Embracing Innovation Pays Off With Herd Performance
Being open to change and innovation, as well as adapting herd management in response to external challenges, is something that Michael Broadley from, Hartington, Derbyshire puts into practice with the two pedigree herds the family business runs.
Whitecroft Ayrshires is a 175-cow milking herd which is run alongside the smaller Brundcliffe Holstein herd, which is currently around 40 milking cows. Michael, along with his brother Andrew and nephew Ben, supported by two part-time workers, prioritise attention to detail and strive for robust cows with good longevity.

With replacements, there’s around 500 lactating animals in total at home and all youngstock is contract reared on three further holdings. The farm is 245 acres and has the “accolade” of being the highest registered Ayrshire herd, at 1100 feet above sea level.
“Despite being high up and fairly exposed, the farm is really good at growing grass, although it is around three weeks later than farms lower down and more sheltered. We are after a cow that is a good converter of feed to milk, has good udder health and gets into calf easily,”
Michael says. “Recently, we have reduced the number of Holsteins and increased Ayrshire numbers. We AI everything ourselves, and even though we were selecting sires for negative stature traits, the Holsteins just kept getting bigger and bigger,” he explains.

Another adjustment being implemented is in response to a changing situation with the contract rearers who help with the calves. “We had calves at five different units, which is less than ideal, and when one told us they were giving up, it helped us make the decision to change policy,” says Michael.
“We will cut the numbers being reared and introduce more beef by AI’ing to Angus and sell these calves at Bakewell Market at 42 days instead. It’s all about controlling the controllable, and with fewer being reared and on only two units, it should be much easier to keep on top of performance.”
Implementing the AHV Herd Health Plan
In April 2022, Michael contacted AHV’s Herd Health Plan Manager, Paul Marrs as he wasn’t happy with some areas of herd performance. “Our initial visit to the farm highlighted a few issues that Michael was keen to improve. After a few months, we moved on to the AHV Herd Health Plan as it allows us to analyse milk records and farm data to provide a quarterly report. This means we can check progress and monitor key metrics,” says Paul.
“The AHV Herd Health Plan underpins the regular consultancy visits to customers and gives us time to have in-depth discussions with farmers. Michael and the team already had a lot of data collected, and they had a good idea of where improvements were needed. We started with targeting some of the key fertility metrics – conception rate to first service, average days open, as well as keeping check on reasons for culling.
The year-round calving herd is milked twice a day and one of the first things to tackle was metabolic challenges. These challenges, common during periods of stress, can negatively impact the start to lactation which consequently has a long-term impact on performance.
Post-calving and into early lactation, cows metabolise body fat reserves to meet the energy demands needed to maintain lactation levels. Studies have shown that 40-60% of lactating cows have metabolic issues, with the highest prevalence being at day five in milk.

AHV’s Protocol on Brundcliffe Farm
“Since adopting the AHV protocol, metabolic health has greatly improved. Cows get a Booster Tablet two weeks pre-calving and 10-days post; the tablet promotes the animal’s metabolism in the liver and rumen, and provides sustained and fast additional energy,” explains Paul.
Cows also receive two StartLac Tablets just prior to calving which contain calcium, magnesium, phosphate and vitamin D3 in highly bioavailable forms. This provides the cow with the essential minerals needed to support muscle contraction, metabolism, milk production and overall health.
“Combined, the products work by supporting the cow at times of stress or demand which can make them susceptible to health challenges,” Paul Marrs explains. “Disrupting the bacteria’s behaviour and enabling the cow rapid access to the energy which production is demanding, reduces the likelihood of problems in the future.”
The cows at Brundcliffe Farm also receive a Metri Tablet and StartLac Paste once calved which helps to improve the hygiene of the uterus and stimulates the release of the placenta. Typically, 25–40% of animals develop severe metabolic health issues in the first two weeks after calving, with work showing that 80-100% of animals have bacteria in their uterine lumen in this period.
Cows affected by uterine challenges are less active and therefore have a reduced dry matter intake. The resulting loss of energy may have a strong impact on fertility measurements such as insemination rate, heat expression and inter-calving periods. Longer term, such issues can impact milk production and the animal’s productive life in the herd.
“We are about 18 months into the AHV Herd Health Plan and the cows’ performance has definitely improved,” says Michael. “With Paul tracking the key metrics we can easily keep a check on it as we move forward.”
Farm Facts:
- 1100 feet above sea level, regnerative approach to management
- 245 acres of grassland plus
- Ayrshires average 7,600 litres at 4.4% butterfat and 3.4% protein
- Holsteins average 9,000 litres at 4.4% butterfat and 3.4% protein
To speak to an AHV Consultant in your area or our Veterinary Technical Manager please fill out our short contact form below.
Sources
1.Brunner et al., 2019; Oetzel, 2015
2.Oetzel, 2015
3.I. Martin Sheldon, Erin J. Williams, Aleisha N.A. Miller, Deborah M. Nash,
Shan Herath. Uterine diseases in cattle after parturition. The Veterinary Journal
176, 115–121
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