But over the years they noticed things starting to slip, with veterinary bills edging upwards and
production dropping below 8,000 litres. Culling was based on health and fertility issues, replacement rate edged up from 20% to 30%, and
they struggled to produce sufficient heifers. Farming at Upper Farm, near Market Drayton, they finally bit the bullet. In 2017, after trips to the USA and France to study the breeds, they switched to
ProCROSS, bringing the three-way cross of
VikingHolstein, Montbéliarde and
A quick start with new strategy The Nixons kick-started the process to change the breed of their herd with the import of 79 ProCROSS heifers from Denmark in 2017.