Stop Trashing Our UK Countryside & Our Farms

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?????

THE RAGWORT IS TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL IN THE UK.

TIME TO COMPLAIN....WHO IS NOT DOING THEIR JOB???

I spend hundreds of hours driving through this pleasant & green land. One can’t help but see & feel the beauty of this Agricultural (industrial) landscape that is rural Great Britain.
However over summer this beautiful landscape is ruined by the disgusting sight of “out of control” Ragwort on the Motorways, public roads, the rail network & even in the towns & cities.
It makes me feel sick inside. It seems nobody gives a damn!
Ragwort is a noxious weed. Who is responsible?????
Common Ragwort used to be rarely seen because farmers would not tolerate it. Even the Daily Telegraph reported
“The change from rarity to infestation (….of Ragwort) reflects a fundamental change in Britain: from a society with a strong rural culture and understanding to a country dominated by urban values”
Ragwort can be highly dangerous to grazing animals including cattle. Every Ragwort plant has up to 150,000 seeds which can remain viable for up to 20 years. Seeds can be blown in the wind up to 100 m.

Natural England is responsible for enforcing the Weeds Act 1959 http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/regulation/wildlife/enforcement/injuriousweeds.aspx & the Ragwort Control Act 2003. http://archive.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/wildlife/management/weeds/pdf/cop_ragwort.pdf
Why are they doing absolutely nothing about this outrage?
There is an army of bureaucrats snooping in the name of GB’s farming’s red tape, so why aren’t they waging war on those public authorities allowing ragwort to grow out of control. Ragwort is a serious threat to pasture based grazing farms.
Who's responsible for roadside weeds? The control of roadside vegetation, including common ragwort, is the responsibility of the Highways Agency in the case of motorways and other trunk roads, and the local highway authority, e.g. County Councils, in respect of all other public roads.

The Weeds Act 1959 provides for the serving of a notice on the occupier of land when ragwort is present and is deemed to be a nuisance — the offence occurs when there is a failure to comply with such a notice.
The presence of ragwort, however dense, is not a problem in itself unless it is in danger of causing a nuisance by spreading to neighbouring land. (I think this is an appalling weakness in the regulations)
The Ragwort Control Act 2003 defines an infestation as being of high risk when it is present and flowering or seeding within 50m of land used for grazing by horses and other animals or land used for feed or forage production. At 50-100m distance the infestation would be classed as of medium risk, and of low risk when at a distance greater than 100m.
I suggest you complain
Telephone: 0845 6003078 or 0114 2418920 Website: www.naturalengland.org.uk
Telephone: 08457 50 40 30 website: www.highways.gov.uk DON’T TRASH OUR FARMS
Why in England do people regularly trash the landscape with litter? I don’t understand the mentality of the litterer! Day after day near my village (& probably your village & your farm) litter is dropped from passing cars & vans.
Do these people realise that not only do they trash my (& their) living environments but they put at risk farm animals & farmers. Dairy cows are curious creatures that will play with trash not realising that plastic can endanger their lives. Farm machinery will change a beer can into dangerous metal for farm staff & dairy cows. By walking regularly sadly you see the local area trashed daily…by whom? Well does the fact that a very high percentage of the rubbish includes: - beer & coke cans, McDonalds, cigarettes & the Sun Newspaper give us any hints??????? The countryside & the landscape is one issue but farms are OUR OFFICE, OUR WORKPLACE & OUR HOMES……STOP littering OUR FARMS.
Current UK Pasture Measurements

Pasture growth still very variable dependant on rain. Some spring like growth in Northern Ireland & the south of England. Eastern counties struggling still. However big improvement generally with pasture growth & average Farm Cover. The grass based organic farms have slow growth rates & relatively low covers. Some organic farms have NOT yet cut any silage off the grazing platform.Keep grazing rotations long as we are now entering summer with soil that is still dry for this time of year.

TheAverage Pasture Cover (kgsDM/ha) & Pasture Growth (kgsDM/ha/day)
Portaferry,Nth Ireland,AFC 2130, growth 71kgs/ha/day, after 2 weeks of rain
South Ayrshire, Scotland, 2324, gr72, soil temps 15.3 degrees

Dumfries, Scotland, AFC 2080, growth 64

North Wales, AFC 1950, gr 44, demand 55

North Wales, AFC 1970, gr 67kgs

Cheshire organic, 2100, growth 30

Shropshire organic, 1764,gr 33 (ouch) cutting lots but growth now

Shropshire, 2100, gr 65, so magic day is here again!!!!

