The History of Buttercup Farm

Buttercup farm was not an unusual farm at the beginning of this case study. It was a mixed farm where they reared Holstein Friesian calves for themselves, other farms and for meat. They had a dairy unit of 180 Holstein Friesian cows, and they also produced their own silage, hay and crops on rotation. However, the farm was unique in that I was lucky enough to support them as their veterinary surgeon, through a large transition when the next generation of farmers started taking over the farm. They entered into discussions with open-minds and already had an interest in regenerative farming.

The dairy and calf rearing unit were housed systems which were in need of updating or attention as the new generation took over. The buildings were mostly old stone buildings with one large newer shed that had more up to date ventilation and feeding structures. It had high feed inputs despite growing their own silage etc. The arable side was an intensive system with high inputs of pesticides and herbicides especially when using cover crops. They did use natural fertiliser collected from their cattle on the fields. Their grass lay choices were rye grass mixes mostly for their silage and hay.

The discussion started at this farm when I attended for a case of pneumonia in a calf. I had not met Matilda, the elderly farmers daughter, before and was surprised to see a new face. Matilda had moved back to the farm after her and her husband had stopped tenant farming to take over her father’s farm as he aged. Matilda felt that her dad had been ‘stuck in his ways’ thinking that high input-high output intensive farming was a ‘modern approach’ to farming. It was clear she disagreed and so I began to push further.

We discussed the case and the multitude of cases of pneumonia I had attended there this year alone. We talked about the standard approaches of vaccination programmes. It was clear that Matilda felt that the cost of keeping the housed cattle was too high, especially with the inputs of medications and a large bill coming to fix up the buildings or build a new one. She was worried, however, that the costs of bringing in fertiliser would be even greater. We therefore had alternative discussions about changing the system completely.

After this initial chat (which had taken me long past my visit time!) we booked in a herd health planning meeting to discuss this further. In this meeting we discussed where the farm currently was, what Matilda and my main concerns were, and what kind of opportunities we saw for change.

The farm currently had some land sparing/sharing techniques in place - Matilda’s father had loved to see the wood peckers and owls on the farm and therefore left some areas of woodland untouched. Most arable fields had some grass/wild margins around the edges which he had kept initially to allow his wife to continue riding on the farm. They had not been part of any assurance schemes.

We went through the triple bottom line framework of Environment, Ethics of animals and people, and Economics and prioritised our concerns from there.

From the discussion, Matilda’s main concerns for the farm were:

• Economic viability long term with the increasing cost of production including herbicides, pesticides and feed inputs
• Soil health and longevity of their arable areas
• Biodiversity that she felt was declining since she was a child on farm and felt this was due to the farming system. She wanted to maintain or improve this for her own children
• The ethics of keeping large numbers of animals housed in old housing she described as ‘not ideal’- her and her husband’s previous tenant farm had been an extensive system in rural Scottland which they had loved and felt the animals enjoyed a higher level of welfare when run properly

My main concerns other than the ones above were:

• Extensive medicine use
• Developing antimicrobial and anthelmintic resistance due to this
• Large inputs of herbicides and pesticides that were damaging to the environment and the soil

On this farm there was such a large opportunity for change with a new manager in place who was very keen for positive environmental impacts. They were at a tipping point with their housing where they either needed to invest hugely in it to increase animal welfare and to make it viable for future use, or they needed to scrap it entirely. They were lucky enough to have the finances in place to make big changes.

Solutions

The solutions cannot be broken down into the same problem list as above because each solution has multiple benefits to it. Therefore, I have put in bold where the solutions we implemented align with each of our concerns.

Instead of investing in housing we made a long-term plan to limit or eliminate housing except on the very worst of winter days. We started by slowly replacing the high input-output Holstein Frisians with native breeds. This would mean that less feed inputs would be needed and that they were more likely to manage on pasture alone. We chose a selection of Ayrshire cattle and Dairy Shorthorns with the aim that calf rearing would continue but would have to be for beef or their own replacement heifers given that the demand for these dairy breeds locally was currently low. We chose these breeds due to the lower hard feed inputs needed to maintain their wellbeing whilst the Ayrshire still produced very good quality milk and the Dairy Shorthorn has reliable health and longevity. We accepted that they would not produce as much milk as the Holstein Friesians. To further reduce the need for housing, they saved winter grazing areas that already had good shelter from the previously established woodland and especially those areas that cycled water well. They also utilised bale grazing with species rich hay bales when grass production reduced and accepted that much will be trampled in as mulch but that that stops poaching around feeders too.

