A Veterinary Approach to Sustainable Food and Farming - Case Study from Katharine Benjamin

Katharine Benjamin, livestock veterinarian from Dorset, South West England, is interested in dairy herd health, particularly fertility work and youngstock health. Last year, Katharine completed our online course, ”A Veterinary Approach to Sustainable Food and Farming”, (delivered in partnership with Vet Sustain), to further her knowledge and help farmers achieve sustainability goals.. This article outlines her final project, focused on integrating sustainability into farm veterinary practice.

How to support a farm animal client transition to more sustainable methods of farming?

Farm Overview

This case study focuses on a 240-cow Holstein-Friesian dairy farm milking year-round for a supermarket contract. Replacements and beef calves are reared off-site; beef calves are reared until around 18 months-old and sold for finishing if not ready for slaughter. Grazing is limited due to farm geography and a busy road. Home-grown maize and silage are fed in winter, but yields have been inconsistent in recent years.

Established by Mr. Squires, the farm is now managed by his daughter Michelle and her herdsman Isaac. Succession is being discussed with Michelle’s son Archie, who is interested in converting the parlour to a robotic milking system, requiring significant investment in housing and a new parlour.

The farm faces an ongoing issue with environmental mastitis (S. Uberis) linked to poor field conditions; heifers are calving down with mastitis issues which is dramatically reducing their fertility and efficiency from the first lactation. 

Key Sustainability Issues

1. Biodiversity Loss: Monoculture pastures and arable crops with pesticide use on limited, intensively farmed land (80 hectares).

2. Soil Degradation: Intensive farming has lowered soil quality, necessitating more fertilizer. Set-stocking leads to overgrazing, erosion, waterlogged areas causing mastitis, and bare soil prone to cracking.

3. Anthelmintic Usage: Ivermectins are primary wormers, with no studies of soil health (e.g. assessment of dung beetle populations) conducted. 

4. Efficiency and Disease: High environmental mastitis rates in heifers, impacting fertility and costing £30k per annum. Poor calf nutrition hinders growth, and replacement heifers often miss breeding weight. 

5. Land Sparing / Sharing: No current efforts to improve biodiversity; land limitations hinder sparing, but sharing is possible.

Barriers to Change

1. Finances - The farm requires significant financial investment for a robotic milking system, but there's uncertainty about Archie's long-term commitment to farming. The 30-year-old parlor and inadequate calving facilities add to the financial pressures.

2. Succession - Archie shows limited interest in milking and will not commit to a long-term decision about his place on the farm.

3. Mindset - Herdsman Isaac, with 20+ years experience, is resistant to the idea of robots and operates separately from the other farm units, hindering integration.

Practical Solutions

1. Invest in Robotic Milking System and New Housing - Investing in a robotic milking system and new housing offers significant sustainability benefits due to limited grazing. This allows for efficient nutrition management, feeding concentrates to yield and improving overall feed conversion efficiency. Tighter control during the transition period reduces metabolic diseases and prevents over-fattening of cows in late lactation. A consistent environment minimizes stress in the herd and decreases mastitis rates by avoiding muddy pastures harboring S. Uberis, consequently increasing yields, improving fertility and reducing involuntary culling. Housing changes necessitate improved slurry management, reducing GHG emissions. These efficiencies shrink the farm's carbon footprint and enhance animal and staff welfare. Freed from milking duties, staff can focus on youngstock, improving heifer breeding weights and accelerating beef calf finishing, alongside gaining leisure time and better mental health.

2. Herbal Leys – Current pasture management has led to soil degradation and biodiversity loss. Herbal leys (a mix of grasses, legumes, and herbs), can be oversown or re-seeded, lasting ideally four years for maximum soil health benefits. Plant diversity enhances nutrient exchange and mineral availability, potentially reducing the need for mineral supplementation. Herbal leys improve soil resilience to extreme weather, acting as a sponge in heavy rain and retaining moisture in dry summers. Deep roots aid carbon sequestration. After four years, leys can be rotated with cash crops for four years before reverting.

