Fineview, a dairy farm managed by the Clark family in Dumfries and Galloway, is part of the innovative First Milk dairy cooperative which aims to deliver healthy fresh milk on sound environmental principles. Why not take a virtual tour and hear how delivering quality milk products needs a nurtured healthy soil, the encouragement of biodiversity, healthy cows and a sustainable farm enterprise.
This virtual tour is one of a series of SEFARI Gateway Innovative Knowledge Exchange funded tours designed to provide you with access to the many research facilities across Scotland whilst also giving you a taste of some of the work we do. Across SEFARI, world leading pioneering research is being undertaken that can really make a difference on the ground.
During the creation of this virtual tour, we were welcomed to Fineview and the lush green gently sloping hills of Glenluce, an amazing innovative and award winning farm enterprise. The project brought farmers and researchers together to discuss the underpinning science, its application and utilisation in practice. As part of this project, we also wanted to share our collective experience with you, and therefore, we created a series of short videos (accessible on the virtual tour) which discuss the range of interlinked issues that were identified. Important topics for milk production discussed includes the underlying soil health, the rich biodiversity of pasture, the importance of the health and welfare of the herd, the farm dairying enterprise and the value of cooperation.
Before we begin though, we should explain what is First Milk?
First Milk is a wholly British farmer-owned dairy co-operative with a vision of enriching life every day to secure the future. It is owned by family farms that supply consumers with milk and who invest capital back into the business. They produce award-winning cheddar, regional cheeses and dairy ingredients, as well as marketing fresh raw milk to many other UK dairy processors. First Milk work together as one team, with a focus on efficiency and quality, to deliver competitive total returns to their farmer members. Customers are at the heart of the business, and create value through strong, long-term partnerships.
First Milk have a vision to regenerate dairy farms to enrich life and are committed to achieve net zero by 2040 at the latest. They aim to sequester 100,000t of CO2e per annum on members’ farms by 2025.
On the tour, you can hear from:
Mark Brooking, discussing First Milk
First Milk will achieve these ambitious targets by encouraging their 700 members to adopt regenerative farming practices. We believe that these actions will not only sequester significant quantities of CO2 but will also begin to restore biodiversity on the farms whilst producing a fantastic nutritious product. We believe that working together we will be able to demonstrate that dairy farming done well can be part of the climate solution.
Lorna Cole, discussing Biodiversity
Under the Scottish Government’s (RESAS) Strategic Research Programmes we have worked with a variety of dairy farmers to identify actions that can increase wildlife on farms.
Food production and biodiversity are inherently linked. From the myriad of beetles, flies and earthworms that recycle dung returning key nutrients into the soil, to the bees and flies that provide crucial pollination services. With biodiversity under threat, and invertebrate taxa in decline, action is needed to ensure that farms move towards more wildlife friendly management. First Milk farmers are committed to restore biodiversity in their farms, pledging to regenerate soil health and create habitat for wildlife.
First Milk farmers are exploring a range of sustainable practices including regenerating hedgerows, creating buffer strips, multispecies swards and increasing the time dairy cows graze outside. These measures not only help to enhance wildlife, but also help to sequester and store carbon in the soil and vegetation, reduce reliance on external inputs (e.g. supplementary feeds and inorganic fertilisers) and ultimately make the farm more resilient to future challenges.
Lorna Dawson, discussing soil
Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the basis of sustainable agriculture. Farmers are interested in retaining and increasing SOC in fields to improve soil health and yield and the health of plants that grow there. One of the main reasons behind this is the ability of SOC in maintaining soil fertility, improving soil aeration, soil structure, increasing water retention capacity, drainage, and enhancing earthworm activity and microbial growth and activity. Carbon storage in soils represents a significant opportunity to show that the environmental impact of dairy farming can be positive for the environment.
First Milk are implementing soil and nutrient management plans to demonstrate responsible use of fertilisers and manures and maintain levels of soil organic matter to improve carbon storage and soil health.
SEFARI Gateway, have been working with SAOS (who are the representative body for Scotland’s farm co-operatives, like First Milk) in the effective communication of scientific messages with farmers and farmer groups. This is a great example where First Milk demonstrates true leadership and cooperation in action - from the soil properties up - through the nutritious growing grass, to the grazing cow, to the nutritious milk that you and I enjoy, while also looking after our planet for future generations to come.
Richard Dewhurst, discussing cow welfare
Research on cow welfare and environmental impacts of dairying is supported by the Scottish Government's (RESAS) Strategic Research Programme. A great example of the way that Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) has built on the research base is our work with First Milk and a series of their farmer members, to evaluate the use of farm sensors and data to explore signs of positive welfare in dairy cows. The use of animal mounted sensors for monitoring activities is well established in the livestock industry. The technology is often based on motion sensors like those in ‘fitbits’.
More recently we have been exploring the ability of these sensors to identify indicators of positive welfare in cows. Cattle farmers know well that seeing many cows lying down and ruminating or ‘chewing the cud’ is a good sign and in this work, we have been able to use sensors to measure things like time spent lying down, eating or ruminating. We have used a method called Qualitative Behavioural Analysis to score cows and herds for a series of behaviours related to the level of activity and their mood – things like being bored, active, calm or frustrated. This work will be extended into a broader range of sustainability indicators, working with more dairy processors and more farmers.
Keith Ballingall, discussing dairy cow mammary health
First4Milk are committed to achieve net zero by 2040. Key to achieving this goal is improving efficiency and reducing waste associated with the lactation cycle of the dairy cow. Mastitis or inflammation of the mammary gland is a major cause of waste in dairy industries worldwide. Mastitis is a painful condition with clear animal welfare implications and is most often caused by a bacterial infection acquired from the environment or passed from animal to animal. Significant waste is associated with reduced milk production, reduced milk quality, extra labour costs and premature culling of valuable animals.
In dairy cattle, mastitis control relies on reducing the impact of bacterial contamination of the milking environment and rapid treatment of clinical cases. If implemented effectively such measures can substantially reduce the impact of mastitis. The treatment of infected animals relies on antimicrobial drugs and represents a risk for the induction of antimicrobial resistance. Thus, there is a requirement to reduce the use of antimicrobials and development of alternative mastitis prevention and control strategies including vaccines.
We hope you will enjoy visiting Fairview farm and learning about some of the important factors that come into play to produce healthy nutritious milk in a climate friendly way.
Finally, we would particularly like to thank Mr Robert Clark and sons Stewart Clark & Allan Clark from Fineview farm for welcoming us and introducing us to some of their well-behaved dairy cows! In addition, we would also like to thank Michael and Annemarie from Circa Media for their professionalism and putting up with us (and with Daisy the cow) during filming.
Lorna Dawson, SEFARI Gateway
Lorna Cole, SRUC
This ‘Showcasing Leadership, Cooperation and Collaboration for Climate Challenge in Farming’ virtual tour can be accessed here.
Find out about our other virtual tours at: