Sustainable Farming Case Study Series: Mia Ellis

Mia graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2019 and enjoys all aspects of farm practice, particularly bull fertility and herd health planning. She is currently completing a masters in sustainable agriculture and food security, and loves figure skating, running and working on craft projects! Here she shares a case study providing insight into the sustainability challenges and solutions at one of her clients arable and beef suckler farms in Essex.

Farm History

The family moved from Yorkshire to this estuary farm in Essex in 1954, where they have run a mixed arable and livestock system ever since. There are historical flood defences in place such as sea walls and a dam which prevent the lower fields flooding. The farm consists of marsh land, heavy clay fields and conservation grazing owned by the Essex Wildlife Trust. The main historical farm enterprises have been arable including peas, beans, wheat and barley alongside store cattle brought from market. It used to comprise of the farm owner and 3-4 workers but for the last 20 years it has relied on the farmer and one additional worker.

Current Farm Summary

In 2014 the youngest son returned home to take over the business, first learning under his father with the ownership of the farm transferring to him in 2019. At this point the farming system was drastically changed, with the start of a suckler herd and moving away from conventional arable to agroecological practices. The current enterprises are listed in Table 1, these have developed over the last 4 years. The farm is now accredited by Pasture For Life (PFLA) and in its second year of organic conversion. This farm is a total of 650 acres with 150 acres of additional rough grazing.

Table 1: Farm enterprises and their specifics in 2019 vs 2023.

Unfortunately, shortly after buying the first 11 Red Poll cattle to start the suckler herd an issue with abortions arose leading to a vet being called out, which was me. Therefore, I have been fortunate to be involved with this changing system from the beginning and this report is a summary of the key sustainability issues the farm has and is continuing to face and some of the solutions that have been trialed.

Key Sustainability Issues and Solutions Implemented

The main issues that the farmer and I have discussed tend to pertain to animal welfare and how to manage it in this system. I have listed the issues in the order they arose rather than the order they make logical sense in. The solutions listed are the ones the farmer is currently using.

Disease Status

Sustainability point: the presence of disease reduces the productivity of an animal, therefore increasing their environmental impact.

Current status:

• Initial groups of animals brought onto farm to start the herd were not tested for any disease. Due to abortions occurring in 4/11 of the first group of cow’s disease testing was started and Neospora was diagnosed. The investigation didn’t go any further.

• Two more sets of cattle were brought in the second year, again untested and further abortions and dummy calves resulted. Diagnostic testing of all adult cattle was done for IBR, BVD, Johnes, Neospora and Leptospirosis. Unfortunately, there were positives to all of the above diseases.

• Testing was done prepurchase for the Beef Shorthorns brought in the third year, with annual screening of all adult animals.

• BVD and IBR free status, action plans for neospora and Johnes control.

• Vaccination for Leptospirosis, due to cattle grazing in ponds, ditches and streams and the farmer wanting this ecological benefit the decision to use vaccination rather than fence of these risk areas was made.

Vet’s role:

• Inform farmers of the disease pathogenicity and the relevant risks to their animals. For this farm the main risk came from Neospora causing abortions and dummy calves, which was reducing the farms productivity, causing an increase in BCS of cows that lost calves and labour intensive assisting dummy calves to feed.

  • Neospora is spread in the faeces of infected dogs.

  • Dogs become infected by eating foetal fluids or abortion material from an infected dam.

  • Once infected the cow always carriers the disease and it can affect subsequent births, causing abortions, dummy calves or poor fertility.

  • There is very little spread through wildlife, deer and foxes have been shown to be intermediate hosts like cattle, therefore they could contribute to the dog infection but don’t directly spread to cattle (Almería. 2013).

• Inform farmers of industry regulations e.g. this farmer was new to owning breeding cattle and wasn’t aware that cattle abortions need to be reported to APHA and that testing is normally required (DEFRA & APHA. 2018). Consequently, upon arrival the cattle were out in a field with no access to a handling facility, however the farmer had saved one of the aborted foetuses so testing compliance was upheld.

• Introduce them to industry schemes such as CHECS health scheme and suggest buying from accredited herds.

Farmers goal: to have disease free status of IBR, BVD, Neospora, Johnes and Leptospirosis. Minimal interventions due to disease required. To allow community engagement with the farm without risking animal health.