3. Mob and Rotational Grazing – While the milking herd will be housed, replacements and beef youngstock can graze herbal leys. Use strip grazing with electric fencing rather than set-stocking to prevent selective grazing of more palatable species. A high stocking density for short periods ensures even ley consumption and increases soil fertility as manure is trampled in. Rest grazed areas for a minimum of 30 (ideally 60-90) days to allow plant recovery. This rotational grazing maximizes the benefits of herbal leys for both animal nutrition and soil health on both the main farm and nearby rearing unit.

4. Integrated Parasite Management Plan – Herbal leys, containing chicory, sainfoin, and birdsfoot trefoil, act as natural anthelmintics. Condensed tannins in these plants disrupt parasite life cycles and reduce bloat risk. Grazing livestock on these pastures, combined with regular worm egg counts (WECs), should significantly reduce ivermectin use. Monitoring pasture risk levels and daily live weight gain (DLWG) will further aid parasite management. Active growth rate monitoring will improve growth rates, leading to earlier breeding heifers and faster finishing for beef animals, enhancing efficiency and profitability. More heifers available for breeding sooner allows for targeted heifer replacement breeding and development of a more robust beef rearing unit.

5. Dietary Methane Reduction – feeding a supplement that reduces enteric methane emissions could reduce emissions in the milking herd by up to 30%. The supplement works by suppressing the enzyme that converts hydrogen and carbon dioxide, produced by ruminant digestion, into methane. 

Supporting the Farm Team

The changes proposed require a complete overhaul of how the farm is run and a huge financial investment; the clients will bear both the cost of investment and the risk that it may not be successful. A mindset change is required across all staff on farm as well as ample training to understand the new system - this will be a big ask for staff that are decades into their career. The decision must only be made once everyone is on board with these changes and feels adequately supported to achieve success. 

Participatory health planning will be key to ensure the barriers to change can be addressed by all stakeholders on farm. The process should involve the entire farm team (not just the owner and stockman), the veterinary team, the nutritionists and farm consultants as a minimum. Potential barriers based on the COM-B model of human behaviours include:

Implementing the proposed changes requires a significant overhaul and financial investment, carrying inherent risks. Success hinges on a complete mindset shift and comprehensive training for all staff, a considerable undertaking for long-term employees. The decision must only be made once everyone is on board with these changes and feels adequately supported to achieve success. 

Participatory health planning is crucial to address barriers collaboratively with the entire farm team, including veterinary professionals, nutritionists, and farm consultants. Potential barriers based on the COM-B model of human behaviours include:

1. Capability – Farm staff have varying experience, and none have worked with robots. Training will be necessary, though arable staff may possess transferable engineering skills for basic robotic milk machine maintenance. Robot installation could extend Isaac's career by reducing physical strain and allowing him to mentor Archie as he transitions into running the farm .  Extra veterinary time could potentially be funded by schemes like the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, with regular team meetings to ensure support from all stakeholders.

2. Opportunity – Change is contingent on significant financial investment (loans). Peer support is strong, as farming friends already use robots, and Michelle and Archie had a positive farm visit to them. The veterinary practice encourages all farmers to join their sustainability group for peer learning and hosts annual on-farm meetings to showcase sustainable farming practices.

3. Motivation – Archie's decision regarding his farm involvement is the primary driver for change. Succession planning and system adaptation offer a sustainable future income. Employing SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) is recommended to maintain enthusiasm and ensure achievable changes.

Setting an Example

Our practice has many vets invested in the future of sustainable farming and we will be available through every step of the farm’s journey towards sustainability. We provide on-farm advice, health planning, and data analysis to support these changes.  Our specialized sustainability group offers targeted farmer training and peer to peer support and comparison. As their routine vet, I will guide them through their sustainability journey and beyond. Our practice is committed to corporate social responsibility and encourages clients to adopt sustainable practices. 

Fundamentally the most sustainable method of farming is producing food from animals that have the highest possible welfare, that are free from disease and run in the most efficient system whilst limiting, and in the future avoiding, having a detrimental effect on the environment. 

Summary

This case study forms part of the assessment criteria on the VetSalus and Vet Sustain course “A Veterinary Approach to Sustainable Food and Farming”. Our May 2025 cohort is now underway, with our next cohort starting in November 2025. To find out more and to secure your place in our next cohort, please visit our dedicated learning platform: https://learn.vetsalus.com/pages/a-veterinary-approach-to-sustainable-food-and-farming.