Andrew and Suzanne Jardine shine with Applegarth Jerseys

That is exactly what Andrew and Suzanne Jardine, son Howie (12) and daughter Tilly (10) have achieved on the Crown Estate’s 242-acre New Farm, just outside Moffat.

In August 2019, they were the selected from no fewer than 16 others to take on the former beef and sheep farm, and just three years later they were milking Jersey cows.

Now, midway through their 10-year tenancy, the family is loving life, milking 105 Jersey cows and heifers with a rolling 305-day milk yield of 7373kg at 5.78%BF and 4.16%P with half the milk produced from homegrown forages.

By chance, the foundation females – comprising a 50:50 mixture of imported Danish and British Jersey cows and heifers – were found to be of a high health status going by individual blood tests, so the family is also revelling in breeding home-bred replacements to expand the business further.

The fields are divided into small paddocks, allowing the cows to graze the grass quickly before moving on. This rotation gives each paddock approximately three weeks to rest and regrow Ref: RH180724039 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

“It was always in our business plan to be milking cows here by year five, but when we got the chance of buy a second-hand herringbone parlour for £5000 in 2021, we couldn’t let the opportunity slip by,” said Andrew, who bought in-lamb ewes and store lambs to finish off the farm in the early years.

At that time, Andrew was also wintering store cattle on a B and B basis and doing a lot of work off farm in relief milkings and driving lorries to generate additional cash. Work was also being done to improve the fields – by draining, liming and reseeding.

Being a marginal dairy unit with a tendency to flood, New Farm was never going to produce bumper milk yields, therefore Jersey cattle were the preferred option.

Andrew added: “We felt Jersey cows, being smaller and finer boned, wouldn’t poach the ground as much and the high milk solids they produce attract premium prices.

“Jerseys are also easier worked with when there are just the two of us and the kids.”

He then looked to get the 10-point swing-over herringbone parlour set up, buy a 5000-gallon bulk tank and get cubicles installed with assistance from builders T and G Carruthers Construction.

New Farm home to the Jardine family since 2019 Ref: RH180724060 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

Jersey females also had to be purchased – in the thick of the Covid pandemic – with bulling and in-calf heifers imported from Denmark and privately through Mark Davies, Devon from the TB4 area Winkland herd in Kent.

Initially, all milk was sold to Yew Tree, which has since been changed to First Milk, when the co-operative pays a 10p per kg premium for milk with high components.

Three years after those initial Jersey purchases, home-bred heifers are calving at 26 months of age, with the resultant calves fed a SCCL sachet of colostrum regardless of whether they have suckled or not before being moved into individual pens for a couple of days. Depending on the weather, jackets are used to keep the calves warm.

From then on, a high protein Norvite milk powder is fed twice a day in buckets alongside an Advance calf concentrate ad-lib from birth right through until bulling.

Weaning takes place at eight-nine weeks, when bull and beef calves are sold at Carlisle, while heifers for replacements are reared in sheds rented from neighbouring farmers.

While all heifers ran with an Aberdeen Angus bull last year due to limited shed space to rent, this year Andrew aims to AI all heifers to bolster herd numbers further through World Wide Sires Mating Programme alongside sexed semen from Cogent. Heifers and cows are AI’d twice to sexed semen and then to beef with an Aberdeen Angus bull used to sweep up.

The Lely Discovery Collector is used in the shed to keep the floor clean Ref: RH180724048 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

Local technician Steven McCornick does all the AI work which pays dividends when the pregnancy rate stands at 46% – and that’s without the use of heat detecting ear tags or collars.

Such is Andrew’s keen eye for the job that heat and health assessments are done visually which, in turn, has seen few cases of mastitis. In saying that, he pays particular attention to herd nutrition with assistance of Greg Leishman of Advance Nutrition, who works out all feed rations. Cows are all vaccinated for rotavirus and calves for pneumonia.

Recording through National Milk Records has also been beneficial to build up a picture of the herd and the cow families, although Andrew is the first to admit he rarely has the time to look at the figures.

The Jerseys are also proving easy to manage with next to no cases of milk fever in fresh cows. In fact, one of the few cases occurred in a late lactation cow at grass!

Herringbone 10 a side swing over parlour setup at New Farm Ref: RH180724045 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

Cows are dried off six weeks pre-calving, initially onto old grass before then being brought inside when they are given a dry cow bolus and fed a transition ration comprising an Exilit feed, minerals, straw and a low potash silage.

