Bostock dairy farmer scoops national award
Farmers Guardian 15 October 2015
It’s been a record year for collecting prestigious accolades for Bostock farmer Adrian Smith with no less than four national trophies in total.
Adrian runs Brook House Farm – part of the Tatton Estate in Bostock near Middlewich – with the help of three full time members of staff who are responsible for a herd of 210 milkers. Calving takes place year-round and cows produce an average of 8,600 litres.
Supreme Farm Champion 2015
In July, Adrian became Supreme Farm Champion 2015, with the opportunity to showcase his farm to the community and presented with the award during the event.
Forage Manager National Winner
September saw him crowned Forage Manager National Winner at the Cream Awards (up against the likes of Müller Wiseman) at the National Motorcyle Museum in Birmingham.
With 400 guests assembled from across the dairy industry the evening was “a celebration of the brightest and best in UK Dairy”.
Judges saw “excellent margin return and overall results” and [that he] “made the most of the business using very simple, efficient, and cost effective systems”. They also found him to have “excellent pasture management and without the excessive use of concentrate.”
Adrian says no forage resource is wasted on the farm and this is illustrated in the fact 62% of milk produced is obtained from forage.
“To find out that I had won the category was fantastic ”, he said, “and reflects all the hard work that my team put into producing as much milk from forage as possible.
“Around 62% of our milk comes from forage and I am always trying to increase this figure. For me, the focus isn’t on increasing yields but getting more from my forage resources.”
Under his high forage regime, cows are not pressurised, which Adrian says helps keep his vet and medication costs under £63/cow, contributes to longevity and helps with his low carbon footprint of 1.07kg/litre, all of which are plus points for a consumer.
Dairy Farmer of the Year
In October Adrian was one of the three finalists at the Dairy Farmer of the Year Award at the Grosvenor, London, hosted by Farmers Weekly. In a glittering ceremony at one of London’s top hotels, the fact that Adrian didn’t win was irrelevant. “It was just so amazing to be chosen as a finalist and the evening was certainly one I’ll never to forget!”
British Farming Award
Adrian also achieved Silver in the Dairy Innovator of the Year category at the British Farming Awards held Chateau Impney Hotel, Droitwich Spa. More than 450 farmers and industry professionals attended the event, which showcased the innovation and achievements of grass roots farmers across the agricultural industry.
Sources
Image courtesy of Richard Stanton. Full details available here