Derbyshire, AFC 2231, growth 58, demand 61

Staffordshire, 2415, gr 64, de 49, reasonable rain last 10 days

East Staffordshire, 2160, growth 50, cutting 9% of farm today

Nottingham, growth 40, demand 60 feeding maize rain showers okay til mid July

Oxford, 2350, gr 40, 30 day round,grass Q not good, still cracks in dry soil

Gloucestershire, 2137, gr87, demand 63, 20% of platform taken out for silage

Dorset AFC 2300, growth 122

Dorset organic, 2100, growth 39, topping

Dorset, 2427, gr61, 45 day grazing rotation

Dorset, 2350, gr 75, milk, M/solids & cow condition all improving since rain

East Sussex, 2004, growth 65, grass in some order now

Devon, 2250, gr67, demand 50

Devon, 2250, growth 64

Cornwall, AFC 2100, growth 85

Flensburg, Northern Germany,organic, AFC 1890, growth 49, 32 day grazing rotation, some rain & improvement in situation

At Last it has Rained on Pasture Based Dairyfarms in the UK

It has rained! Photo I know this either doesnt look like a drought or I am putting mouth watering images on the blog..actually it was taken on the Somerset levels which is very heavy low lying country...but it does look seriously good doesnt it! Many of the pasture based dairy farms this week received 20-30mm of rain. It is a huge relief for everyone that it has rained. Hopefully we will get much needed follow up rain.
Most parts of the UK & many areas within the EU have had a long prolonged period of very dry conditions with very little rain. Look at the Spring 2011 graph for rainfall on the Metoffice site below.
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/anomacts/
It is very important that pastures get time to recover.
There are three important points to make now about grazing management:- Grazing rotations need to stay long until pasture plants have had time to let the parched root systems to recover. Photosynthesis needs water. Photosynthesis is the chemical process driven by light that converts CO2 to plant sugars & carbohydrates. However this process requires water. During the dry months the pasture plant root reserves (read carbohydrates) have been run down. Once water is again available the pasture plants are able to regain strength & build up root reserves. Once the roots have recovered energy reserves fresh leaf growth follows. If you don’t allow the pasture sward this “recovery time” or as Alan Lauder calls “Strategic rest” after rain you will impact severely on total pasture production. This is a timing issue. Carbon Grazing is an Australian concept from a very low rainfall area of Queensland but the basic principles are applicable here after a long unusual dry period. http://www.carbongrazing.com.au/
The second point is another really important grazing principle….when growth is slow grazing rotations need to be long. This is a feed budget issue associated with ryegrass plant growth to the 3 leaf stage. To keep the pasture grazing wedge intact you must keep the grazing rotation long until we are back to a normal season.
The last point to make is that after rain the dry matter % of pasture will fall. Pretty obvious perhaps but this will alter pasture plate meter readings. Photo-Brent Stirling from Cropmark NZ checking heading on a Matrix field in England. In fact the DM% changes daily dependant on sunshine, cloud cover, wind & rain.
Andre Voisin was a French born intensive pasture grazing researcher. He pioneered the concept of the S growth curve which is well known to all pasture based dairy farmers.
http://grassbasedhealth.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html
Today there are farmers like Abe Collins in the USA who are now pushing this concept even further with Holistic Grazing concepts. http://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org/features/2006/0606/grazingtall/collins.shtml http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ix3JO2yo7s&feature=related Joel Salatin has many videos on YouTube that promote a similar approach to grazing & grass fed food. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT8y6T9wxuo&feature=related
Regardless of who you follow of these new pasture grazing gurus they are all working on the same basic principles of pasture growth & pasture resting…..its the timing that is being debated worldwide…..long may the debate continue!!
Chicory & Plantain Herbal Pastures Talking of timing………….the timing for grazing of chicory & plantain pastures is critical to the success of those pastures. The first grazing must NOT occur until there are fully 6 leaves per plant (again this is about the plant building root reserves/energy storage). Now that we are in the growth season for these herbal pastures you must keep on top of them to stop flowering & stem elongation. Target pre grazing covers should be 25-35cm & post grazing residuals should be 5-10cm. Cows will readily graze lower than 5cm but this must not be allowed to happen.At pre grazing heights of 25cm assume total yields of 3000kgDM/ha. A post grazing residue of 5cm will mean the cows have harvested 1500kgsDM/ha. To stop the chicory bolting pre grazing heights of 50cm should not be exceeded. Current UK Pasture Measurements
Pasture growth still very variable dependant on rain. The dissappointing thing is the cold air temperatures & lack of sunshine. Average Farm Covers increased slightly this week post rainfall.
TheAverage Pasture Cover (kgsDM/ha) & Pasture Growth (kgsDM/ha/day)
South Ayrshire, Scotland, AFC 2380 & pasture growth 85
Dumfries, Scotland, AFC 1900, gr 40, demand 45 constant rain but very cold
Cumbria, 2225, growth 62
Derbyshire, 2151, gr35, demand 65, 17mm rain
Herefordshire organic, 2214, gr45, demand 40 rain during week 36mm
Somerset organic, 1900, gr 25, demand 33 rotation 35 days
Dorset 2450, gr80 & demand 45 good rain but grumpy cows???
Dorset organic, 2100, growth 39, Silage fields now back in rotation,reygrass heading
East Sussex Organic, 1508 cover, growth 23 up on last week, lots of rain
Devon, 2220, gr55 feeding silage
South Kilkenny, Ireland, AFC 2039, gr55, demand 49 cover increased this week
Fish Creek, Gippsland Victoria,Australia AFC 2700, growth 32 approaching calving

