“My name is Calvin Otto and I’m farm manager for AF Member Mark Burgess in Leicestershire. UK dairy consumption is up. We’re in the Arla co-operative on a Tesco contract and, having doubled the herd, now our focus is firmly on further changes to boost productivity, efficiency and profitability."
“Originally, there were about 200 milking Holsteins in old facilities. Mark Burgess looked at putting up a wind turbine or, as we’ve got a canal running through the farm, planning permission for a marina. Both were turned down. So, he decided to invest in a new dairy unit, doubling the herd. I’m glad because there was a job here for me two years ago!
“I think one thing you’ve always got to make sure of when you’re increasing numbers is that what you are doing, you’re doing well before you increase. If you’re not, then by adding more, you just create a bigger problem.
“When I started there were very little health challenges in the cows, easy calving and robust, split into 2 blocks with replacements reared from both. Going forward we will only breed replacements from the autumn block.
“We chose to crossbreed and to make more use of our grazing, so potentially lowering inputs."
“We’re putting in lots of technology to reduce costs, and cut our carbon footprint and scope three emissions and get a premium for our milk for doing so.”
“We’ve got great people here. I couldn’t do this without owner Mark, and he couldn’t do without me and the team. There’s co-operation and great understanding between everybody.
Calvin's team is key for success
“With cross breeding, we built a healthy, strong cow but lost milk production and have stalled on solids. So as part of the Gene Advance system we are now genomic testing our heifers and breeding back to Holsteins, but a more modern Holstein that will graze.
“We’ve reduced our hot water and chemical usage by 80% on the dairy plant by changing to a system called Oxi-Tech. It works on low voltage electricity and water, creates its own biocide. We’re saving about 6,000 litres of bought-in chemical product a year just on our teat spray alone. It’s probably saving us £10-12,000/ year. But there’s been the cost of maintaining the system.
“An example of being more precise, we’ve just bought a GPS system for our tractor to add accuracy: not putting on too much, just the right amount of fertiliser in the right place.”
“I’ve got AF on speed dial so when I’m driving I can ask for prices. You always get straight to the right person. And they know who’s calling, which is nice. I like that.
"AF takes the hassle out which really helps when you’re already in a ‘pressure cooker environment’ trying to get things done."
“I was in Fresh AF in 2024. That was great for getting a bit of perspective, fresh chance to think about things, be with like-minded people. Having met the Fresh AF ’25 group, I see they’re a great group with a lot of interesting visits and opportunities.”
“I think we need to review how we get our dairy meds, use our vet prescription and order the meds through AF. They’ve showed they’d save us a lot of money on some meds. But we need to negotiate a contract with our vets.
“My aim is 30 by ‘30. That’s 30 litres of milk per cow per day by 2030, from the two herds, spring and autumn. We’re currently doing about 26 litres. We average 600 kg milk solids per cow. Our target is 1000 kg but this is very ambitious and will probably take a bit longer to achieve.
“So I’d like to think we can get to 30 by ‘30, without going mad on inputs: still making milk from grass. That’s where I’d like to be.”
