Paul Redmore

Neston Home Farm, Wiltshire

Paul Redmore has gone from supplying one local processor to increasing cow numbers and tripling his processing milk in three years. The business is the sole, external supplier of organic Jersey milk to Ivyhouse Farm Dairy, which has customers including Harrods, Fortnum and Mason and Selfridges. Paul also supplies The Old Cheese Room based on farm, and Luscious Ice Cream, an ice cream production unit to add to their milk outlets. The dairy herd has increased from 140 cows to 320 in two years, with additional straw-bedded yards and parlour built in 2015. Average yields per cow are 4,872 litres at 5.26 per cent butterfat and 3.83 per cent protein. Innovation highlights include a new parlour and herd management software to provide comprehensive data on milk conductivity, yields and milking time. Paul uses the information to inform decision making at individual cow and herd level, offering traceable audits and reducing time spent collecting and analysing data.

Data collection
The use of intra-reticulum electronic bolus in all cows means temperature and activity can be monitored, leading to increased conception rates. It also provides data alerts for proactive health care and calving supervision. Paul has also installed LED lighting in cow housing to provide 180 lux for 16 hours each day and has reduced costs by 50 per cent and improved milk yields by two per cent. Cows are paddock grazed for six months on PRG/clover leys and plate metering is done in the grazing season to optimise grass utilisation. Selective dry cow therapy has reduced antibiotic use offering a saving of £1,000 each month and reducing antibiotic resistance. Looking forward Paul is keen to promote the niche status of organic and Jersey milk by increasing the range of end products and farm enterprises. Genetic improvements in production and health traits of cows will be fast paced through the availability and reducing costs of genomics, which he hopes will lead to greater feed efficiency and healthier cows.