Solutions:

• Test all farm dogs for Neospora and don’t allow them into calving fields.

• Do not keep heifer calves from Neospora positive animals.

• Do not keep any calves from Johnes positive animals.

• Cull Neospora and Johnes positive animals when appropriate.

• Fence the footpath that runs through the farm, this was especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic due to increased frequency of walkers on the footpath.

• Buy animals from CHECS accredited herds, isolate on arrival and test before introducing into the herd.

• Join an accreditation scheme which helps provide yearly prompts to monitor these diseases and constructive ways of managing them.

  

  
  

Mutilations

Sustainability point: there is a negative impact on animal welfare during the mutilation such as castration or disbudding and is viewed poorly by citizens. If the mutilation is poorly handled it can affect growth rates, increase antimicrobial use and have ongoing welfare implications.

This was something the farmer came to me for advice on before the calves were born. The motivation to not cause harm was strong, mutilations went against the farm ethos and are also contraindicated in organic standards. We discussed rubber band castrations, surgical castrations, crushing methods and their relevant rules, pros and cons. A large concern was pain relief and flies at the time of year they would be castrated, due to not using synthetic pyrethroids to control fly burdens.

Solutions:

• Rubber band castrate with NSAIDs given at the same time.

• Do not rubber band castrate a calf that is weak or has undescended testicles.

• Use polled breeds or aim to breed in polled genetics.

• Trial not disbudding calves and monitor the herds dynamic.

Parasite management

Sustainability point: the chemicals used to control endo and ectoparasites are insecticides which harm non-target species such as dung beetles and parasitic wasps.

This was a topic of conversation that came up when introducing brought in groups of cattle together. As the farm had no cattle on its pastures for 2 years there was little risk of incoming cattle getting parasitic burdens off the land but they could bring them in. The farmer was concerned about using anthelmintics because of the negative effect on dung beetles.

Solution:

• Cattle that are brought in should be wormed with a yellow drench (levamisole) while housed then turned out into the isolation paddock 3-4 days after worming.

• This is the only time cattle are wormed unless clinically required, this should be based off faecal egg counting.

• The farm doesn’t have a history of liver fluke but does graze marsh land, therefore abattoir feedback is important along with monitoring for clinical signs.

• Cattle are grazed on herbal lays which contain species such as birdsfoot trefoil and sainfoin that have anthelmintic properties (Picture 5). Farmer is aware that these don’t treat gastrointestinal parasite infections just aid in their prevention.

Nutrition

Sustainability point: what cattle eat has a huge impact on their methane emissions and net carbon emissions. Pasture grazed animals emit more methane per productive unit, although if the number of animals remains stable methane emissions are net zero as methane is naturally removed from the atmosphere. Grazing cattle also contribute to the natural carbon cycle and help the sequestration of carbon, improve soil structure and biodiversity.

Farmers goal: to rear the cattle only on diverse pasture, rotating around fields to prevent over-grazing, improve fertility of the soil for arable uses and increase the ecosystem diversity.

Vet’s role:

• Provide information about body condition of the cattle, as they were noted to have high BCS at several visits. Educate about the risks of high BCS including calving issues and potential abattoir penalties for too fat carcasses.

• Learn from the farmer about their grazing management and the types of pasture the animals are fed on. This can alter diagnosis for mineral based conditions and reduces the risk of seeing things like hypocalcaemia post calving.

Solutions:

• Vet or Vet Tech to do practical training with the farmer on how to BCS and when it should be done. This is a great monitoring tool to aid grazing management especially when out-wintering.

• Monitor calf growth rates using a weigh tape for the first 4-6 months, depending on the size of the animal. This is easy to do when born and when they are run through a race for other reasons. Provides information on the dam’s milk quantity and quality which might aid in breeding decisions later down the line.

Large Scale Practical Solutions

This is a solo run farm with occasional help from his father. Although both parents part own the farm with their son so they have a say in any major financial decisions. The only other consultant used is an agronomist and they have not been included in any livestock discussion. From my perspective as an outsider, I was concerned about cattle handling, lone working and the safety issues that come alongside that, which the farmer agreed with. The farmer was interested to see if there was another solution to abattoirs for slaughter.