Instead of calving all year round, the decision was made to hold back some cows and heifers so that calving takes place in the autumn and winter, thereby concentrating the workload at certain times of the year and while also making best use of available grass. Easy calved and often giving birth unassisted at grass, this ensures milking cows and heifers are inside when they are at their most vulnerable and outside at grass during the day in the spring and summer months. They do, however, have access to round bale silage when they come inside every night.

There are no fancy feeds at New Farm, either. Instead, milking cows are fed the one total mixed ration comprising mostly good quality round bale silage – taken from four cuts per year by a local contractor which is analysed on a regular basis by Advance Nutrition, who also work out all feed rations. The same feed company provide the dairy blend, minerals and the limestone flour that goes into the ration too.

In-calf heifers are fed the same dairy blend and round bale silage which regularly produces D Values of 75 plus, with protein and ME at 19.5 and 12.1 respectively.

New shed being constructed for the purpose of housing calves Ref: RH180724051 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

After three years of hard work, headaches and sleepless nights, there is at last light at the end of the tunnel. The family’s Applegarth Jersey herd –named after the area and the church the couple were married in – is producing higher milk yields year on year and, as a result, improved margins.

Thanks to an Agri Environment Climate Scheme grant and Crown Estate Scotland, the business now also has a new slurry facility storage for 1m gallons which will help save on fertiliser costs. The estate is also contributing to a new calf shed which should be fully operational this time next year.

With five years under their belt at New Farm, it’s not just Andrew and Suzanne who are committed to the farming life and milking Jersey cows. Howie and Tilly are thoroughly enjoying young handler competitions with Jersey calves, having recently competed at the Royal Highland Show and Dumfries and Moffat Shows last year.

The shed is equipped with 100 cubicles with mats and topped with sawdust Ref: RH180724050 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

Of more significance, however, is the fact that this newfound love for dairy farming has emerged when neither Andrew or Suzanne were brought up in the industry.

Andrew came into the dairying fresh, when his father had to give up the family farm tenancy in Dumfriesshire at a young age due to ill health.

Instead, he left school at 18 after attaining all his highers to work for a local feed firm. He then took on the position of assistant farm manager at Barony College, Dumfries for two years before moving back to work in the feed industry as a salesman for Harbro.

In contrast, Suzanne has always been employed by the NHS, having worked her way up to her current role as an advance nurse practitioner in Carlisle.

They have, however, always yearned to have their own farm business and now, halfway through their tenancy, can’t imagine life without their Jersey cattle

“The Jersey will always play second fiddle to the Holstein, but we wouldn’t swap them when you think they’re easier managed and being smaller, you can run more cows to the acre. They also eat less than a Holstein and are a lot easier handled,” concluded Andrew.

Jerseys are known for their docile and friendly temperament, and their smaller size also makes them easier to handle and manage Ref: RH180724029 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

Needless to say, there is never a dull moment for anyone at New Farm.

While getting away from the farm can prove difficult, Andrew and Suzanne do hope to be able to attend the Jersey Open Day and AGM at Graham’s Family Dairy, Mains of Boquhan, Kippen, on Thursday, August 8, where breeders will be able to view the multi-award-winning Grahams herd in their new surroundings.

FARM facts

Acreage: Made up of 242 grass acres yielding four cuts of big bale silage to produce a quality forage over the autumn, winter and spring months. Cows rotationally grazed late spring and summer in reseeded perennial ryegrass swards.

Herd stats: 105 Jersey cows made up of 50:50 Danish and the preferred British North American/Canadian genetics. Rolling 305-day herd average of of 7373kg at 5.78%BF and 4.16%P. Calving interval of 391 days which slipped back when the family moved cows to autumn/winter block calving. SCC average of 85.

Contractors: Relied upon for all reseeding, silage work and relief milkings.

Home to the Jardine family since 2019 Ref: RH180724059 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

ON THE spot

Biggest achievement? Seeing the first saleable litres of milk in the bulk tank.

Best investment? Family – getting the kids away on holiday. Farm – any livestock and reseeding.

Ultimate goal? To grow a business that can be financially sustainable for both ourselves and the kids if they want to be involved in the future.

Best advice for new entrants? Do whatever way you can to make it happen – you'll make it work somehow. Be brave.