Dairy Farmer articles from April 2009

Dairy Farmer archives from April 2009

Defra plan to go for badger vaccination meets cool reception.
April 14, 2009... Defra's announcement of its plan to start a limited vaccination programme for badgers met a somewhat cool reception. After an investment in R&D of #23m already, with #20m more to come, Defra has announced that the first vaccine against...

Pressure mounts to clarify DFB's future.
April 14, 2009... By the time Dairy Farmer is published troubled Dairy Farmers of Britain's future should be clearer. Chairman John Grantchester wants as much of the deal-making and business realignment to be done prior to the new milk year on April 1,...

NFU slams retailers for price war.
April 14, 2009... Tesco is just finalising its milk price negotiations, with the general view being that a price reduction of around 1ppl was on the cards. And it is believed other processors were gearing-up for further cuts from April 1, with Dairy Crest...

Wiseman loses Tesco volume.
April 14, 2009... In what was viewed as being a shock move at the time, Wiseman was informed earlier in the month by Tesco that it will "rebalance" the current share of its own label fresh liquid milk range from 60% to 50% from May 2009. Wiseman says "this is...

Dairy Crest sells stake in Yoplait.
April 14, 2009... Dairy Crest has announced the sale of its 49% stake in Yoplait for #63.5m, which substantially reduces the group's debt and is said to be consistent with its strategy to focus on core brands owned outright. The sale results in an...

Why the co-op tanker will no longer trundle down our drive.
April 14, 2009... After many years of supplying a co-operative, Donald McColm decided some time ago to change buyers and his new contract has just begun. Last week we vaccinated all eligible stock with bluetongue vaccine. We started with the in-milk cows and...

Look out as discount retailers act to grab bigger market share.
April 14, 2009... This month Ian Potter wonders what, if anything, will halt the slide in production and looks at the impact the big discount retailers are having in the market place. Another milk year arrives. Will we miss the last one? I'll let you answer...

When will commodity prices start to show sign of bounce-back?
April 14, 2009... With the international commodities market bouncing along the bottom and farmgate prices sinking to depressing levels, the question everyone wants the answer to is when are they going to pick up? Richard Wright comments on European dairy...

BREEDING: Semex offers sexed semen at just #26.(Brief article)
April 14, 2009... The launch by Semex of a relatively high type bull as sexed semen at well under #30 is said by the company to reflect a downward price trend, which could make the wider sexed semen market even more competitive. The bull is Silky Powerplay,...

BREEDING: High index Shottle son gets boost from genomic figures.
April 14, 2009... Dairy Daughters is claiming a coup with a promising young sire by Shottle, which they selected for their line-up around a year ago on the strength of his bloodlines and his Pedigree Index. This was calculated in the conventional way from...

BREEDING: Dutch get good conception with sexed semen on cows.
April 14, 2009... New results from CRV in the Netherlands have revealed better than expected pregnancy rates for mature dairy cows inseminated with sexed semen. The study looked at over 2000 insemination records and found the non- return rate at 56 days to...

BREEDING: Cogent Loader scores EX95.(Brief article)
April 14, 2009... Holstein classifiers have just given the popular bull Cogent Loader a score of EX95, making him the fourth bull at the stud to receive this status. Loader has already earned a reputation as the number one transmitter of locomotion in the UK,...

BREEDING: NMR herd figures show top performers from Cornwall.(Brief article)
April 14, 2009... The top Holstein herd, ranked on fat and protein production, is that of Neville and May Morrow who run the herd at Treveale Farm, near Truro, Cornwall, with daughter and son-in-law Wendy and Paul Broad and Paul's brother-in-law Irwin. With...

BREEDING: Canada visit for Claire.
April 14, 2009... The Ayrshire Cattle Society has selected 22-year-old Claire Hunter to attend a special youth programme at the Ayrshire Canada Annual General Meeting. Claire, who works and shows cattle for her father's Ardmore herd of Ayrshires in Crumlin,...

BREEDING: High flying red joins Genus line-up.(Brief article)
April 14, 2009... Genus Breeding latest red-and-white high flyer is April-Day Wisconsin- Red (dtr above), an early Jordan Red son. He is the top rated red and white sire in the US and his proof converts to a UK Type Merit of 2.56, a mammary score of 2.76...