My NBF (New Best Friend) Charles Darwin

I have a NBF & I've discovered Charles Darwin had a fascination with earthworms. What an extraordinary man & to my surprise what a relatively easy read. I found his words drew me into what is really a story of today about climate change, importance of soils to humanity, importance of pasture based farming. A great read & its online.....free! Charles Darwin was absolutely besotted & totally absorbed intellectually by earthworms. http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F1357&viewtype=side&pageseq=1
“It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world as these lowly organised creatures “ & “Without the work of this humble creature, who knows nothing of the benefits he confers upon mankind, agriculture, as we know it, would be very difficult, if not wholly impossible”(Charles Darwin 1881)
Not only did Charles Darwin intensely study earthworms at Maer Hall in Staffordshire (home of his Uncle Josiah Wedgewood) & at his home in Down House in Downe Kent but his sons Francis & Horace were roped into counting & observing worms (for at least 15 years) ....imagine that today!http://www.maerestateholidaycottages.co.uk/cms.php?holiday=History http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/home-of-charles-darwin-down-house/garden/ I urge you to read some of this amazing (but easy to read) book….I suggest you try pages 129-137 for starters. http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F1357&viewtype=side&pageseq=1
Darwin outlines his trial where he spreads quick lime & then coal cinders onto the pasture at Maer Hall. He then observes for an amazing 21 years how earthworms cover up & eventually bury the two layers, which are to become his measuring markers. “The average annual increase of thickness for the whole period is 1·9 of an inch” (4.8cm/year). He was in effect growing top soil! Year on year the earthworms are growing the topsoil....in the book there is a diagram illustrating the new depth of topsoil after 21 yrs. This is incredible but so important to every pasture based dairy farmer....this is the engine room of your business.

Darwin estimated that a healthy English acre ought to have about 2,500,000 worms, turning out 18 tons of casts a year.There should as a rule of thumb be at least 25 earthworms per square spade full of top soil under pasture

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,765165,00.html#ixzz1Osjida2W

In a pasture based dairyfarm is it accepted that the quantity of “livestock” under ground in the soil needs to be the same as the kgs livestock above the ground.So if you want to increase the number of cows the implication is that you must increase the "soil livestock" too, otherwise it wont be in balance eg you wont produce the extra pasture either as a result of not looking after the soil. This is of massive importance. Fiona Hillman (Wyegraze DG) in her very good Nuffield study 2007 on earthworms emphasizes the need to provide this "soil livestock" with food, water & air in a healthy soil environment. http://www.nuffieldinternational.org/reports/report.php?y=2007 Fiona writes in her Nuffield report that :- “It has been estimated that with a healthy population of endogeic and anecic earthworms, 1100 miles of burrows could exist per acre, if undisturbed”

