In the first NMR / RABDF Gold Cup column of 2026, Chris Ruffley; Operations and Crops Manager at Harper Adams’ Future Farm, and David Howard; Nutritionist at Carrs Billington Agriculture, take up their pens to explain their approach to forage.
Rising input costs, tightening margins and the industry’s drive towards net zero have sharpened the focus on one of the most powerful levers in dairy performance: Feed conversion efficiency. At the Future Farm, the team’s approach is simple: Plan, grow and feed high quality homegrown forages and proteins so that as much milk as possible is produced from homegrown sources.
That philosophy shapes decisions from seedbed to feed fence. Instead of the traditional cycle where a nutritionist reacts to whatever the silage analysis delivers, the starting question here is different. What does the farm need to grow to optimise health, production and sustainability goals? Working to that brief has reframed cropping, agronomy and rationing as a joined up system rather than a set of isolated tasks.
When forage quality targets are missed, the knock on effects are immediate: Reduced feed intakes, lower milk yield and a heavier reliance on purchased feeds.
We put particular emphasis on homegrown protein, which supplies 51% of the dairy herd’s protein requirements. The farm’s experience with lucerne has been a standout – establishing well, delivering reliable protein and acting as a resilient component in the rotation.
As a deep rooting legume, lucerne complements grass silage by providing a highly palatable, protein rich forage that supports rumen function and helps reduce exposure to volatile protein markets. Protein remains the most expensive nutrient to supply to a dairy cow – and, critically, it is also associated with some of the highest embedded carbon in purchased feeds.
By growing more of our protein on-farm and tightening utilisation, we aim to lower both feed cost per litre and the ration’s carbon footprint.
Cows, of course, are not perfectly efficient at turning dietary protein into milk protein. In fact, they can utilise as little as a quarter of what they consume, with the remainder passing through as nitrogen.
We track efficiency of protein utilisation (EPU) – the percentage of total protein consumed that is ultimately converted into milk protein – through an AI-powered ration management platform (Algomilk). By bringing real time intake and performance data together, we can see how closely protein supply matches requirement across different stages of lactation and quickly adjust when the balance is off.
In routine monitoring, the herd’s EPU has been running in the high 20s to low 30s, reflecting how sensitive utilisation is to precision in ration design and day-to-day consistency at the feed fence. David has been working with the team for nearly three years and has been instrumental in the improvements seen across the herd. This is more than a number on a dashboard.
Improving EPU tightens the link between the field and the bulk tank, better matching metabolisable protein to cow demand reduces unnecessary crude protein in the diet, cuts nitrogen losses, and can lift milk protein yield. In practice, that means less cost and a cleaner emissions profile per litre of milk.
Alongside the structural shift toward homegrown protein, the farm has used protected protein strategically to support rumen undegraded amino acid supply. A notable step was the introduction of AminoMax (heat-treated rapeseed meal) in June 2025.
The aim was to sharpen the amino acid profile and improve the capture of dietary protein in milk – particularly at times when forage protein or rumen degradability don’t align perfectly with cow demand.
Deployed in this way, targeted protein sources act as a precision tool to maximise the value of the forages already in the clamp. The introduction of AminoMax also increased fat synthesis, ultimately increasing the butterfat content in milk.
The Future Farm’s blueprint can be summarised in three linked disciplines:
- Plan for forage first. Decide what to grow based on the cow’s nutritional needs and the desired ration profile.
- Measure protein efficiency. Track EPU through a consistent data platform so that the team can see, weekly, how effectively the diet is converting protein into milk solids.
- Use protected protein precisely. AminoMax heat-tre ated rapeseed aligns amino acid delivery with production goals, improving utilisation.
Each strand supports the others. Better forage quality allows lower purchased inputs per litre. Smarter protein utilisation lowers both ration cost and nitrogen emissions. Precise supplementation ensures the marginal kilo of purchased feed delivers a disproportionately high return in the tank.
Together, they move the system toward the dual targets producers now face: Resilient profitability and credible progress toward net zero.
While every farm’s soils, weather and infrastructure differ, the principles are widely transferable:
- Interrogate your forage plan. Start with the ration you want to feed next winter and work backwards. Consider introducing a legume component like lucerne where agronomy and soils allow.
- Make EPU a key metric. If you don’t measure protein utilisation, you can’t manage it. Benchmark your current EPU and review it alongside milk from forage, milk solids and feed rate at least monthly.
- Be precise with purchased protein. Focus on amino acid supply and degradability, not crude protein percentage.
Our experience shows that when agronomy, nutrition and data are aligned around milk from forage and protein efficiency, herds can lift performance while cutting reliance on volatile global protein markets.
In a year when every percentage point of utilisation and every kilogram of homegrown feed matters, that integrated approach offers a clear route to lower costs and lower carbon, without compromising cow health or output. And finally, we wish you a happy and healthy 2026.