Introducing our Cornish Focus Farm
How innovative management systems can support profitable dairy farming and inspire the next generation is what it’s all about at Duchy College’s Future Farm.
The unit is one of Mole Valley Farmers’ Focus Farms, which have been selected to showcase innovative solutions and best practices within the industry.
The state-of-the-art building at Stoke Climsland does not conform to British dairying norms, embracing a Dutch design for an environmentally - and cow–friendly building of the future.
The shed has a synthetic, translucent roof, making it light and airy without the addition of radiant heat inside the building.
Temperature and humidity-controlled side vents and light sensors allow the internal environment to be constantly maintained. Cows are fed using a robot to deliver precise, consistent mixes.
The herd relocated to the greenfield site in November 2020 and the system is in stark contrast to the old set-up, which won an award as a model farm in the seventies.
Duchy College Project Manager, Paul Ward, said the new system ensures cows have the space and comfort to express their natural behaviour and meet their genetic potential.
He said the herd was reduced from 300 to 220 cows, adding: “When we moved, we were still feeding the same amount but getting better production as every cow was getting their share. The milk went up by nearly 500 litres.”
The Future Farm is now a cutting-edge educational facility, bridging the gap between innovative dairy practices and the next generation of farmers.
It’s hoped that showing best practices, new technologies and research will ultimately inspire them to lead the industry forward.
“We want to show if cows are kept in good conditions and fed well, this is what they can achieve,” said Paul, who stressed it was about finding a system that maximises profit per hectare.
This goes hand-in-hand with reducing dairy farming’s impact on the environment - something which underpins practices across the Duchy Estate.
It’s an area supported by our nutritionists, Dr Robin Hawkey and Pete Reis, who formulate the herd’s diet to reduce its carbon footprint, whilst meeting production targets.
And careful rationing has helped drive both milk quality and yields since they started working with the college in 2021 (see table).
Pete said: “We’re looking to be climate positive across the dairy enterprise which fits with the ethos of Saputo and the Duchy Estate and also our Climate Positive Agriculture initiative.”
The Mole Valley Farmers team has also started a farm study which will compare two diets, one of which has half the carbon footprint of the other.
The rations have been formulated using our Precision Nutrition rationing program to predict the diet’s carbon footprint, along with methane and nitrogen output and protein efficiency.
The aim is to see if the environmental impact of dairy rations can be reduced whilst maintaining milk constituents and production targets. The financial implications will also be assessed.
This is helped by the building’s design, which enables cows to be split and fed differently using a robotic feeding system.
Farm Manager, Anthony Baggaley, said potential gains in feed efficiency are of particular interest. “If we can get more from what we can produce, that’s beneficial. And if we can produce more protein, that’s going to be very interesting,” he added.
Both Mole Valley Farmers and Duchy College, through Future Farm, are partners of the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL), one of the world’s foremost farm animal research alliances.
Farm Facts:
- Duchy College’s Future Farm is funded by CIEL and AgriTech Cornwall
- 240ha total area farmed, including equine and small holding/animal care
- 220 cows
- 186ha for dairy including grazing, maize, grass silage and wholecrop
- 9,070 litres a cow a year at 4.49% butterfat and 3.49% protein
- 4,166 litres of milk from forage a cow a year
- Milking twice a day through a 20:40 herringbone parlour
- Housed in a state-of-the-art “Future Farm” building, including a temperature and humidity-controlled environment, light sensors and a Triolet feeding robot
- Late lactation cows grazed
- Supplying milk to Saputo
- Autumn calving from August to the end of November
- Holstein dairy semen and Aberdeen Angus and Fleckvieh beef semen used
- Sell 60 beef calves and finish 60
- Five full-time staff
- 350 Highlander ewes
