The Logan family from Ayrshire, Scotland has been announced this year’s winner of the National Milk Records (NMR) Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) Gold Cup.
The family received the honour at Dairy-Tech yesterday (Wednesday, February 1).
The award considers elements of production, inspection and genetic management, and aims to award all-round excellence in the dairy sector.
The monetary value of the cup changes with the price of gold but it is worth near £100,000, according to NMR.
The Logan family
The Logan family partnership is now in its fifth generation and consists of brothers Alex, Tom and Hugh, alongside Tom’s sons Alistair and Stuart.
The 280 Holstein cows in the Logan’s herd averaged 10,500kg of milk at 4.1% butterfat and 3.4% protein on twice-a-day milking for the qualifying year to September 2021.
The family’s milk is sold to Muller – the largest milk supplier and distributor in Great Britain.
The family credits their success to the use of technology and data to maximise the health and welfare of their herd.
Dairy-Tech 2023 awards
Four further awards were made as part of the Gold Cup presentations at Dairy-Tech yesterday.
The Chris May Memorial Award, for the Gold Cup qualifying herd with the highest lifetime daily yield, was awarded to the Torrance family from Stapleford Abbotts, near Romford in Essex.
Their Curtismill pedigree Holstein herd, comprising 670 cows and 430 followers, achieved an average lifetime daily yield of 22.30kg of milk/cow/day.
The dairy business is run by John Torrance in partnership with his father, Robert, his mother, Janet, and his wife, Lucy. The Torrance family won the Gold Cup back in 2020.
The NMR Silver Salver, awarded to the qualifying herd with the highest combined fat and protein production, was presented to Messrs Harvey of Drum Farm, Beeswing, Dumfries.
Brothers John and Stuart, along with their mother Margaret, manage the herd of 300 pedigree Holstein cows.
The family’s Killywhan herd achieved a combined fat and protein yield of 1,017kg/cow and 14,267kg of milk on three-times-a-day milking.
Robert, Lorraine and Mark Hunter of West Tarbrax Farm, Lanarkshire were crowned the winners of the Lilyhill Cup, which is awarded to the Gold Cup qualifying Jersey herd with the highest combined fat and protein.
The Hunter’s Clydevalley Jerseys of 160 milking cows achieved a combined weight of 878.42kg/cow. The cows are yielding 8,063kg of milk at 6.97% fat and 3.93% protein.
The Chairman’s Cup, which is awarded to the herd (except Holstein and Jersey breeds) with the highest combined weight of fat and protein was won by Richard Bell from Wigton, Cumbria.
Richard’s Nerewater pedigree Friesian herd of 70 milking cows had a winning combined fat and protein of 738kg.
The all-year-round calving herd, run on a grass-based system, averages 8,800kg of milk, with 4.40% butterfat and 3.52%protein.
