Adapting Conventional Farming for a Better Future
by Josie Fraser, Researcher & Writer for the Highland Good Food Partnership
Vegan diets are becoming more popular as concerns for the environment and animal welfare are becoming mainstream. But one Scottish farm might have the answer to enable people to continue consuming dairy products without harming the planet.
Meet Wilma and David Finlay from the Ethical Dairy at Rainton Farm in Dumfries and Galloway.
David and Wilma Finlay on their farm in Dumfries and Galloway.
Having converted to organic in 2001, motivated by environmental concerns, Wilma and David continued to challenge the conventional dairy farming processes. In 2012, the Finlays decided to make big changes to their farm and built a new dairy parlour to accommodate their pioneering cow-with-calf system. While conventional dairy farms separate the calf from its mother, sometimes as early as a few hours after birth, Wilma and David’s cow-with-calf system allows the two to remain together. After a rocky start, a bit of a back-track, securing some funding for the project and a three year trial period, the Finlays have named it a success! So we got in touch with these innovative farmers to learn more about their project.
How does the process work?
At Rainton Farm, calves are now reared with their mothers until they are 5-6 months old. After 6-8 weeks they are separated only at night by a rail fence to prevent the calf feeding, however, the two can still touch noses. As well as to ensure there is enough milk to go around, this nightly separation prepares the calves for weaning in a more natural, transitional way. But Wilma and David weren’t going to stop there. To reduce stress for the cow even more, the milking process also became more ethical. In her own cubicle in the parlour, from which she can see what is going on around her, the cow is milked from in front of her legs, contrary to most parlours, which is more natural as the calves feed this way. Furthermore, the cows are milked once a day (instead of twice) whilst the calves are still suckling, in order not to put them under too much pressure.
But the transition to this new system brought challenges that the Finlays could never have predicted. Like many of us would also think to be true, Wilma and David assumed that since the calf was getting milk from its mother for a longer time, it would have a greater immunity than bucket reared calves. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Wilma explained to us why:
“Cows have low lying levels of disease that don’t really affect them. But during the winter, when the cows and calves are indoors, the shed harbours these pathogens and the calves suffer from diseases we weren’t even aware we had on the farm.”
How did they tackle this unexpected challenge?
“We had to really increase our hygiene and ensure that every calf drank good colostrum (we learnt that some cows’ colostrum is better than others) and we introduced environmental inoculation to the shed to keep harmful bacteria levels down. This is done by spraying the shed daily with probiotic bacteria.”
Wilma also told us that, “There will always be challenges that will almost always revolve around money. We are tenants on the farm. We can’t offer much security to banks for loans. So we have to go to friends and family for loans. We would never want to default on a loan. The current pandemic is an extreme example of the type of crisis that can knock your financial plans off course.”
So was making this big change really worth it?
Rainton Farm has noted a great reduction in stress and improved health of the livestock, with natural, happier behaviours being exhibited. But that’s not all; cows are living longer (some up to 18 years!) and doubling their productive life, all while having a higher than expected productivity. Even the male calves, reared for beef, are growing twice as fast as before. Sounds impressive? Well, it gets better…
In 2018, the farm launched the Ethical Dairy brand. But this new brand does not only suit the farm because of the way they are treating their livestock. With a new approach to farming focused on helping rather than hindering the environment, the farm has cut their greenhouse gas emissions and energy usage by over half. Its organic approach cut antibiotic and agro-chemical use by 90% and replaced them with a closed-loop system where the livestock waste is converted into energy and fertiliser to improve the soil. And by planting native trees and creating ponds for insects, they have seen farm biodiversity increase five-fold.
Photographs from the fields of Rainton Farm.
Now that the Finlays have proven that a production system which is ethical and productive is achievable, it seems like there is no reason for other farmers not to follow their example. Wilma offered some insight, saying:
“Younger farmers and new entrants will be more likely to adopt new approaches like this as they won’t have the same peer pressure that experienced farmers face. However, for any dairy it will almost certainly mean that they will have to process their milk and sell directly to the public. The large dairy processors will not be interested in launching products from a system unless there is very significant supply within a tight geographical area.” Wilma’s message to farmers looking to make such a positive change is this: “It is a fast-growing market – admittedly from a very small base. But if you build your audience either locally or on social media, the public will be very loyal to you.”
So, what changes does somebody like Wilma, who has done so much to improve animal welfare and support the environment, want to see happening to the food system in Scotland?
“The only form of subsidy should be for public good – biodiversity, carbon sequestration, soil building, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reduced chemical usage, animal welfare, nutritional food, fair work practices.” That certainly sounds good to me!
The decisions and challenges faced at Rainton Farm have been far from easy, but Wilma and David have exactly the right amount of innovation and determination to make it work. This is what we want to showcase with the Highland Good Food Partnership: ideas and innovations for new ways of farming along with new ways of distributing and consuming food to create food systems that are sustainable, ethical, efficient and localised.
You can read up more about the Ethical Dairy, here.
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