A COUNTY Durham dairy farm is celebrating after being ranked top in the county by National Milk records.

S Moor & Son of Little Coop House Farm, Haw-thorn, near Murton, has been close to the top on several occasions. "But we have finally done it," said Mr Seymour Moor. "It is great; we never thought it was going to happen.

"We were second last year and did not know if we were going to get the cows yielding any higher but they did achieve a little more."

The top placing was particularly pleasing, coming as it did at the end of a tough year. "It has given us a real lift after such a depressing year in 2000," said Mr Moor.

"Like everyone else we had such a wet period, awful harvest time and struggled to get the straw we needed.

"The returns for everything in farming are disgraceful really, although milk has got back to about 18ppl after 13ppl in June."

Mr Moor, his wife, Mary, and son, Bill, milk 100 Holstein cows which averaged 9,350kg in 1999/2000, compared with 8,976kg the previous year.

The farm started with pedigree British Friesian cows in the early 1960s and drifted in to Holstein because of the higher yield potential.

"I had an aunt who emigrated to Canada and used to say we should get into Holstein because they were the highest yielders in the world," said Mr Moor, whose herd is now almost 100pc Holstein.

The family farms 300 acres in total, of which 100 acres is pasture and short term leys for silage. Re-seeding is carried out fairly often. The rest is arable.

The herd policy is based on twice daily milking, all year calving, and complete diet feeding. It was the switch to a complete diet that saw the improvement in yields.

"We have a feed specialist, Keith Lawson from Thompsons of York, who comes and analyses the silage quality each year and works out the rations from that," said Mr Moor.

They are currently feeding a diet which includes 4kg of rolled wheat per head per day; 2kgs of maize gluten; half a kg of sopratin soya, supplemented in parlour with a 20pc dairy cake.

"The cows are loose housed as we have access to lots of straw in these parts and the feed is in front of them 24 hours a day," said Mr Moor. "We also leave the lights on at night like a lot of farmers do."

Before the switch to a complete diet, the cows were fed ad lib silage in a trough with a standard dairy ration.

"When we switched to the complete diet the yield average was about 7,500kg per cow and we have had a gradual build-up to today's 9,350kg," said Mr Moor.

They have also made more selection on the cows.

"My father used to say keep the best and sell the rest," Mr Moor said. "You have to keep on trying to improve all the time and that is what we are doing.

"I like balanced breeding; a good sound cow with good legs and feet and a sensible build on milk production with fat and protein."

They buy semen mainly from Genus and Semex, with a little from Supersires.

One of the main bulls they have used is Hanoverhill Victor, which they saw on a visit to Canada in 1990. "He became available and we used him for quite a while and got some really good cattle by him," said Mr Moor. "That is when the yield started to go up on the heifers," said Mr Moor. "From then on we have always used bulls with good type and production."

The family has recorded with National Milk Records since 1963. "It is a good system; you get such a lot of useful information through it," said Mr Moor.

They have twice won the trophy for the best cow in the county. The first time was with Little Coop Breeze, followed by Little Coop Debbie 31.

They also employ Mr Michael Roberts on the dairy herd, and he has proved a great asset. He trained with the late Mr Willie Greenhow and is extremely enthusiastic about the cows.

Any bull calves are reared at South Farm, where Mr Bill Moor lives. They are reared to stores, when they are sold at Northallerton mart.

l Runner-up in the Durham NMR awards for 1999-2000 were T & W Alderslade of West Fellgate Farm, Wardley, with a herd yield average of 9,323kg.

B Williamson of Marsfield, Butterknowle, achieved a yield of 8,846kg; Messrs Thomas and Heseltine of East Ketton Farm, Coatham Mundeville, achieved 8,654kg; and D Raper of Stainton Hill Farm, Streatlam, recorded 8,643kg