Hence her Darwin quote that :-“The plough is one of the most ancient and most valuable of man’s inventions; but long before he existed the land was ploughed, and still continues to be ploughed, by earthworms”.We've got to stop ploughing & look to alternative technology!
Pasture based dairyfarmers are really “carbon” farmers. The pastures capture the sun’s energy through photosynthesis. The target annual pasture production is in excess of 10TDM per hectare in the UK. Dairy cows efficiently harvest the pasture to produce high quality milk, but that’s only half the story. Approximately 30-40% of the plant energy (carbohydrates) is fed through to the massive root system (a huge store for carbon). Much of this root material eventually ends up feeding a diverse soil biology including our friends the earthworms. The term “Carbon Grazing” is a concept of a very observant farmer in Queensland Alan Lauder. www.carbongrazing.com.au. Alan in his book “Carbon Grazing” says that “Rural producers have to manage their pastures so that all life in the soil is fed”. This is a really interesting comment but directly associated with carbon & soil organic matter. Fundamentally we need to shift our focus from cows & pastures to our soil & once we get there we need to zoom in on carbon. We cant forget cows or pastures but our profits & long term sustainability will depend on how successfully we as pasture based dairy farmers manage carbon & the carbon cycle on our farms. In his conclusion Alan writes that “Changes in the way we farm must be linked to changes in the way we think”
Current UK Pasture Measurements Pasture growth still very variable dependant on rain. Becoming quite serious in souther England, Germany & Brittany France
Keep grazing rotations long....a NZ visitor this week said hang in there as NZ had a very similar spring early summer then it turned & they had a brilliant autumn.

TheAverage Pasture Cover (kgsDM/ha) & Pasture Growth (kgsDM/ha/day)

Northern Ireland, AFC 1987, Growth 65kgs, lots of rain & hail but cold

South Ayrshire, Scotland, 2269, gr 39 & demand 77, soil temp 14.3, expecting better growth

Cheshire organic, 2000, gr 20, demand30,feeding 3.6kg conc, mowing silage fields

Oxford, 2250, gr42, demand 38, rotation 32 days still very dry & grass heading

Gloucestershire, 2063, gr48, 12mm rain over week milk holding well

Somerset Organic, 1900, gr 25 currently raining heavily so growth should increase
Dorset, 2223, gr27, rotation 50 days pasture quality poor

Sussex organic, 1486, gr16. good rain this week....excitement!

Cornwall, 1930, gr43, demand 60, may go OAD early if no rain

South Kilkenny Ireland, 1969, gr35, demand 46

Northern Germany organic, 1970, gr45, demand 47, cows on OAD

Brittany, Finistere, France, AFC 1700, virtually NO growth, Looks like an Australian farm....what do you mean Erwan?

Summer of 2005 a distant memory in Brittany...did it really look like this????

