What makes a sustainable dairy farm – survey results

An exclusive Farmers Weekly survey has revealed that uncertainty about future investment in infrastructure, or to meet potential new legislation, presents the biggest challenge for the UK’s dairy farmers.

However, this has not held them back from embracing new techniques and technologies to build more resilience into their businesses in the face of climate change and volatile markets.

See also: Ways to build resilience into high-yielding dairy herds

The survey, which drew responses from nearly 400 UK dairy farmers, also highlights skills gaps.

These are especially present in managing and developing staff, and the technical knowhow needed to further improve business efficiency.

Yet inheritance tax, climate change and the public perception of dairy farming were surprisingly low on the list of challenges facing them.

Biggest challenges

When asked which three potential challenges (apart from milk price) were the biggest facing the sustainability of their businesses, investment to meet legislation or infrastructure was cited by 61% of respondents. (In the South West, this rose to 74%.)

The second-biggest challenge was staff recruitment or retention, at 40%, rising to 67% for dairy units with more than 400 cows.

Issues with costs, rent or finance were a top three challenge for 35% of respondents, while risk of disease such as TB was a major concern for 31%, as were extreme weather events such as drought and flooding.

Mastitis, lameness and fertility were still the biggest herd health issues for respondents, at 64%, 64%, and 49%, respectively.

Lameness was the greatest issue in herds calving year-round, at 79%.

Skills and teamwork

Some 84% of respondents said they were responsible for managing someone on their dairy unit.

Of these, 34% had done some training in people management in the past year to promote professional growth and improve productivity.

A further 44% had received people management training in previous years, while 22% said they had never done any.

Asked what gaps in their own skills or knowledge they would like to address, managing and developing teams was the type of training most wanted, cited by 32% of respondents.

One farmer wanted to be able to help staff be aware of their own responsibilities and decision-making skills, rather than being a “micro-manager, which can have a negative effect”.

Another wanted to learn how to manage a larger workforce with flexible and fewer hours.

Technical skills training was equally in demand by respondents and topics included grazing management and growing home-grown protein feeds.

Soil science and ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions were listed as environmental training needs.

Business skills was the other main area of training required, by 28%.

One farmer wanted training in “budgeting and working out costs” and to “make better use of management software programs”; another needed help to “record more KPIs and cut cost of production”.

Sustainable finances

Asked about financial KPIs, 20% said they did not record any, rising to 36% in herds with fewer than 400 cows, 43% of herds where the dairy farmer was not managing any staff, and 44% of herds in the North West.

The KPI recorded by the most respondents (53%) was full economic cost of production. (In herds with more than 400 cows, this rose to 72%.)

Full economic net margin was measured by 48%, rising to 67% in herds of 400-plus, 63% in autumn block-calving herds and 59% on farms with arable enterprises.

Return on tenant’s capital was used by just 10% of respondents.

In addition, 52% of businesses were recording margin over purchased feed/concentrates, and 32% were using lifetime daily yield, rising to 42% in herds calving year-round.

All but 5% of respondents said they had used one or more of a range of measures to manage cost volatilities in their businesses.

Top of the list was making more use of grazed grass (57% of respondents).

Among spring and autumn block-calvers, 76% were doing this, compared with 41% of year-round calvers. Next was cutting fertiliser buying (51%).

Of those responding, 50% indicated they were pushing their herds to produce more milk from forage, while 44% had reduced their reliance on bought-in feed.

This rose to 58% on farms with arable crops, 60% on farms larger than 200ha (494 acres) and 61% in autumn block-calving herds.

Use of artificial nitrogen fertiliser

Asked how the amount of artificial nitrogen fertiliser used in their dairy enterprises had changed in the past three years, 74% of respondents said they were using less.

Of these, 67% were doing so by making more use of nutrients in slurry or farmyard manure and 33% by using nitrogen-fixing legumes.

20% had made this change because buying in artificial nitrogen was too expensive. Some 13% had not applied any, 11% were using the same amount and 2% were using more.