Solution 1: Permanent handling system

• This is a large investment and although the farmer could see the benefits the father was uncertain due to the cost. I tried to incentivise this change by providing the information about the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund 2023 (Rural Payments Agency. 2023).

• The farmer found funding from a railroad company looking to offset an expansion. They have paid for the 6m wide fenced foot path, permanent handling system using the foot path as a race and the conversion of the middle of the farm into a semi-managed rewilding project.

• This system will allow easy handling for preventative measures such as vaccines, weight checks and pregnancy scanning. Hopefully removing some of the barriers to monitoring cattle health.

Solution 2: Participatory herd health plan

• This should involve all team members which include the farmers parents. However, it was agreed that the farmer and I should do the health plan and present a summary to the parents as ultimately, they do not work with the livestock on a daily basis.

• The farmer presents some areas he would like to address in advance and we start with those issues then move onto what is required for the certification bodies.

• Discuss breeding KPIs as this can be a complex subject but it is good to solidify the common goal. For this farmer it is easy calving dams with good mothering instincts and milk. For the Beef Shorthorns polled animals are the goal. Technology can help with this record keeping.

Solution 3: Technology

• This can make managing livestock so much simpler. I have suggested using Moo Call as the cows calve outside it would make checking them throughout the night less stressful.

• Discussion over No Fence technology instead of using electric fencing to move the cattle. This farmer asked around and was told anecdotal evidence that they don’t work on polled animals as they lose the collars. Although the labour benefits are noted I don’t believe this is the right technology currently for this farmer.

• Health tracking apps such as Herdwatch to record medicine usage or disease noted while out on farm. The barrier to this style of app uptake is too much online information and not enough peer discussion about the different apps available. Lack of time to research for themselves is another issue. This could be an area where our vet practice could organise a farmer focus group to review the apps with some representatives.

• Tracking of farm changes by putting up digital cameras that take photos of the farm over time. Having this visual representation of how this farmers changes are impacting the farm and wider ecosystem might provide a positive reminder of their impact and keep them motivated. Similarly lack of time has prevented this occurring so far.

• Social media! This is a great way of becoming part of a community in what can be quite an isolating profession, especially if you are making the large changes this farmer is

Vet and Practice Role

• Lead by example, I have signed our practice onto the IIE scheme and we are working towards our bronze accreditation. This is advertised at our practice, along with our Bee Friendly scheme for which I built a wildflower box.

• I have done further education in sustainable farming, including a masters which is mentioned under my biography on our website. Hopefully for new clients joining this will provide the assurance that it is part of our practice ethos.

• I work to try and connect farms in the local area that are doing similar practices, we can facilitate groups of like-minded farmers to share ideas and reduce the isolation felt in these jobs. For example, this farm is looking into home slaughter as an option:

  • I have worked on a farm local to them whose son runs a butchers and works only with whole carcasses. I have connected the two enterprises together to work out the end side of the supply chain.

  • I am aware of some colleagues in a different branch that do ante-mortem inspections so have got a meeting with them to work out what role I can offer.

  • I met another vet on a course that works with a mobile butchers in Devon who I have got the contact information for and passed onto this farmer to hopefully run through the specifics with him.

  • This would all work to shorten the supply chain, provide local well reared beef to local citizens, the farmer gets the premiums deserved for PFLA and organic beef as well as not get penalised at an abattoir for high proportions of fat.

• All vets should support agroecological farming at every visit we attend and not participate in isolation behaviour of these farms.

• Uphold our animal welfare policy on all farms and discuss improvements at any opportunity.

Overall, it has been a pleasure to work with this farmer, I have learnt so much and I hope I get to continue on with their journey alongside them.

References

Almería, S. (2013). Neospora caninum and Wildlife, International Scholarly Research Notices. https://doi.org/10.5402/2013/947347

DEFRA & APHA. (2018) Brucellosis: how to spot and report the disease. GOV.UK. Online at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/brucellosis#key-legislation-relating-to-brucellosis [accessed 16/07/2023]

Rural Payments Agency. (2023). Guidance about the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund 2023. GOV.UK. Online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/farming-equipment-and-technology-fund-fetf-2023/about-the-farming-equipment-and-technology-fund-fetf-2023 [accessed: 16/07/2023]