Long Lane Development Farm: Where Evidence, Welfare and Practical Innovation Come Together

At Buitelaar Group, progress begins on farm. Built on transparency, long-term partnerships and a belief that knowledge should be shared not gate kept. Long Lane Development Farm represents our commitment to advancing the future of calf rearing through proven, practical, evidence-led systems. Rearing more than 8,000 calves each year, Long Lane Development Farm is the UK’s largest dedicated calf-rearing research and development facility. It provides a controlled, commercial-scale environment where we rigorously test, validate and refine best practice across every element of early-life management. Here, science meets stockmanship, and real-world farming informs robust, repeatable data that strengthens our supply chain from field to fork. Our mission is clear: to build rearing systems that are effective, efficient and higher-welfare not by assuming what works, but by proving it.

Why Long Lane Development Farm Exists

Long Lane Development Farm was created to understand, measure and improve every stage of calf rearing under real conditions. Rather than relying on theory, we built a platform capable of generating meaningful, large scale datasets thousands of animals per year under coordinated routines and independently audited protocols.

With a dedicated agricultural team, a structured 10-week rearing programme, and auditing from Synergy Farm Health, the facility allows us to test variables rarely possible on commercial farms while remaining grounded in practical husbandry.

The evidence generated feeds directly into our supply chain and supports the long-term sustainability of the family farmer economically, environmentally and operationally.

What We’re Proving: Outcomes That Matter

The progress seen at Long Lane Development Farm demonstrates the power of prevention-first management and precisely controlled environments:

• 60% reduction in antibiotic use (2020–2022)
• 1.3kg average daily live weight gain

These results are not driven by any single intervention, but through combining optimal housing design, ventilation, temperature control, feed consistency, hygiene, vaccination strategy and early-life immune management.

As CEO Adam Buitelaar notes, “The easiest way to reduce antibiotics is to prevent the calf from getting sick in the first place.” That ethos underpins every trial and every system at Long Lane.

Research Driving Practical Progress

Our work covers nutrition, housing, welfare, feed efficiency, natural health solutions, building typology and environmental control each trial designed to be both scientifically robust and commercially relevant.

Through our Trials Committee and partnerships with global pharmaceutical, nutrition and veterinary leaders, we explore incremental improvements and major step-change innovations. Alongside research for our own supply chain, Long Lane Development Farm also operates as a trusted platform for external commercial trials, ensuring emerging products and technologies are validated under real farming conditions before reaching the wider market.

Nutrition and Feed Efficiency Research

Our feed and milk studies examine how different formulations, ingredient profiles and feeding regimes affect growth, gut health and immunity. These trials directly inform the development of Buitelaar’s own milk powders and feeding systems, ensuring they perform under commercial pressure, not just in theory.

Environmental and Housing Trials

We assess how ventilation type, airspeed, insulation (U-values and K-values), drainage design, bedding strategies and grouping patterns influence calf welfare and performance. This work has shaped the development of our High Health Units structures proven to enhance growth and reduce pathogen burden across diverse UK climates.

Immunity, Disease Prevention and Early-Life Health

One of the most significant advancements from Long Lane Development Farm is ImmunIGY, the world’s first commercial lateral-flow test for bovine IgG. Developed with SOMA Bioscience and Synergy Farm Health, the test measures the calf’s antibody status on arrival, enabling early identification of suboptimal immunity and targeted management long before illness develops.

This breakthrough is already transforming early-life decision-making and supporting reduced antibiotic use across dairy and rearing farm partners.

A Platform for Knowledge Transfer

Sharing what we learn is central to LLDF's purpose. Each year, we welcome farmers, vets, researchers, students and supply chain partners to the facility.

Our most recent Open Day brought together more than 400 visitors for discussions spanning nutrition, health, regenerative agriculture, technology innovation and housing design. Demonstration areas including converted lower cost buildings for comparison ensure findings remain relevant across a wide range of farm systems and investment levels.

Looking Ahead: A Blueprint for the Future of British Calf Rearing

Long Lane Development Farm continues to evolve as new technology, building materials, nutritional advancements and digital tools emerge. Its purpose remains constant: to generate credible, practical evidence that helps farmers rear healthier calves with greater efficiency and reduced risk.

This work directly contributes to:

• Improved animal welfare
• Reduced antimicrobial usage
• Long-term family farm viability
• A more transparent, consistent and sustainable beef supply chain

Long Lane Development Farm is not simply a farm. It is an integrated research engine, a demonstration site and a benchmark for what evidence-led rearing looks like in practice.

By combining rigorous trials with practical stockmanship and by sharing our findings openly, we are helping build a stronger future for the sector. If you’d like to be part of this journey as a farmer, partner or research collaborator, we’d be delighted to hear from you.