ANIMAL HEALTH: What can we do to treat the cow that's chronically lame?
April 14, 2009... Despite more attention being paid these days to foot care in our herds, there are nevertheless some chronic cases which present real challenges. Vet Chris Watson tells us what to look out for. Fifteen years ago in our Gloucester practice,...

ANIMAL HEALTH: Trials reveal benefits from cross-breeding programme.
April 14, 2009... Research work, both north and south of the Irish border, is revealing the benefits of cross-breeding in the sense of producing more robust cows without adverse effects on milk solids output. Richard Halleron reports. Intensification of...

ANIMAL HEALTH: You may need a combination therapy to clear out mastitis.
April 14, 2009... Mastitis is a common enough scourge and can be difficult to clear once established. Opinions differ and here a selection of vets give their approach to combating the disease. The first chance is often the best chance you get to cure a case...

Trace element bolus playing part in raising herd fertility.
April 14, 2009... Conception rates can be a problem in high yielding herds but one Welsh producer has seen herd fertility improve by around 15% since he increased intake levels of trace elements. Debbie James reports. Fertility wasn't a major problem in...

Why rumen health is crucial precursor to top performance.
April 14, 2009... Optimum rumen health is vital to achieving the best performance from your herd and that is dependent on a balance of the correct nutrition and management, according to Peter Townley, Agri-Lloyd's veterinary adviser. A cow's rumen has a...

Traffic light approach offers buyers degree of confidence.
April 14, 2009... Dairy farmers in the South-East of England will soon be able to check the health status of the cattle they are thinking of buying under a new traffic light system. The traffic light system consists of a checklist of diseases that threaten...

ANIMAL HEALTH: Ten top biosecurity tips.
April 14, 2009... * Know your health status, speak to your vet about testing * Don't buy in disease - practice livestock biosecurity * Find out the sellers' health status * Isolate and blood test new and returning animals before they enter the herd...

ANIMAL HEALTH: Benefit to be had from early development of calf's rumen.
April 14, 2009... The transition from milk to hard rations is a critical time in any calf's life. Jennifer MacKenzie looks at a new powder additive which claims it can help things along. Trials with a new milk replacer additive have been shown to have...

What infectious diseases are lurking beneath the surface?
April 14, 2009... Farm animal vets recently attended a series of infectious disease masterclasses organised by Intervet/Schering-Plough and looked at recent thinking on IBR, BVD and leptospirosis. Dairy Farmer asked each of the speakers to write a short report...

LETTER: Little actual milk left in used cleaner.(Letter to the editor)
April 14, 2009... From: Mike Donovan, Practical Farm IDEAS, 11 St Mary's St, Whitland, Carmarthen SA34 0PY. In practical farming it's always interesting and useful to read another point of view, and Mark Williams, the Agriculture Manager UK and Ireland for...

MILK PRICES: Milk Link offers graduated scale.
April 14, 2009... With more producer milk price cuts yet to come, finding small snippets of good news is becoming increasingly difficult. However, one such is Milk Link's new graduated cell count scheme introduced from Apr'09, which on `member' contracts...

MILK PRICES: Price cuts bite into cheese.
April 14, 2009... Pressure continues to mount within the cheese sector with north Welsh producer co-op, South Caernarfon Creameries, confirming a further 1ppl cut from Mar'09, taking our price for them down to 23ppl. For the consecutive month, North Devon's...

MILK PRICES: Meadow Foods moves to `flat rate'.
April 14, 2009... MEADOW Foods has confirmed it is to put more emphasis on `flat rate' payments. To be funded from the constituent element of the current schedules, a flat rate of 10ppl (rep approx 40% of the current milk price) will be introduced from Oct'09 as...

WORKSHOP TIPS: Fitting side wheels can reduce forage wastage.
April 14, 2009... No-one wants to see an untidy pick-up with stripes of unharvested grass marking the field. Mike Donovan tells us how we can cut out this wastage. Looking after the pennies and leaving a mown field clean is something a previous generation...

GOOD EVANS: `Ello, `ello, `ello what have we got here sir?(Viewpoint essay)
April 14, 2009... In normal circumstances, PC Plod would not even have spotted the exquisitely camouflaged Roger Evans Discovery dodging along the Border highways except for the giveaway mile-long queue behind him. But notice him he did and, in that flush of...