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4 farm diversifications with a difference
March 14, 2021
glamping
Top tips for diversifying your business
March 16, 2021

How dairy farmer is making more than £6/kg from Jersey bull calves

March 15, 2021
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farm marketing

How dairy farmer is making more than £6/kg from Jersey bull calves

In times gone past farmers have really struggled to market dairy bulls and make money from them. With some farms on the continent choosing to euthanise them. Here a farmer in Devonshire has managed to find a marketplace and not only that a premium marketplace to sell his jersey bulls. A great idea that could be applied to over likeminded farms looking at introducing a farm diversification.

 

When Devonshire dairy farmer Neil Weston switched from being a flying herd to breeding his own replacements it created an unwanted boom in dairy bull calves.

But after being inspired by Gordon Ramsey’s promotion of British rose veal, he started selling a few calves through local farmers’ markets to test the water.

He eventually gained favour with Tim Madden at River Cottage, who became a great mentor and supporter of the business.

Seven years ago, Mr Weston emailed all the Michelin-starred chefs in the UK, pitching his rose veal as the sustainable, high-welfare alternative to that produced on the Continent.

Appetite has grown so much that he now selling up to 80 calves a year through his Weston Rose Veal brand, supplying some of the UK’s leading chefs, and making more than £6/kg.

One of the big attractions for his customers is being able to use a product reared to high welfare standards, with Weston Rose Veal being awarded the Good Calf Commendation by Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) in 2017.

dairy diversificationHow calves are reared

The farm’s 95 pedigree Jersey and Guernsey cows calve in the spring for 11 weeks starting in February.

Calves are initially housed individually for a few days to build up their strength before being moved into groups of six. Thereafter they are merged with a maximum stocking density of 18.

Focus is placed on ensuring calves receive enough colostrum within two hours of birth to fight off disease, but calves are also vaccinated against pneumonia.

For the first two months of life calves are fed 2 litres of milk replacer twice daily alongside an 18% crude protein calf mix, which is fed ad-lib with straw.

If the weather permits, Mr Weston turns the calves out to grass at one month, in groups of up to 24, and strip grazes them to improve grazing efficiencies.

Calves are strip-grazed from one month, weather permitting

Calves are normally weaned at two months of age, but milk is fed for up to 12 weeks if they are not doing as well and they could benefit, says Mr Weston.

The first few years were a learning curve, Mr Weston admits.

To improve carcass weights from the 80kg he realised he needed to push feed intakes, so he added molasses and more fibre to the diet.

At two months of age, calves now transition on to rolled barley mixed with molasses and fed alongside ad-lib hay or grass.

Farm facts

101ha; 94ha permanent pasture and 7ha winter barley for grain and bedding straw

Finish 70-80 rose veal calves a year

Milking 95 pedigree Jersey and Guernseys with 30 followers

Closed herd

Milked once a day

Yielding 3,000 litres per lactation on average

Milk solids: 4.5% protein and 6% butterfat

Quite a few animals are finished off grass, but all stock is housed from October to March in straw-bedded pens and some will be finished inside.

To supply a consistent product year-round, Mr Weston buys in around 35 Jersey and Guernsey bull calves from an autumn-calving herd in August and September.

Most calves are slaughtered at about eight months old, weighing 240-300kg liveweight (120-150kg deadweight). This produces a rump of 1.8-2.5kg, respectively.

Although dairy veal conformation isn’t comparable to finished beef, it’s eating quality that counts, he says.

“A good indicator of performance is the muscle along the loin – this is the highest-yielding cut with the highest value.”

Carcasses go to a licensed butcher to be cut into primal cuts, which are then packaged, labelled and sold directly to the customer.

Farm Diversification – Direct sales and margins

Mr Weston uses the Foodchain app for many of the direct sales of his farm diversification. The app connects suppliers to a growing network of chefs and restaurants.

“The app was a turning point for the business, it opened up the client base and we now do between one-third and half of our business through these contacts,” he says.

On average, his rose veal is achieving £6.60/kg (£800+ per head). This equates to a gross margin of £330-430 per calf.

But it doesn’t come easy. Each calf costs about £470 to produce, including feed, slaughter, butchering, packaging and transportation, but not including labour or marketing.

“It isn’t a simple case of feeding and rearing – you have to be farmer, processer, packer, marketing agent and front of house.”

To build relationships, he held an open day for London chefs, explaining the process from field to fork.

“We wanted them to understand why our veal is different to others,” he explains. “We try to only produce what the land can manage – it is a closed loop and something we keep looking to improve.”

Farmer’s top tips for a farm diversification

Research markets that suit your system (retail veal scheme) or find a niche market to shape yourself.

Understand what time you can give to the venture.

Make sure the books balance with your chosen route to market, including new infrastructure.Seek out people with relevant areas of expertise and talk to farmers already running rose veal units.

 

Article taken from farmers weekly

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5 Instagram Reel ideas to market your artisan-spirit farm business

🍸 Why do we use [insert unusual ingredient] to make our [insert spirit]?
🍸 A tour of our distillery! What system do we use?
🍸 3 ways we are making our [insert spirit] carbon-neutral!
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🍸Cocktail Masterclass
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Charcuterie can be an excellent option for extending a product range as the products can be made from your existing meat supplies, or you could choose to team up with a local charcuterie business. 

Additionally, the shelf life of charcuterie products is often significantly longer than other meat-based products. Charcuterie also often uses less desirable parts of an animal, such as in the case of using cheaper cuts in salamis.


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Instagram Reel ideas for your dairy diversification

🧀 What happens to male calves on our farm?
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🧀 How do we make our ice cream? See our behind-the-scenes process!
🧀 Cheese tasting masterclass
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1. Milk vending machines – for dairy diversification
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5. Ice cream – the tasty farm diversification
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8. Growing truffles – the high-end farm diversification

If you are planning a farm marketing strategy to promote your farm diversification then we would also recommend you book a consultation with us.

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Diversification idea – wool business!
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Diversification idea - wool business!
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A wool, yarn or fibre business can be an effective farm diversification for adding value to something that is often a by-product of the sheep farming sector. But there are also lots of other types of fibre to consider, from alpaca to plant-based fibres. Fibre businesses are useful for bringing in additional income on a smaller scale and tend to work well alongside a wider farm business strategy or even as a way to make money from your smallholding.

Fibre businesses can range from selling raw fleece through to spinning yarn and even dying yarns. 

Do you sell wool or fibre from your farm?

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With packages starting from as little as £200 and most under £675 per month, why not? 

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🐑 How is it made videos – show the processes within your business, such as spinning
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🐑  Before and after – show your goods before and after processes: from sheep to yarn,
🐑  Meet the team – show yourself or your team behind the business.


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 #glamping #agrimarketing #backbritishfarming #farmdiversification #ukfarming #agribusiness #britishfarming #farmmarketing #farmbusiness #socialmediamarketing #contentmarketing #agriculturemarketing #devon #rurallife #rbst #agristudent #buylocal #supportfarmers #buybritish #shopsmall #dairy #organicfarming #agribranding #youngfarmers #farmbusinessinnovationshow #farmlife #thisfarminglife #ruralpowerhouse #CountryLandandBusinessAssociation
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