"The Nation That Destroys It's Soils Destroys Itself" Roosevelt 1937

2.2 Million Tonnes of top soil are lost each year from UK agricultural soils.PASTURE FARMING HAS THE ANSWER. President Roosevelt 1937 made his statement about soils after the 1930s & the Mid West Dust Bowl, but have we learnt the lesson....Topsoil loss is a serious issue in the UK TODAY.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/24/topsoil-farming-defra
The Governments response (now archived by Defra) was a Soil Strategy Plan http://archive.defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/land/soil/documents/soil-strategy.pdf
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/24/topsoil-farming-defra
The key issues identified in the degradation of UK soils are topsoil loss, compaction & the loss of Soil Organic Matter. Under good dairy pastures & sound grazing management is usually a healthy soil environment. Permanent pastures encourage build ups of Soil Organic Matter & healthy soil life. However all that happens on UK low input dairy farms does not favour a healthy soil. E.g. excessive use of Nitrogen, poor drainage, poor use of manures or cultivation/ploughing.
In this new carbon environment we need to change our ways.” We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Albert Einstein.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/farming/6828878/Britain-facing-food-crisis-as-worlds-soil-vanishes-in-60-years.html During & post WW2, Winston Churchill ordered as much of the UK that could be ploughed should be so that arable crops could be grown to feed the nation. The response & the efforts of farmers fed the nation, the right call at the time. Ploughing & cultivation however increases the potential loss of topsoil & destroys the soil structure & certainly speeds up the loss of soil organic matter. These are serious issues to be addressed by the arable industries but pasture farmers need to take heed too. http://archive.defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/land/soil/documents/soil-strategy.pdf
One aspect of soil management the pasture based dairy farmers can modify is cultivation & ploughing. With increasingly intensive farming there has been a tendency for topsoil structure to weaken as organic matter is used up and not returned to the soil. Weakly aggregated soils disintegrate under the influence of heavy rainfall and soil particles become mobilised. In recent years cultivation has been extended more and more to sloping fields. The combination of weakly structured soils and sloping fields provide ideal conditions for soil runoff.
http://www.soil-net.com/dev/page.cfm?pageid=about&loginas=anon_about
The loss of precious Soil Organic Matter is likely to be more serious. When soils are cultivated they are exposed to the air & the oxidization of SOM increases. The dry soil surface & lack of plant cover makes this worse. We have to find ways of direct drilling pastures & winter crops so we can leave the soil intact. In Australia some innovators have developed the concept of “Pasture Cropping” for wheat. Have a look at these YouTube videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khNprFGW0N8&feature=related
How can we in the UK adapt to ideas of young Darren Doherty out in Victoria, Australia? http://regenag.com/web/about-us.html
We need to STOP PLOUGHING MR CHURCHILL. We have direct drilling technology (not new) & we can subsoil to deal effectively with compaction.
Properties of healthy soils
We need to see ourselves as CARBON FARMERS everything we do should consider the impact on carbon. Soil health is a relatively new concept because we have tended to do soil tests only to measure the available minerals for plant nutrition. We still have a situation in the UK where few “Standard Pasture” soil tests include Soil Organic Matter %. Why?
Soil characteristics that contribute to a healthy soil include
• protected soil surface and low erosion rates
• high soil organic matter
• high biological activity and biological diversity
• high available moisture storage capacity
• favourable soil pH
• deep root zone
• balanced stores of available nutrients
• resilient and stable soil structure
• adequate internal drainage
• favourable soil strength and aeration
• favourable soil temperature
• low levels of soil born pathogens
• low levels of toxic substances.
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/166897/soil-health-proceedings-2001.pdf
Direct drilling of winter crops does work we need to work on the technologies & timings to be successful. See the winter crop below that was successfully direct drilled (actually into very dry soils). Why is SOIL ORGANIC MATTER % tests NOT part of the standard soil test in the UK?
A very good question WHY NOT? If you are getting a pasture soil test done PLEASE INSIST that the Soil Organic Matter % is included…..Start monitoring SOM%.
Current UK Pasture Measurements
A mixed bag this week as some areas have responded to recent rain while others have not. Growth in Scotland looks very good as does North Wales & Lincolnshire but southern areas struggling. Several indications of pasture quality slipping with the onset of ryegrass heading. Several NZ varieties of ryegrass which are classified as late heading in NZ become mid range heading in UK.
The weekly task of texting me the current pasture information has brought out the comedians....thanks guys for your weekly help. Please text me your humour & your pasture data.
TheAverage Pasture Cover (kgsDM/ha) & Pasture Growth (kgsDM/ha/day)
South Ayrshire, AFC 2524, Growth 93 soil temp 15degrees C
Dumfries, 2105, Gr 63, Demand 49, rain on & off, wet knees when measuring pasture (only kidding!)
Nth Wales, 2076, gr66 still dry despite rain OAD doing very well
Shropshire organic, 1892, gr 19, no rain, too hard to dig spear thistles
Shropshire, 2000, gr 8
East Staffordshire, 1900, gr 37
Lincolnshire, growth up to 96kgs compared to 40 last week, good rain & warmth.
Herefordshire org, 2263, gr44, demand 48, pastures heading
Gloucestershire, 2115, gr 47, difficult to text as mid rain dance!
Somerset org, 1850, gr 27, de 36, rain needed
Pembrokeshire, 2108, gr59, premowing silage ground
Pembrokeshire, 1932, gr 50 just cut silage
Devon, 2250, gr 45, grazing silage & feeding silage
Cornwall, 2030, gr 43 feeding 5kgsdm silage, rain please
South Kilkenny, Ireland, 1981, gr50, demand 46
Winton, South Island NZ, AFC 1900, growth 20kgs, outwintering on foddercrops