They started to diversify in crops. They used herbal lays/native grass lays as part of long-term plans- the differing height swards rather than the rye grass monoculture of before was better for soil health and both above and below ground biodiversity.

Using herbal lays also enhances the nutritional profile of grass (reducing food cost inputs). Grasses provide carbohydrates, clover provides protein, whilst a selection of herbs provide other vitamins and minerals. They can also add other plants like birdsfoot trefoil which contain condensed tannins that are shown to have anthelmintic properties and can even bind proteins associated with bloat. The diversity of plants is also mirrored in the root structure which enhances the opportunities for nutrient exchange at different depths in the soil therefore increasing nutrients available for cattle.

Diversity of grasses can also interfere with parasite life cycles due to the diversity of species meaning one single species cannot thrive. This in turn lowers anthelmintic use.

They swapped to using the cattle to graze cover crops instead of herbicides. This reduces costs and reduces damage to the soil.

They used holistic planned grazing techniques. These were actually surprisingly easy to implement in a dairy system given that they are brought in twice daily anyway and therefore could be moved frequently without much issue. This farm was lucky in that the fields surrounded the dairy. Using these techniques increases biodiversity of all living things above and below ground, inputs natural fertiliser to the soil, increasing soil organic matter, increases total biomass from pastures overtime, reduces feed costs, optimises water, mineral and nutrient cycling, holds pasture in this successional state and maximises animal health and welfare. This short duration high intensity grazing with long rest periods (>30ds) reduces parasites with tall grass, frequent moves and long rest periods and therefore reducing costs and anthelmintics usage.

Through all of these we discussed that we were adopting regenerative farming principles regularly cited as:

• Keeping the ground covered- Buttercup farm was already using cover crops to do this
• Keep living roots in the soil- by creating permanent pastures with holistic planned grazing
• Protect the soil in a multitude of ways detailed above
• Minimise soil disturbance with no/minimal tilling (this was a difficult one to convince Matilda’s father of and is one we will be looking at in the future)
• Maximise diversity in space and time- using diverse herbal lays and they did also start using polyculture (planting two or more useful species in the same location)
• Minimising/avoiding synthetic chemicals- by using cattle rotating over the land their manure was naturally adding to the soils’ fertility. Cattle were used instead of herbicides to remove cover crops
• Integrate livestock- this had already been done at Buttercup farm.

How we measured improvements

To objectively measure improvements on farm we used several monitoring tools.

We used the 'Soil mentor’ platform¹. This enabled full family engagement where Matilda and her children could count earthworms, insects and measure root depths all whilst gaining knowledge about their soil’s health. This hopefully will encourage future generations of environmentally conscious farmers and will enable us to track soil health with the change in farming practices.

We used the Local Ecological Footprint (LEFT) tool by Oxford University to measure a baseline ecological footprint with the aim to use this again in the future to see how our changes have impacted the farms ecological biodiversity. Matilda’s dad also used the app Merlin² by Cornell University daily. This listens for the calls of birds and identifies them. He has been using this to monitor diversity of birds returning to the farm because this is an area of personal interest to him.

We are using Outcomes Assessments for assessment of animal welfare. Our Suitably Qualified Person’s (SQPs) use the guidelines from Assurewel, created by the RSPCA, Soil Association, and Bristol University. With this they can give feedback, including benchmarking, to help monitor and improve welfare on farms.

We also performed a medicine use audit on farm after 1 year of the implemented changes.

The farm team

One of the biggest issues was convincing Matilda’s father that a large change was needed. Through our discussions, he felt like it was an insult to his way of farming and felt personally attacked by the drive towards change.

Matilda and I discussed his resistance using models of behaviour change settling on the COM-B model which breaks behaviour change down into capability, opportunity and motivation. We understood that he did have the capability to change but that implementing things such as ‘mob grazing’ where animals must be moved frequently could present a problem at his age. He understood that this was the perfect opportunity for change when a business plan could go either way. He did not have the motivation for change at this point in his career as he felt the way he had been running things had worked for all these years.