Feed and production efficiencies

All but 6% of respondents had taken measures to improve the feed efficiency of their herds.

65% were growing more clover or multispecies leys (82% in the Midlands) and 60% were growing more home-grown feed.

A total of 39% had replaced soya in dairy rations, while 19% were undersowing maize or growing a cover crop after maize, rising to 35% in herds of more than 400 cows.

Average milk from forage across all respondents was 3,258 litres and was highest among herds with 250-399 cows, at 3,544 litres, followed by autumn block-calving herds, at 3,454 litres.

Herds calving year-round averaged 3,144 litres and herds with fewer than 149 cows, 3,071 litres.

Some 93% of respondents said they had taken production efficiency measures to improve the sustainability of their herds.

Topping these was improving herd fertility (64%), followed by reducing calf mortality (57%) and reducing age at first calving to 24 months (53%).

Regularly weighing heifers was done by 27% of respondents, rising to 50% in herds with 400-plus cows.

When asked about heifer longevity, 51% of respondents said 90% or more of their heifers calved for a second time

For 26% of respondents, 80-89% of heifers achieved this, and for 10% of farms, 70-79% of their heifers did so.

A further 10% did not know this information.

Soil health and carbon sequestration

Asked what soil tests they carried out, 90% of respondents said they tested for soil pH, and 66% for mineral status.

Carbon sequestration was being monitored by 34%, and 22% measured rooting depths and soil infiltration rates.

Other measures, by 6% of respondents, included worm counts and organic matter assessments.

There was an almost equal split between the dairy farmers who had taken measures to sequester more carbon in the past five years and those who had not.

Of the 51% who had, the three steps most frequently taken were to use (or use more) clover and herbal leys (25%); adopt practices such as soil testing, improved grazing management (for example, longer rotations) and buying in less fertiliser (24%); and switching from ploughing to minimal cultivations (21%).

“Less cultivation, more mixed leys,” said one.

“Going organic, longer ley rotations, lower stocking rates,” reported another.

“Reduced nitrogen fertiliser and using more clover,” said a third.

Tree planting was cited by only 15% of respondents, while 13% had planted more hedges or were allowing existing hedges to grow bigger.

Of the 49% who reported taking no measures to sequester more carbon, one said: “Can’t think, but carbon footprint calculator shows it coming down.”

Another said: “None – sequester masses already.” Others had done things like planting trees but “not necessarily to sequester carbon”. However, most simply said: “None.”

Carbon footprint

Asked about their dairy’s carbon footprint, 62% of respondents did not know it.

The average for the 38% who did know was 1.08kg carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)/kg milk.

For 77% of those who had measured their carbon footprint, their milk processor had prompted them to do so, while 32% had done it for their own interest and 5% had been asked by their bank.

However, 52% did not have a plan in place to reduce their carbon footprint.

Of the 48% that did, measures employed were wide ranging and included producing more home-grown protein, using less soya, and getting more milk from forage.

Improved herd longevity, reduced calf mortality, more efficient use of muck and slurry, and using genetics for better feed efficiency were also frequently cited – as was use of renewable energy.

On-farm renewables were being used by 78% of respondents.

Of these, 63% had solar panels, rising to 77% on farms of more than 200ha (494 acres); 57% were using heat transfer (70% in the South West); and 33% were harvesting rainwater.

Adopting technology

Presented with a range of technical innovations, respondents were asked which they had adopted in the past five years to improve sustainability.

Top of the list was sexed semen, at 78%.

Automatic identification/heat detection was being used by 52%, rising to 65% on farms of more than 200ha (494 acres).

Data management software packages were being used by 45% (rising to 68% in herds of 400-plus cows), and 44% were using phone apps.

A total of 36% had moved to a multicut silage system, while 22% were genomics testing, and 16% were using robots for milking, pushing feed or collecting slurry; this rose to 24% in herds calving year-round.