Dairyfarmers can produce a Green Dairy Industry

The Dairy Industry has the potential to produce its own electricity & be clear of the National Grid. What a PR victory that will be for the first UK dairy company & their suppliers. What a wonderful image that will be for milk, cheese & butter! Every dairy farmer must get involved to “kick this goal” for the dairy industry. We have a fantastic opportunity right now with interest free loans & massive incentives thru the Feed in Tariffs for on farm generation. Each dairy farm has the potential to generate more than they consume in the milking parlour plus the surplus could effectively be claimed by the milk processor for the good of milk (even though in reality the producer gets paid for surplus sales into the grid). Let’s look at wind! Gavin in North Devon has installed two 11Kw Gaia wind turbines – i.e. they will produce 11Kw per hour in ideal wind. http://www.gaia-wind.com/ His farm site has an average wind speed of 5.7metres per second – not very windy but he does get a little wind on most days – it is also clean wind from all directions. The Gaia turbine is designed to start at low wind speeds ( 3 m/s – most others need 5 before they start producing ) and has a fixed rotor speed making it fairly quiet – which is why he chose that type of turbine. The Turbines were predicted (at av. 5.7m/sec) to produce 32,000 Kilowatts each in the year. In 10 months the average daily production has been 90 Kw per turbine giving a predicted yield of 32,850 – as long as the wind blows for the next two months. With a production of 65,000 (current annual consumption is approx 55,000kwh)the income should be £17,000 from the Feed in Tariffs and the sale of electricity (paid for half of what I produce). With a saving of not buying 30,000 units at 8p gives a saving of £2,400. So £19,400 annual gain (the Feed in Tariffs are also index linked and guaranteed for 20 years for wind) from a £100,000 total cost gives a very healthy return on investment.Pay back period is close to 5 years & the turbines are generating 120% of farm consumption. Behind the new Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) is the drive to reduce UK carbon emissions in order to bring them into line with European standards. The Government aim to eliminate all carbon emissions by 2050 and the current projection is that by 2020 almost half of the electricity used in the UK will be from low carbon sources. In order to reach these targets the Government is relying on residential & small business owners to switch to renewable energy and help eliminate the carbon footprint. At the heart of the scheme is a tariff of 26.7p/unit for all renewable electricity generated from small wind turbines in the 1.5-15kW range. This incentive replaces the carbon credit (ROC) scheme for small wind turbines. If you install a small wind turbine will now benefit from the feed in tariff in three ways: lower energy bills, payments from electricity you feed back into the grid, & further payment from the FIT for all the energy you generate & either use yourself or feed back to the grid. http://www.gaia-wind.com/
The challenge on all dairy farms is not about “can the farm generate more energy than is consumed” but rather “how to deal with the peak loadings of the twice daily milking”. There are several options- first is to store the energy generated either in batteries or in say hot water or ice. The technology for batteries is not yet efficient enough but it’s an area of intense worldwide research. http://www.therenewableenergycentre.co.uk/ http://www.decc.gov.uk/
The obvious solution is to reduce peak demand. First you should be installing a Smart meter to monitor existing power consumption. Ask your electricity supplier http://www.electricityprices.org.uk/free-smart-meters/
Next you need to investigate the technologies that are already being used successfully by other dairy farmers eg Varivac systems. http://www.corkillsystems.co.nz/ Every parlour is different but generally with the oil vane type pumps that are predominant in the UK, savings are around 75% of power usage on the pumps themselves, generally the savings are around 40% over the whole parlour electricity cost. Varivac have single phase models to cover the whole range so really any parlour can have a Varivac now. http://www.rcapperdairy.co.uk/about-us.asp
Heat Recovery technology is being used successfully in many pasture based dairyfarms in the UK. Gavin in North Devon has installed Varivac & Heat Recovery units & reduced total farm demand by approx 20%. The next challenge is to install "smart technology" that allows the switching on & off of equipment when he can make full use of the wind. Tim in Shropshire has installed a heat recovery unit, solar water heating & Varivac systems. He has seen on his smart meter similar total farm saving. The Smart meter graph shows when the energy saving devices were installed.You can see the impact of the very cold weather last December when heating & hot water effectively doubled demand during milking. So it's up to you which generation option you chose but you also need to deal with reducing peak demand. See the blog I wrote on the 15th October 2010.Seek out the interest free loans

. Current UK Pasture Measurements

Mixed rainfall, most areas in the UK still dry, Wales coast good rain & growth. Cold temperatures & drying winds depressing effect of recent rain. SE England very dry & struggling for pasture.

TheAverage Pasture Cover (kgsDM/ha) & Pasture Growth (kgsDM/ha/day)

South Ayrshire, AFC 2349,Growth =Demand 68kgs, soil temp 9.9degrees C

Derbyshire, 2365, growth 80kgsDM/ha/day, Demand 64

Herefordshire, 2150, growth 55, Demand 60

Gloucestershire, 2073, growth 51, demand 50 Getting very dry

Pembrokeshire, 2041, growth 61, wedge has hole will feed silage

Sussex Organic, AFC 1481,growth 11kgs, Drying off early really need rain

East Sussex, 1900, growth 30, desparate for rain

North Devon, AFC 2350, 65kgs, some rain some recovery from dry

Limerick, Ireland, 2250, growth 70kgs

Fish Creek, Gippsland Victoria Australia (autumn) AFC 2550, growth 38, AFC increasing, unusually wet last of spring calvers being dried off.