Using another model, the ADKAR model, he stumbled at the first hurdle as he did not have the awareness of the need to change, the desire to change, the knowledge on how to change, or therefore the ability to implement desired skills and behaviours.

It was a difficult dynamic for me to be involved with having been Matilda’s fathers’ vet for several years. My colleagues and I overcame this by deciding to run a series of workshops on regenerative agriculture, organic farming and agroecology and what it could mean for the future of farming. Matilda brought her father along to the first one with the promise of a pint and they both ended up attending the whole series. Through education and training he became more engaged, invested and involved in changes on the farm. He also met other individuals through this who had already made positive changes with no regrets which aided in supporting Matilda’s changes.

Through several discussion we also gathered that he was concerned about getting to and from the cattle and bringing them in alone. This is something he had always been able to do and wished to still do but with aging and the increased distance to the parlour he was concerned he wouldn’t be able to. The compromise was that Matilda’s father was bought a UTV to replace the ATV he could no longer get on and Matilda taught him how to run her cattle dog. Of course, this had its own environmental impact but we felt it was a compromise and the best way to continue involving him with the land he had taken care of for decades.

Matilda continued to remind her father of the benefits, especially to the biodiversity of the farm which had become important to him. This helped remind him of what he had learnt previously and of the benefits he was seeing.

How I supported the farm

I aimed to support Buttercup farm through regular meetings - on farm, in the pub, on the phone to discuss hiccups, difficulties and further solutions. This did prove difficult as they were not chargeable due to this being the first farm I have aided in implementing these changes and therefore was not easy to sell to my boss!

Because of this, I then set up a farmers discussion group. I tried to group farmers with similar environmental aims and joined them for the first few sessions. We set these up monthly in the local pub for 6 months and this continued without me once the sessions came to a close. I feel this filled the gap that I was unable to be there entirely for each farmer with my other workloads and encouraged my boss that a chargeable consultant role may be beneficial in the future now there was more interest.

I always tried to lead by example and not take the ‘easy route’ in prescribing antimicrobials just because an individual asked for them. I try to follow the British Veterinary Associations 7-point plan³when it comes to prescribing antibiotics.

I was also able to talk frankly about the difficulties and lengths of applying for assurance schemes and certifications having been the main driver for our veterinary practice becoming a B-corp. I know how time consuming the paperwork can be!

To engage the rest of our practice team we used trained SQPs to perform worm egg counts at reduced rates for our clients actively working on reducing anthelmintic usage. We then used this to make integrated parasite management plans. SQPs also helped with monitoring such as performing welfare outcomes assessments as mentioned above.

Outcomes and future plans

The outcomes from these changes have been visible even in a just over a year. Birds not seen on farm for years have returned. The soil health has already improved objectively since a year ago.

The outcome of the medicines use audit was that only one calf this year so far needed antibiotic treatment compared to just over 20 last year.

Sticking points arose with newborn calves and outdoor rearing with Matilda’s father which was resolved with the use of outdoor calf huts. They also used calf jackets in winter. In the worst winter weather newborn calves were still kept indoors but were able to use the newer building most of the time because the cows were still outdoors.

We have future plans to support Buttercup Farms’ move to certified organic, and to join the RSPCA and Soil Association assurance schemes which Matilda and her husband have experience of with their previous tenant farm. I am also looking at supporting them with their application for ‘Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier’ government grant for their areas of woodland. This is of particular interest to Matilda’s father who is now fully engaged in the changes, especially those that encourage birds back to the farm!

(Please note, this case study has been annonymised)

References

• Soil mentor monitoring guide

“Soil Monitoring Guide.” 2025. Soilmentor. Available at: https://soils.vidacycle.com/so.... (Accessed: 29 December 2025)

• stagmerlinapp2

stagmerlinapp2 (no date) Merlin Bird ID - Home, Merlin Bird ID - Free, instant bird identification help and guide for thousands of birds. Available at: https://merlin.allaboutbirds.o... (Accessed: 29 December 2025).

• British Veterinary Association

British Veterinary Association (no date) Responsible use of antimicrobials in veterinary practice poster, British Veterinary Association. Available at: https://www.bva.co.uk/resource... (Accessed: 29 December 2025).

• Vet Sustain

A veterinary approach to sustainable food and farming (no date) Learn with Vet Sustain and Partners. Available at: https://learn.vetsustain.org/c... (Accessed: 29 December 2025).