Henden Manor Estates Review of Henden Manor Estates Dairy Farm 11 th June, 2018 1
Overview Henden is ~500 acres (~370 acres arable & grazing), the land being undulating clay • The strategy is to produce high quality milk over the long term • The key tenets of Henden’s operations are: • – High standards of staff welfare and safety – High standards of animal welfare – High standards in looking after the environment – Being financially sustainable (an aim at the moment, not a reality) – Being transparent in all that we do – Keeping meticulous records Overview of operations: • – M&S is the buyer of our contracted milk, collected and processed by the Muller Group – Henden operates a “closed herd” policy. We do not buy in livestock nor graze them off our land – The dairy farm employs six people (2 women) plus two part time administrative people (2 women) – We aim to calve through the year to achieve as level production as is possible – Milking is carried out three times a day, achieved through a “herringbone” parlour system – Our milking cows are bedded on sand while our intermediates and maiden heifers lie on straw – The barns have 294 cubicles plus a barn for housing 65 transition cows and maiden heifers – The older barns house the calves, heifers and the “hospital” – Every year we take in 15-17 vet interns to help them understand dairy farming The key mantra of our business is: “attention to detail” • 2
Guzzle 16 Mount Fields Acres North Burgess Mount Guzzle Quinten’s Rough Search Reservoir Banks Light London Crouch’s Meadow Trowlers Key: Little Orchard Tar Pound Tank Approx estate boundary Grove Cox’s Drainage Tanhouse Approx main water courses direction Lodge Hanging Approx other courses Pound Bottom Croft Underground courses Daylees Highlands Perry Meadow Farm Daylees Bramleys Coopers Corner Note: Lower Henden also owns 18 acres Everest Bottom Corner of arable land over two fields a quarter of a mile to the east of its boundary Philcox Corner 3
The Dairy Farm Parlour & N milk tank 19,000 litres capacity Dry food store Bulk Feed clamps Offices (grass & maize silage and wholecrop) Heifers & calves area Hospital 74 cubicles Cow barns Straw & Sand storage 76 68 cubicles 30 cows Solid 76 cubicles waste Separator 35 livestock Liquid waste (slurry) >5mm litres capacity Settlement Reservoir ponds Dirty water tank 4
Operating statistics Henden is some 85% larger than the average UK dairy farm, but is not a “super farm” • It performs well against the average • Our budget numbers for the 2018/19 year are as follows: • Cows in herd 264 143 average in the UK – Cows in milk 236 – • Mastitis/Fresh cows 1.5% Youngstock on the farm 197 – Calving Index 378 days 420 days – • Annual Sales 3.15 mm litres (2.46 mm litres sold to M&S, 694 k (22%) to Muller) Daily sales 8,570 litres – Yield per cow in milk 36.5 litres per day (could average closer to 38 lpd – extra 130,000 litres) – Yield per cow in herd 11,670 litres per year 7,557 litres per year – 9 hrs 30 mins (3 hrs 40 mins am, 2 hrs 50 mins pm and 3 hrs late pm) Milking time per day – Average Butterfat 4.01% (average over 12 months) 4.08% – Average Protein 3.40% 3.29% – Bactoscan count (BAC) 10 27.3 – Somatic Cell Count (SCC) 100 163.2 – Lameness (score 0 & 1) 90.8% 70% * – Lameness (score 3) 0.6% ~6% * – 5 Note: Sources for average in the UK are all AHDB except those marked with a * which is sourced to Collins 2015 PhD thesis
Financial performance • Since 2010 we have invested: • £3.8 mm in capital; plus • Over £1.5 mm to cover operating losses (Partners haven’t taken any money out of farm over 21 years) For the current 2018/19 year we have budgeted the following from the dairy farm: • Income: Milk sales £960k 30.50 ppl (extra 130,000 litres could generate £40k) Livestock sales (cows and calves) £57k 1.82 Other income no; 0.00 Total Income £1,019k 32.31 Costs: Labour £214k 6.78 ppl 22% of total costs Feed £470k 14.90 48% Bedding £45k 1.43 5% Vet, AI & Foot trimming £62k 1.96 6% Other Dairy, including Chemicals £38k 1.19 4% Machinery £71k 2.27 7% Property £28k 0.88 3% Utilities £38k 1.21 4% Administration, including accountants £17k 0.54 2% Total Costs £983k 31.17 100% Profit pre Depreciation £36k 1.15 ppl Depreciation (for Dairy farm) £133k 4.21 UK average per Kite is 1.94ppl (Mar ‘18) Loss after Depreciation £97k 3.08 Needed to recover past investment Return on Capital Should be £118k or 3.76ppl (5% of £2.37mm of farm, not land investment) Needed to help finance new investment & provide a return to Partners 6
