FINAL FIVE ANNOUNCED IN THE 2025 NMR RABDF GOLD CUP
Ruth and Stephen Ashley, PJ & PE Ashley & Son, Condover, Shropshire
This is the second year running that the high-performance Holstein herd, managed by a team of five including Stephen and Ruth, with weekend relief workers, has made the final round of the Gold Cup.
A wealth of information generated through a robotic milking system, which was installed in the 162-cow herd in 2013, is used by each member of the team, their vet and nutritionist to ensure decisions and actions are data-driven.
Genomic testing has recently been adopted in this all-year-round calving, fully housed herd, and all heifer calves are now tested from birth.
Average milk yield is 16,410kg at 3.91% fat and 3.29% protein.
Paul Broad, T N Morrow & Partners, Treveale Farm, Ladock, Truro, Cornwall
Paul Broad and his wife, Wendy (née Morrow), together with Wendy’s brother, Irwin Morrow, and Paul and Wendy’s sons, David and Philip, carry out all roles on the farm, from milking cows and rearing calves to planting and harvesting forages.
Cows in the pedigree Maymor Holstein herd are milked twice a day, mainly by Paul and Wendy, through a rapid-exit parlour. The family has made considerable investments in the past decade for the next generation, with a new dairy unit in 2018 and a new youngstock unit in 2023. More improvements are planned, such as covering the silage pits.
Average milk yield is 12,362kg at 4.26% fat and 3.44% protein.
Ben Foote, J H Foote Farming, Church Lane Farm, Brown Candover, Alresford, Hampshire
This is a family business, run by Ben Foote, alongside parents Jonathan and Celia and Ben’s wife Molly.
Their Candover Holstein herd comprises 322 cows and followers. The milking herd is housed and calve all-year-round and are milked twice a day through a rapid exit parlour which was installed nine years ago.
Average yield is 12,968kg milk at 3.67% fat and 3.33% protein.
M Madders Farming Ltd, Church Farm, Coppenhall, Staffordshire
Brother and sister team, Mike Madders and Rosie Chandler, are the fifth generation of the Madders family to farm at Church Farm, which is a mixed dairy and arable business totalling 422 hectares. The dairy platform runs on 202-hectares and supports a herd of 340 Holstein cows and 220 youngstock.
Maximising the use of home-grown forage is a key focus on the dairy unit, with cows grazing for six months of the year, from mid-April to mid-October, depending on conditions.
Average milk yield is 10,488 kg at 4.57% fat and 3.55% protein
William Mayor, Yeo Valley Farms, Yeo Valley, Blagdon, Bristol
Yeo Valley Farms is mixed farming business operating an integrated regenerative organic system across 800 hectares at Blagdon, in north Somerset.
It is well-known for its pedigree British Friesian Lakemead herd, which comprises two dairies and a youngstock unit managed by Richard Greaves, with unit managers Gabby Veater and Steve Laurie, with William Mayor responsible for the farm business development.
Cows at the Yoxter dairy calve from April to May, while the Holt Farm herd calves from September to December. Both herds are milked twice a day, and the milk goes to the company’s processing site, situated within a few miles of the farms.
The dairies play a key role in Yeo Valley’s regenerative system, and the dairy unit platforms aim for optimal recovery of diverse herbal leys before the next grazing.
Average milk yield is 7,725kg at 4% fat and 3.3% protein.
Judges, RABDF Chairman Robert Craig and vice chair Tim Downes, NMR lead veterinary officer Karen Bond and 2023 Gold Cup winner, George Brown, Bisterne Estate visited each unit and interviewed the finalist and their teams.
