Millands strategic farm launch

Wallace and James Hendrie and their family have been farming in Ayrshire for over 250 years. At their recent launch, they shared their ambitions to focus on fertility, improve grass growth and increase youngstock development.

Millands Farm is a real family affair and, having bought the farm from the local estate in 1941 and expanded more recently, there are now three generations inputting into the business. 

They originally ran an all-year-round-calving system, but a change in business direction saw brothers Wallace and James split the herd and move to a spring block-calving herd at Millands and at the adjacent farm Netherlands. They also decided to adopt an autumn block-calving herd at Purroch Farm. The main driver for change was based on the business becoming more efficient and focused and, in turn, increasing income retained.

Millands Farm overview

• Strategic Dairy Farm since October 2020
• Spring block-calving herd of 600 Holstein Friesian cows, milked twice a day
• 5,400 litres per cow @ 4.2% fat, 3.5% protein
• 71% of cows and heifers calved within the first six weeks 
• Housed mid-October to mid-March

Why Millands Farm transitioned their herd

The dairy herd of 600 Holstein Friesian cows is run as a spring block-calving herd and is currently achieving yields of 5,400 litres per cow, of which 3,575 litres are from forage, at 4.2% butterfat and 3.5% protein, with milk being sold to Muller.

Wallace shared that they had to transition the herd to mainly Friesian cows when they swapped systems as they were hardier and better suited to the grass-based grazing system they now operate.

All cows are calved at Millands Farm, with the herd split into two herds running at the home farm of Millands and another grazing block and milking parlour at neighbouring Netherlands Farm.

Calving commences in mid-February, with 71% calving within the first six weeks and lasting around 12 weeks. The split is based on the first 200 cows calving down. They are then moved to Netherlands Farm, while the remainder calve and stay at Millands. 

The two herds are milked twice daily and housed from mid-October to mid-March.

Fertility and calf management focus

One of the main areas the Hendries are keen to concentrate on is fertility. The most recent scanning of the spring herd found a higher empty rate than expected. Wallace explained, “It has been really frustrating this year as we put a lot of effort into this, yet have not had the success we had hoped for. We are aiming to get the empty rate below 10%.”

Maggie, a key member of the team who leads on calf health, is kept busy caring for calves across the units both during the spring- and autumn-calving seasons.

The team shows gold-standard management; within three hours, each calf is given 3.5 litres of colostrum. Calves are housed in straw-bedded group pens and, once feeding, transition into larger groups. Weighing of youngstock helps ensure growth targets are being met and highlights when these are not being met. This is continued throughout the grazing season and through the transition into housing until bulling in late spring.

Individual cow milk recording has been carried out this year and the Hendries hope that if they can improve on the fertility and quality of the youngstock, the overall herd performance will improve. Growth measurements of heifer calves taken have shown improvements in the youngstock – an area the Hendries have been pleased with this year.

Grassland and grazing management

Millands Farm is around 106 ha and linked to Netherlands’ 110 ha, which gives a total of 345 ha for available ground when including youngstock grazing. 

The total 345 ha is used solely for growing grass, as the Hendries explained it is far too wet and variable for cereals and other crops. This drives one of the farm’s main key performance indicators, which is to maximise as much milk from forage as possible. Cows are turned out between March 10–25, depending on ground conditions. Once out at Netherlands, the herd stay out until autumn as there is no alternative. Millands can be more flexible. Grazing performance is very good at both units across the season.

Currently sitting at 3,575 litres of milk from forage, the Hendries have set themselves a golden target of 4,000 litres – equal to 76% total milk from forage. The main challenge in achieving this target is found both at the start of the growing season and towards the end of it.

Strong family-led team structure

Millands Farm is a strong family-run business, with brothers James and Wallace Hendrie leading three generations of family, supported by a dedicated and inspired team.

Maggie raises the calves and manages youngstock development. Gemma supports with the calves and relief milking. Rab manages the herd at Millands, with Danny managing Netherlands, while Wallace’s son Robert, alongside key staff Ned, Paddy and Gordon, all muck in where and when needed, ensuring jobs that need doing get done, working as a team.

Recent infrastructure investments at Millands Farm

Recent investments on the farm have included a new calf shed, housing 14 pens, located in the previous location of the sileage. The old cubicle shed has been cleared and used to house a new 26/52 swing-over Millforce milking parlour that supplements their older 24/48 parlour. Elsewhere, they have installed 344 new cubicles and added five tracks to enable the cows easier, more efficient access to their paddocks. 

Forward focus for Millands Farm

Follow the story and progress of Millands Farm if you are interested in focusing on:

• Managing a forage-based, spring block-calving herd
• Improving fertility, targeting an empty rate below 10%
• Improving soil health and grass productivity
• Monitoring and improving youngstock growth rates
• Improving overall dairy profitability