It maybe of interest to you that this blog has been read by people in 58 different countries this month ...a truely international audience!

Photovoltaic Energy Neutral Grass Based Dairy Farms

Two grass based dairy farmers in the Pasture to Profit Network(one in Herefordshire & the other in Brittany, France) have or are about to achieve “Energy Neutral” status (with regard to electricity use on farm). Both have installed solar panels on their farm shed roofs. http://www.solon.com/global/
Energy neutral status is where 100% of the energy that is consumed is actually generated by the farmer user.
http://www.dairy-sustainability-initiative.org/Public/ListSet.php?ID=230&parentID=109 To become self sufficient or completely clear of the National Grid should be the goal of every farmer. Ideally the dairy industry should be able to produce its own electricity. Now the goal changes to “Energy Neutral chain of production with 100% of the energy that is consumed by the different links in the chain must be generated within the chain itself.” Dairy farmers will become the key players as they have the ability to generate energy from solar & wind turbines. In the Netherlands there is a National goal of 20% of the energy use being sustainable energy by 2020. Currently it is approx 3.5%. The farmers in the Netherlands are at about 8% sustainable energy.
Matthew in Herefordshire & his landlord have recently installed (2nd May) Photovoltaic panels capable of 48Kw peak system. There are 230 panels each of 212w. These are on south facing roofs. The photovoltaic system has an expected 25 yr life with a small reduction in efficiency over that time. To date he has generated more electricity than he has consumed at the milking parlour. (2534kwh produced & 2304kwh consumed).There is a long term guaranteed contract for the feed in tariff currently approx 32p/kwh which is inflation indexed. His current cost of National grid electricity is 10.86/day & 6.22/night. There is an approx 10 year payback on current prices but rapid inflation of energy prices should substantially reduce the payback period. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/business-news/inflation-rockets-to-30month-high-16001453.html
However I think the key component of Matthew’s system is the Smart Meter which measures & allows monitoring of power consumption. This was installed 3 yrs ago by his power provider. http://www.first-utility.com/about-us
By checking his electricity consumption online he can view his daily, weekly, monthly use patterns. “Merely measuring something has an uncanny tendency to improve it” Paul Graham. What Matthew has discovered is that although he is generating more than he is consuming he is NOT completely clear of the grid. The reason is that dairy farms have two peak consumption periods each day. These peaks are currently beyond the generating capacity of the solar panels. The next obvious step is to look at reducing peak demand.

Alain & Odile, pasture based dairy farmers in Brittany have also installed a photovoltaic system. Their system is calculated to annually generate approx 56,010kwh whereas the annual consumption is approx 30,000kwh. Current charges are 8.4cEuro/day & 5.45cEuro/night with a Feed in Tariff of 60cEuro for 20 years. In France interest is chargeable on the loans for these systems whereas in the UK there are interest free options. The calculations for Alain & Odile’s installation suggest that during the summer months the photovoltaics will generate far more electricity than is consumed but that could be reversed during winter. The payback period is calculated at 12 years on current prices not counting the saved National grid costs. It looks a very good investment for a dairy farmer to make.
The challenge on both farms will be to reduce peak daily demand during each milking.

I urge every dairy farmer to install a Smart Meter so that you can come to grips with your energy useage patterns.
The onfarm initiatives & innovation of both these farmers is very exciting & I congratulate you both.

Current UK Pasture Measurements
The Welcome Rain of last week now seems a distant memory as this week has seen no rain but drying winds. Most grass based dairy farms are drying out at an alarming rate. However the current pasture covers remain under control with longer than normal grazing rotations. There is serious concern about crops sown for outwintering & spring sown pastures.
Average Pasture Cover (kgsDM/ha) & Pasture Growth (kgsDM/ha/day)

South Ayrshire, AFC 2347, pasture growth rate 88kgs/ha/day

Derbyshire, 2220, growth 65, demand 64

Shropshire, 2269, growth 44, slowed this week cold winds no rain

Shropshire, 2300, 44, 26 day grazing comfortable despite dryness

Herefordshire, Growth 52, demand 47, Farm very dry again

Dorset, 2321, growth 56, demand 36

Devon, 2200, growth 40, 30day rotation feeding silage

"Preparer Les Terrains de L'Avenir"...Prepare the Earth for the Future

“Preparer Les Terrains de L’Avenir”. My French friends will be amazed with my command of the french language but this is a very appropriate title for this week's blog.
“Prepare the earth for the future” is the core element of a Sustainable Farming system.

