A willingness to anticipate and adapt to change underpins the mindset of the Rees family who run a dairy farm in West Wales. Gaina Morgan reports.
The Rees family has been farming in Carmarthenshire since the late 1940s and now brothers Peter and Huw Rees, along with Huws family, run the autumn calving herd alongside an award-winning five-star touring caravan park, with a soon to be open wedding venue also adding to the familys business interests.
Peter and Huws parents, Cyril and Margaret, began milking in the Towy Valley, with just five cows after World War II, and from there they steadily built the herd and business.
The farm has expanded, and the family now milks 320 home-bred pedigree British Friesian and Shorthorn cows at Dan yr Allt, Landovery. They also farm Little Hall and Green Grove, the latter is where they will be opening the wedding venue.
A 40-point rotary system was installed two years ago at Dan yr Allt and means two people can milk in two hours.
The brothers say the new parlour has revolutionised their milking. Interestingly, although Peters Nuffield Scholarship 30 years ago focused on automated milking systems in Northern Europe, they did not opt for robots when replacing the parlour.
Peter says his experience in the Netherlands and at Gelli Aur College where he led the agriculture team, taught him that the need to sweat the assets for robot milking would not suit their system.
And he says despite the business expansion over the previous decades, cow numbers will not be increasing going forward. These days, with sustainability the buzz word and energy and fuel costs rising exponentially, he says the emphasis is on control of costs and inputs.
We will now perhaps move towards more regenerative farming. It is quite likely that we might even reduce numbers slightly to make it more sustainable, with current feed and energy and fertiliser prices being what they are and Welsh Government legislation being another issue, says Peter.
We need to be able to keep to our own resources really; we need to be able to grow as much forage for ourselves and to be as sustainable as possible.
"I think you have got to be efficient in what you have and, actually, I think labour and having a reliable work force is going to be a key factor.
We were not enthused by the thought of having 1,000 cows or anything like that. So you have then got to say, well if you are not going to go that big you have got to go to the next most efficient position and you either come down to 100 cows and a robot and do not employ anybody or you have that intermediate stage, where you can afford to employ staff but you are still efficient. That is the position we are in.
He adds that time will tell whether they have the right amount of land for their cows, or whether they have to reduce stock numbers.
Cost per litre is now the important factor for the family and the aspiration is to have a simple, viable system.
It is all about controlling costs. If we can control our costs and produce milk economically, then we have a chance of surviving, says Peter.
Huw and son Alun, have everyday responsibility for the cows, with Huws wife Elizabeth holding it all together. Huw says his early enthusiasm for chasing milk yields and the Holstein cow has tempered, because it did not suit the farm. The policy now is to make the best possible use of grass, so the herd switched to British Friesians and a smaller number of Shorthorns.
The autumn calving period is as compact as possible, between September and mid-December. And the system is designed around a relatively small grazing platform, with outlying land used to produce forage.
Hence, the family does not chase yields, but the cows average between 6,000 and 7,000 litres and can last 10 lactations, with a first calving at two years old.
The cows are housed as they calve, with 80 or 90 replacements kept. More sexed semen is used these days, with an emphasis on breeding for fat, protein, legs and fertility.
A beef breed is used after AI and beef calves go off the farm and, from next year, will be sold under contract at four weeks for Wagu beef.
Huw says: The heifer calves are reared on an automatic machine after receiving colostrum for two or three days.
"We start weaning them at six to seven weeks, so they are weaned by eight or nine weeks. Then they are fed on straw and concentrates until are turned out in April.
Once heifers are at the bulling stage, they are kept in cubicles, and pre-calving cows are also cubicle housed.
Peter says: We have a new calving pen with rubber mats to make it hygienic and clean and to try to minimize risks such as Johnes. The only straw we use is for bedding the calves.
The brothers enjoy a close relationship and the variety that the 100-pitch caravan park, as well as the other diversification businesses, bring to the farm.
They were brought up to work together and to play a role in the farming community, as well as the small town of Llandovery.
Huw has been chair of the NFU locally and of the YFC and is very much involved in the local community, something that has been passed on to the next generation.
Alun has been very active in YFC and also successful showing calves and now youngstock.
He is a member of Holstein Young Breeders and enjoys mentoring other youngsters and passing on his knowledge.
And at the end of last year, Peter was presented with the Farmers Union of Wales award for outstanding services to the dairy industry.
His contribution to education and technology transfer to the Welsh dairy sector has also earned him a Fellowship of the Royal Agricultural Societies (FRAGS). He is involved in a range of activities, is chair of Lantra Wales and Future Farmers of Wales president.
51AV视频Facts
- 243 hectares (600 acres) across three holdings, mostly owned, some rented and some woodland
- One full-time member of staff plus a number of part-time workers are employed on the farm
- The wedding venue is due to open in May, run mainly by Huws children and partners, including daughter, Carys Jones, whose own wedding to Llyr Jones last year was the catalyst for the venture
- Huws son Carwyn and wife Emily also own and run four glamping pods
- PV panels, installed on difficult ground, produce 50 KWH electricity
- The milk is processed at nearby Haverfordwest and goes for cheese
- The herd averages 4.4% and protein 3.5%
- Peter was senior lecturer at the Welsh Agricultural College in Aberystwyth from 1978-1995 before joining Gelli Aur as head of department for agriculture. He went on to take on a number of roles at Coleg Sir Gar culminating in the role of assistant principal. He retired from the further education college in 2015
- The Rees family are hosting the Dairy Shorthorn AGM weekend on June 10-11, 2023. The weekend includes a young members workshop, judging seminar, herd walk, as well as the AGM. For more information visit www.shorthorn.uk
