on a greenfield site, moving from their traditional parlour to a robot system. The herd is cubicle housed on sand bedding all year round. The cows are milked by three A4 Lely robots and herd health is exceptional with mastitis down at just 4.5 cases for every 100 cows, and antibiotics use reduced from 19mg/PCU in 2018 to just below 10mg/PCU. The all-year-round calving herd achieves an average yield of 13,000 litres at 4% butterfat & 3.29% protein with a replacement rate of 16% and pregnancy rate of 21%. Milk is supplied locally to Crediton Dairy.
Supported by CIS Area Manager Noni Smith, the family milk record monthly taking advantage of the CIS Complete Pedigree package enabling them to register pedigree heifer calves, milk record and have two classification visits a year for a set monthly fee. The Reeds often choose to pay extra for a third classification visit within the year.
“We were previously a flying herd and only started to register in 2010 when I started full-time on the farm and in 2014 we decided to start classifying the herd which we now do two/three times a year. We mainly breed our own followers, and I really enjoy the breeding side of things with my aim to breed big, strong cows. I select sires on type, believing you can get good type animals to milk. We also do occasionally buy a special calf to introduce new families to the herd”, comments Olly.
Olly started showing cattle for the YFC Heifer Competition at Devon County Show and was soon persuaded to enter them in the Holstein classes as well. He hasn’t looked back since and the family are now regulars at a number of local and national shows. Beaconhill Holsteins have enjoyed success winning three out of the last four years in the Devon Holstein Club herd competition, along with being named in the final five for the 2022 Gold Cup.
“We milk record monthly as we believe the milk records are a vital element of completing a pedigree history. The CIS Complete Pedigree package makes it easy to register our pedigree heifer calves, and is the cheapest way for us to milk record and classify for a set monthly fee. It is important that we have a different, and unbiased, set of eyes to appraise the herd, and we all get a lot of job satisfaction on classification days”, adds Olly.
The data from milk recording enables Olly to monitor cell count results for selective dry cow therapy and they monitor for Johne’s every quarter to maintain a high herd health status, which is vital for selling surplus dairy heifers and the 80 or so beef stores that they rear annually.
The two-generational enterprise at France Farm has built a strong reputation for producing quality breeding stock. Breeding for longevity and functionality is helping the Reed family keep replacement rates low, at 16%. Their calving interval is 387 days and their pregnancy rate is 21%.
“When we moved to CIS we stopped using our previous herd programme and use the CIS MobileHerd App as our herd management tool along with the YourHerd website. It is a fantastic platform and invaluable as I have all the data from the cows on my phone and uses it daily”, adds Olly.
With the environmental pressures that all farms face the family is striving to make better use of manure and are routinely soil sampling. As a result, they have managed to more than halve their fertiliser usage from 45t to 20t/year. They have also recently joined a Mid-Tier Countryside Stewardship Scheme and have established 30ha (74 acres) of leguminous swards and wildflower mixes. The aim is to increase the silage protein content and further reduce fertiliser usage.
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