Located in Sucarral, in the parish of Louseiro, in Sarria (Lugo), Casa Don Manuel is one of AIRA’s partner farms focused on milk production. At the head of this family farm is Manuel López Vázquez, who took over from his parents. Manuel is the third generation specialized in cattle, originally beef cattle and from the mid eighties his parents opted for milk production.
At Casa Don Manuel they have long been committed to a sustainable and comfortable production for their animals, as evidenced by seals such as certification in animal welfare or good hygienic quality practices. In addition, in recent months it has also been one of the farms participating in a study for the measurement and reduction of greenhouse gases developed by Agaca and in which other AIRA partner farms are participating.
At the Casa Don Manuel farm the entire herd is of the Friesian breed. It has 125 animals in production, about 20 dry cows and the rebreeding is about 100 animals. “All the rebreeding on the farm is our own. At certain times we have surpluses, but we try not to overload ourselves with animals, so we cross a lot with beef,” explains Manuel.
Its production is above 39 liters per cow and has qualities of 3.62 fat and 3.27 protein, with a somatic cell count of around 100,000 and bacteriology below 10,000.
“We are considering starting to genotype our animals and we are studying the possibilities that A2A2 milk production can offer
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. “We are considering starting to genotype our animals and we are studying the possibilities that A2A2 milk production can offer, given the profitability it can provide”, explains the farmer. Casa Don Manuel is one of the dairy farms that markets its milk through the Cooperative.
AIRA Wet Mix Guarantees
It has been 10 years since the cattle ranch decided to use the wet-mix service managed by AIRA in Sarria, which provides the ration every day to feed their cattle with quality forages. “It may be a little more expensive than making silage and rations on the farm, but it’s more stable and convenient. It gives you the peace of mind of having guaranteed fodder for the cattle throughout the season, and it is also a homogeneous, quality ration,” the farmer says.
“The wet mix gives you the peace of mind of having a homogeneous and quality ration guaranteed throughout the campaign
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The livestock farm manages some 42 hectares of corn, which it sells directly to the Cooperative to supply the Sarria wet mix plant, and of which it is then also a customer. It also grows another 35 hectares of ryegrass, part of which it sells to the Sarria wet-mix plant and the rest it uses directly to feed dry cows and heifers.
Manuel also works with the Cooperative in other areas of the livestock farm such as veterinary services or supplies, such as manures and fertilizers or seeds for corn and grass. Along with Manuel, two employees also work on this farm, in addition to Manuel’s father who still collaborates in various tasks and contributes his experience.
Published in the July 2021 AIRA newsletter.
