Marlon CST Heatguard has boosted milk yield at Bloor’s Farm near Warrington, Cheshire, where Matthew Bloor farms alongside his father Andrew, running a herd of over 300 dairy cows on a predominantly autumn block-calving system. Needing more space, the Bloors brought in a second-hand building, extended and adapted it, and fitted it with Marlon CST Heatguard roofing to turn it into a new milking shed.
“Such an Easy Thing to Do”
Matthew and one other person installed the roofing themselves. As he puts it:
“Myself and another guy installed it and it was such an easy, easy thing to do. There’s no cutting — it’s literally just some pre-drilling and away you go.”
Why Heatguard
Matthew chose Heatguard for two reasons: the wellbeing of both his livestock and his staff, and the heat conditions inside the shed. The difference shows up directly in how the shed is run day to day — no fans are needed, and the lights are on far less than in the other sheds on the farm. The extra daylight didn’t stop at this one shed, either — it reached the surrounding sheds too, lifting light levels across the farm as a whole.
“It puts so much more light into the shed. It’s not just created light in the shed that it’s in — it’s also created light across the farm.”
How Marlon CST Heatguard Boosts Milk Yield
The clearest impact has been on yield. Despite a poorer forage year, Matthew has seen a lift in milk yield — with nothing else on the farm changed apart from the shed roof. Block calving has also shortened by two months, which the Bloors have found has improved the farm’s efficiency and profitability. Heat detection and reproductive performance have both improved as well.
“The impact on the environment of the shed with the heat guard is we’ve had a massive lift in yield. We’ve had poorer forage this year, but we’ve still had a lift in yield, and we’ve cut down two months off our block calving — and there’s nothing else changed apart from the shed.”
Matthew has also found the cost held up well against the alternative — pricing came out comparable to fibre cement sheeting, with the added benefit of a 15-year manufacturers warranty.
Would He Use It Again?
“I would definitely use the Marlon CST Heatguard again, without a doubt. We’ve had a few people come and see it, and as soon as anybody walks into the building, it’s a wow aspect. It’s a game changer all around on the farm — for staff and for the dairy.”
Thinking about a similar project on your own farm? Get in touch with the Agri-Therm team to talk through whether Heatguard is the right fit.
Bloor’s Farm’s results have also been covered independently by industry press — see Building Talk’s coverage of the Heatguard installation.