The “Learning Curves” At Henden we have learned a good deal, but continue to learn • Partner mostly away working on his core business Grazing introduces new risks to the herd Three 1. High staff turnover times 2. Milking too few cows milking 3. Lost a number for a starts range of illnesses 1. Need a 4. Too far from abattoir manager, who is focused We lost 17 calves Required 2. New facilities 1. Livestock welfare required as through abortions new needs to be existing ones commencing member checked constantly are no longer September. All of staff, 2. Held too many fit for purpose appropriate more livestock given Over one year we authorities and vets food and facilities lost 28 cows on the were informed. utilities, 3. Buying in stock farm due to 20 Cause is said to have but has carries significant medical reasons. been neospora from resulted risks We also sold too dogs, most likely on in higher 1. Farm needs many. (Performance grazing land. yields. scale before and since was/ Improved 2. High staff has been good.) cow turnover comfort. 7 1997/06 2008 2009/10 2015/6 2017 2018
Many challenges face us day to day - most lie outside our control Keeping a good, motivated team, which pays attention to detail at all times • Ensuring that staff always operate safely • Ensuring that our livestock is always healthy (bio-security is vitally important) • Ensuring that we keep our pregnancy rates high • Ensuring that the bulk feed is always harvested at the best time and stored well • Handling the solid and wet waste well without risk to the farm and environment • The weather • The milk price • Feed costs • Utility costs • Exchange rate • Education of the public/consumer as to what it takes/costs to produce high quality food • Growing activism against the livestock industry, minorities aiming for the PR centre ground • Over the medium to long term, possibly access to Processor facilities • Longer term more capital investment will be required; currently the economics aren’t there • 8
We tick the boxes for the FSA (overview) 1. Milk must come from animals that are always in good health 2. Milk from animals showing signs of udder disease must not be used 3. Milk from animals undergoing medical treatment must not be used 4. Good veterinary records must be kept and all products kept safe and secure 5. All animals should be kept clean 6. There should be at least one cubicle per cow, designed to encourage cow to lie in them 7. All lying areas should be of good size and kept clean and dry 8. Passageways etc should be free of accumulations of dung, slurry and mud 9. Fields, tracks, gateways should be well maintained and kept free from slurry etc 10. Milk from each animal must be examined for abnormalities and, if found, rejected 11. Teats, udders and adjacent parts must be kept clean before milking 12. Hands, contact surfaces and milking equipment must be kept clean at all times 13. Parlours ideally should be properly sealed off from other buildings 14. Floors should be impervious to water and free draining 15. Doors and walls should be smooth, impervious and easy to clean 16. Isolation facilities should have separate drainage and airspace 17. Milk must be protected from contamination during transfer and storage 18. Milk must be cooled immediately to minimise bacteria multiplication 19. Bulk tanks must be cleaned after each milk collection and kept in good condition 20. Sufficient potable (or clean) water must be available in the milking area for all cleaning 21. Suitable facilities should be available for the staff to wash their hands and arms 22. Sufficient ventilation is required to provide clean air and avoid condensation (and humidity) 23. Adequate measures must be taken to control insects, rodents and birds to prevent contamination 24. Personnel who are ill must not carry out milking or handle milk 9
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