PRESS INFORMATION
June 2016
Dorset dairy farmer makes Gold Cup final
Herd health and maximising income from sources other than milk have been high on the agenda in
running the pedigree Holstein Bettiscombe herd in Dorset that has made it to the final six in the
2016 NMR/RABDF Gold Cup.
Simon Bugler is the fourth generation of the family who now manages the high yielding herd of
pedigree Holsteins - 570 cows in milk plus 700 followers at Pilsdon Dairy Farm, Bridport.
He runs the farming partnership with his parents Roland and Heather with 12 full time employees.
Roland and Heather started the partnership 40 years ago with 80 cows at the adjoining Lower
House Farm which grew into a 180 cow herd. The purchase of Pilsdon Dairy Farm with 70 commercial Friesians further expanded the operation and the purchase of other adjoining land has seen
the owner occupied hectares grow to 295, with a further 142ha of rented land used for forage and
young stock grazing.
“We have always bred for good conformation, placing great importance on legs and feet,” says Simon. “Health traits are becoming more important, in particular, fertility and low cell counts.
“We want a herd of cows that will be able to produce the milk but will be able to have a calf and
maintain a good level of health throughout the lactation.”
Eight years ago, with Simon’s enthusiasm for dairying and pedigree breeding, the two herds were
amalgamated and housed in a purpose built unit with as many welfare friendly facilities as possible,
taking on the best ideas from visiting other units.
These included perimeter feed sheds for their natural ventilation. The housing has an integral 40x40
Boumatic quick exit parlour which milks the cows three times a day.
Cubicles are sand bedded with a flood wash system for passageways which passes into a reception
pit, before being mixed and pumped through a separator with liquid then passing through settlement
chambers into a lagoon, for spreading by an umbilical.
Roof water is used in the parlour, automatic footbaths and for the cows to drink and it goes through
a filtration system and UV treatment before being stored in a tank. The collection system, over a
year to March 2016, had saved 30,000 cubic metres of water. Solar panels at both units are rated at
100 kW and cut electricity costs for the dairy and farmhouse as well as two holiday cottages.
Footbaths automatically empty and fill and there is an automatic segregation to the handling facilities which includes a handling race and tipover foot trimming crush.
“Mobility scoring is down to between 1 and 2, according to the farm vet, and digital dermatitis is
negligible,” adds Simon. “We are sure this is down to the automatic footbaths which empty three
times during each milking. Formalin is used twice a week. This all helps to keep cows’ feet clean.
“We also found that housing the cows year round has improved foot health and resulted in fewer
foot ulcers and stone damage. Feet are trimmed twice a year at 70 days calved and just before drying off.”
The decision was taken to house the cattle year round six years ago which Simon says has improved
cattle health as well as lifting yields. Cases of mastitis have recently reduced to 20 per 100 cows,
down from around 35 in 2014. Cell count runs at 111,000cells/ml and Bactoscan at 6.
The herd achieved 11,260kg of milk at 3.56% butterfat and 3.1% protein on three times a day milking in the Gold Cup qualifying year to September 2015. Calving interval was running at 380 days.
Since then average yield had edged over 11,600kg and cell counts have fallen in this all year round
calving herd. And while they believe a 13,000kg herd average is achievable, they would not sacrifice herd health and fertility to get there.
“Welfare and health targets are key to maintaining our Muller Sainsburys' milk contract,” says Simon. “We have weekly vet visits, primarily to check on fertility and PD cows but also to take into
account the general health of the herd. And we follow a strict vaccination programme for BVD, leptospirosis, salmonella and IBR. And recently all our calves have been ear sampled for BVD which
so far have proved negative. Johne’s is also monitored and we have a control plan in place.”
Mastitis control is an area where Simon has worked hard to improve. “We’ve changed the premilking protocol. We foremilk 10 cows at a time with two washable wipes - within a 90 second interval – to achieve a good milk let down.
“We can record data on this and half the cows should start milking within the first two minutes - if
not the milk preparation is not being done well enough. Three staff are required for each milking.”
Continuing the theme of cow health, Simon has cut antibiotic use at drying off and now up to 95%
of the dry cows have no antibiotic treatment, just Orbeseal, whereas previously all were double
tubed.
While milk sales are the primary source of income, an important aid to cash flow has been the sale
of up to 150 females a year through the monthly pedigree sale at Sedgemoor market and while prices have dropped from the average £1,800 to £2,000 a head to average £1,400, it is still a valuable
source of income
“Our cattle sales are important,” adds Simon. “The herd has been pedigree for the past four decades
and in the past 15 years North American genetics have been used and some Canadian females have
been imported. But for the past four years the herd has been closed and the focus is now on using
sexed semen on the heifers.
“We also look to make genetic gains with the use of genomics, testing heifers for both maternal and
paternal traits.”
The cows are fed a full TMR in four groups - high yielders, heifers, low yielders and post calving
with the diet based on 50-50 grass and maize silage, straights and crimped wheat. The maize and
wheat are grown in rotation with short term Italian leys. The farm also has 8ha of woodland.
Calf rearing has been another area of attention and a specialist unit has been developed at the Waterhouse Farm where young calves are reared in individual hutches and bucket fed twice a day until
weaning at 55-60 days. They are then housed in small groups on straw yards before being moved to
small cubicles at nine to 12 months old. Heifers calve at 25 months old but Simon is aiming to reduce this.
Unit facts:
570 Holsteins in milk, plus 700 followers
Purpose built unit for cows in 2010 includes 40x40 Boumatic rapid exit parlour
Sand bedding with liquid spread via umbilical system
Milk sold to Muller on a Sainsburys’ contract
Calving interval of 380 days
All young bull calves sold to Blade on Sainsbury’s system