NFU Dairy Board member John Torrance, who farms in partnership with father Robert, mother Janet and wife Lucy in Romford, Essex, was crowned winner of the RABDF Gold Cup at the Dairy-Tech event at Stoneleigh Park in February 2022.
The family received the dairy industry accolade for their work reducing environmental impact, parlour routine, and commitment to disease control and eradication schemes for their herd.
Their Curtismill herd comprises 670 cows and 430 followers and is part of their farming business run on 429 hectares of Crown Estate land. The focus is on efficiency, and they aim to breed cows that will produce 70,000 litres of milk during an average of five lactations.
Hundreds of representatives from across the dairy industry, including NFU Dairy Board chair Michael Oakes, attended the resulting RABDF Gold Cup open day held on the Torrance farm on 5 July 2022.
Activities included farm tours to see the results of the family's work.
John, who represents East Anglia on the NFU Dairy Board, said: “It was a real privilege to host the open day and showcase our farm to the industry. It was great to explain and demonstrate to visitors how we are committed to the care of our animals by operating an efficient and profitable herd.”