My very good friends Erwan & Laurence Le Roux, who farm in Brittany, France have recently won the “Trophee de l’agriculture durable 2011” award for the most sustainable farm in France. This is a most prestigious award & I am absolutely thrilled that these innovative & forward thinking pasture based dairy farmers have won.

You can read (using Google translate) & view a video......

http://agriculture.gouv.fr/bien-vivre-en-production-laitiere
& photos of the Le Roux family & their farm this spring http://photo.agriculture.gouv.fr/galeries/TAD2011_Leroux/

The UK is somewhat behind France in encouraging “Sustainable Farming” practices & to their credit the EU Integrated Farming Initiative or EISA have thought this issue thru very well
http://www.sustainable-agriculture.org/stuff/EISA-Framework-english-040810.pdf
If you search the internet you do find other countries & organisations now working toward more sustainable farming practises, all taking a slightly different approach.
http://www.soilassociation.org/Whyorganic/Climatefriendlyfoodandfarming/Strategiesforchange/tabid/565/Default.aspx http://www.icrofs.org/ http://www.sluri.org.nz/

I think we need to interpret the EU’s EISA framework & work toward our pasture based dairy farms becoming recognised as being sustainable farm businesses using many of the benchmarking tools already developed.
The 8 main points of Sustainable Farming are:-
To have a profitable farm business not dependant on subsidies.
To manage soils for the future with less dependence on fertilizers & to build Soil Organic Matter (SOM) so increase soil carbon storage.
To reduce Energy consumption by reducing demand & generating on farm energy. To lower the Carbon Footprint of milk.
To better manage Water (conserve & reduce use), reduce pollutant losses.
To improve Dairy cow welfare, fertility & animal health.
To have a sustainable people practices.
To increase the bio diversity on the farm.
To develop long term business communication strategies not only with buyers, but with the professional support teams & the local community.
“Prepare the earth for the future” (Point 2) I think we need to rethink how we manage soils with our pasture based dairy farms. I don’t know of a single farm in the UK that has shown me a detailed soil map of the farm.
In NZ we met Shane Carroll & Nicola Shadbolt who farm in the Pohangina Valley near Palmerston North.

Shane had a very clear long term environmental plan to improve the sustainability of their farm business based on having a soil capability map. This was in our view the most forward thinking "Sustainable Farming" management practice we saw in NZ. There are many aspects of soil capability that need to be considered. However some soils are dry free draining while others are wet with poor drainage & maybe even subject to erosion. These soils should not be managed the same way especially if our goal is to increase the SOM & carbon stored within the soil.
In the UK some soils are perfect for ryegrass & white clover but others are not. Dry soils may well be better off in herbal pastures ie Chicory + clover or Plantain + White Clover without grasses. We need to move away from thinking that ryegrass/clover is our only option especially on dry soils. It may not be our best option to increase soil organic matter (SOM) either so we need to start looking outside the box.

Strawberry Clover is better suited to wet Soils

You need to start with a Farm Soil Map indicating the different soil capabilities. then develop a plan using a different approach.

Talk to me about Sustainable Farming.

Buy a Farm Soil Map.....start with http://www.landis.org.uk/soilscapes/ & http://www.landis.org.uk/services/sitereporter.cfm

Current UK Pasture Measurements

Welcome Rain in most areas 20-40mm, immediate increase in growth. However soils are still very dry & many farms have not harvested any surplus spring growth. Grazing rotations still long 30-40 days.

Average Pasture Cover (kgsDM/ha) & Pasture Growth (kgsDM/ha/day)

South Ayrshire AFC 2155, growth 62, demand 56kgs/ha/day

Dumfries, 2194, 66 growth, demand 57, cutting silage bales

Shropshire, 2300, 60 some rain this week

East Staffordshire, 1970, 39 approx 20mm rain now some growth 60-70

Hereford organic, 2114, 48, rain 46mm growth up 10kgs/day since rain

Hereford 2100, 70 growth, demand 65

Gloucestershire, 2160, 62, 22mm rain on Saturday

Gloucestershire, 2180, 85 growth

West Somerset, 2100, 50, 33mm rain but drying out again

Cornwall, 2300, 105, 32mm rain, record production STD,AI 80% in 1st 17days

Cornwall, 2398, 118

South Kilkenny, Ireland, 2075, growth 71, demand 66

Members of Wyegraze Discussion Group are all linked into Agrinet to very effectively share pasture information.....Every group should be doing this as it will help all groups https://www.agrinet.ie/Default.aspx