Graham Willey - Dairy Farmer
Graham is a dairy farmer in the Derwent valley, he and his family have farmed both sides of the valley for many years from his farmhouse in Chopwell. Currently he has 600+ head of dairy cattle plus a herd of Longhorn cows. He and his family are kept busy all year round as apart from feeding the animals and maintaining all of the farm buildings and vehicles, they have to milk all the cows twice a day every day.
Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product.
Cows are pregnant for nine months, farmers usually plan for their cows to give birth to their first calf when they're around two, so heifers (young female cows) will usually be pregnant for the first time when they're around 15 months old. After this, farmers generally aim for their cows to calve again every year.
Dairy cows produce milk for about 10 months after calving. The average UK dairy cow produces almost 8,000 litres of milk each year and has just under four milk producing cycles in her lifetime.
In the UK, dairy cows are traditionally kept in fields in spring and summer when the grass is growing, and housed indoors during the winter. There are two main types of dairy cow housing systems in the UK: cubicles and deep litter yards, Graham uses the deep litter yard method at his farm.
These have bedded areas where the cows can lie down, as they produce more milk whilst relaxing. They usually have a concrete base, covered with a cushioned rubber mat or mattress, which can be topped with bedding material such as sawdust, wood shavings or straw.
Cows are pregnant for nine months, farmers usually plan for their cows to give birth to their first calf when they're around two, so heifers (young female cows) will usually be pregnant for the first time when they're around 15 months old. After this, farmers generally aim for their cows to calve again every year.
Dairy cows produce milk for about 10 months after calving. The average UK dairy cow produces almost 8,000 litres of milk each year and has just under four milk producing cycles in her lifetime.
In the UK, dairy cows are traditionally kept in fields in spring and summer when the grass is growing, and housed indoors during the winter. There are two main types of dairy cow housing systems in the UK: cubicles and deep litter yards, Graham uses the deep litter yard method at his farm.
These have bedded areas where the cows can lie down, as they produce more milk whilst relaxing. They usually have a concrete base, covered with a cushioned rubber mat or mattress, which can be topped with bedding material such as sawdust, wood shavings or straw.