Dairy Farmer articles from August 2003

Dairy Farmer archives from August 2003

Pay rate only #2.90 an hour.(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Dairy farmers are kidding themselves if they think they can continue to invest and remain in milk production at 16ppl, according to RABDF chairman Tim Brigstocke. Speaking at the unveiling of the RABDF's Independent Guidelines for Dairy...

COMMENT: Wanted: one price rise.(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... It is now a good six weeks since FFA's 2ppl came into being and well over six months since the euro flipped onto its inexorable upward flight - a climb incidentally said to be worth 3ppl. Yet in all that time producers have seen precious...

Rethink looks set on choice of base year.
August 27, 2003... With milk production breaking all records and putting new pressure on the quota market, concern is growing that 2004/2005 could bring a repeat of this year's volatility. This is because DEFRA says that if the UK decouples the new dairy...

Foot still hard on the throttle.(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... The summer milk peak may have passed but latest production figures remain at their highest since deregulation. Provisional July monthly figures put UK wholesale production at 1227.8m litres which is slightly down on output for June but it is...

Co-ops move to take #8m out of haulage.(Dairy Farmers of Britain)(First Milk)(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Dairy co-ops First Milk and Dairy Farmers of Britain have announced a 12 month transport integration plan which will knock an estimated #8m off their haulage bills. First Milk chief executive John Duncan stressed that this joint initiative...

Ambrosia up for grabs.(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Unilever Best Foods' decision to sell the Ambrosia brand and its manufacturing site at Lifton in Devon has given rise to speculation that current milk supplier MilkLink could be looking to secure this potentially lucrative processing business....

Reaping the benefits of pre-house worming shot.(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Worming cattle five weeks before housing can be just as effective as worming at housing, says Pfizer Animal Health. If you do then no further dosing will be necessary until turnout - provided you do it with its product Dectomax, do it right,...

COWMEN COMMENT: Question: where's the milk price rise got to?(Column)
August 27, 2003... The cows are milking well, the new silage pit is underway and Duncun McColm has just returned from holiday. All superficially seems well, but like lots of other folk he is beginning to wonder what has happened to the milk price increase! ...

COWMEN COMMENT: CAP reform - more of the same really?(The Common Agricultural Policy.)
August 27, 2003... When she's not chasing `pink sparrows' out of the parlour, Pat Bird is contemplating the likely impact of the CAP reform package, and what it will actually mean for UK agriculture. Read on. A really good deal for our farmers, chirped Mrs...

COWMEN COMMENT: Organic cannabis on side of slurry lagoon.(Column)
August 27, 2003... Traditional Wimbledon weather put paid to the annual day out at the Royal but it has given John Trunch time to reflect on CAP reform and the uncertain future of Seale Hayne College and its campus. I had to pull the plug on our expedition to...

Debate continues over dairy premium.(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Further details are emerging of how the new dairy premium will operate, but despite DEFRA's decision to publish its consultation document for England the final detail will not be available until the European Commission's implementation...

British milk prices worst in Europe.(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... European milk price figures for 2002 show that not only did British dairy farmers have the worst prices in Europe last year, they also experienced the biggest drop in returns from the previous year. And while there are some hopes that the...

Rome pays quota levy.(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... The Italian milk quota saga is finally over, with Belgium having lifted its tactical objection to Rome paying 650m euro in superlevy payments of behalf of its farmers. The payment will now be sent to Brussels, and farmers will then have 14...

Holland and Ireland's gloomy CAP forecast.(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Holland and Ireland have produced gloomy forecasts of the likely impact on the dairy industry of the CAP reform price cuts. In Holland a survey by one farm lobby organisation revealed that almost half of farmers will run into financial...

INTERVIEW: National Milk Records has its doubts over central database.(Interview)
August 27, 2003... With HUK straining at the leash to get on with the idea of a central cattle database, they nevertheless first have to be able to take the country's largest recording business along with them. Peter Hollinshead talks to Andy Warne, MD at...

POTTER'S VIEW: Two-thirds of NPQH quota already gone!(Column)
August 27, 2003... What with implications of MTR, butterfat base triggers, entitlements and Thomsen, Ian Potter has his work cut out keeping abreast of it all. In all the years I have been involved in the UK dairy industry I have never encountered so much...

Longevity traits are more important than milk yield.(The Genus Breeding Club.)
August 27, 2003... The need for a cow that can handle the large herd environment is highlighted by a recent survey of members of the Genus' Breeding Club. Around 900 of the 2500 producers who participated in the Genus progeny test programme replied to a...

Canada searching for best UK bull mothers.
August 27, 2003... After years of importing Canadian bred and proven sires the UK is reversing the flow following Semex's recent decision to source bull mothers in this country. Sire analyst Brian Carscaedden from the Semex Alliance has already contract...

Tackling temper tantrums.(Lucy Andrews discusses temperament of cattle.)(Interview)
August 27, 2003... In the fifth in our series of articles assessing the role of management traits in herd improvement, Holstein UK Animal Breeding & Research Analyst Lucy Andrews looks at the vexing question of temperament. While the key to a quiet and...

Fish oil looking to raise fertility.
August 27, 2003... Nutritionists frequently promote oily fish as a vital component of a healthy human diet and now it seems there may also be fertility benefits for cows who have a daily dose of fish oil. Angela Rhodes reports. The concept of feeding...

Cleaner tractors cost more.
August 27, 2003... Have you noticed that most of the new tractors launched recently are fitted with new engines and larger cooling packages, which in many cases leads to new exterior styling at the front of the tractor? This is not because manufacturers want to...

TRACTOR GUIDE from 50-150hp.(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Belarus - 920 (80hp) #12,895; 952 (88hp) #13,795; 1025 (104hp) #15,995; 1221 (131hp) #24,995. Case IH - JX Maxxima. JX55 (58hp). JX65 (64hp). JX75 (74hp). JX85 (85hp). JX95 (98hp). All #POA. JXU Maxxima. JX70U (68hp) #23,860 2wd #18,899....

TRACTOR GUIDE: CVT Tractors up to 150hp.(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Case IH - CVX120 (150/120hp). #56,081. CVX 130 (125/130hp) #59,811. CVX 150 (145/150hp) #64,975. These are currently being updated by new models, which means the disappearance of the CVX120. Instead there are five new models, two of which...

Legislation dictates development.(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Dairy farmers in the market for a new tractor are likely to be aware that there are plenty of new models to choose from this year. This is because the introduction of the Tier II engine emission regulation has forced tractor makers to fit new...

MF looks to growing CVT tractor market.(Massey Ferguson)(continuously variable transmission)(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Between 10,000 and 12,000 CVT-type (continuously variable transmission) tractors were sold in Europe last year - the lion's share of which was held by Fendt (5500). This means that CVT tractors make up 7% of the total European tractor market of...

New Valtra series.(Kone Corporation)(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Valtra made headlines last month when its owner, the Kone Corporation, announced that it is looking to sell the tractor business. Valtra has changed ownership four times during the past eight years. Each time it has gone to a multi-national...

McCormick with high-tech engines.(McCormick Tractors International Ltd.)(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... McCormick's MC120 Power6 (115hp) and MC135 Power6 (132hp) were among the first to make use of Perkins' new 1100-series six-cylinder Tier II engines. Supporting the existing four-model range of smaller MC tractors, specialist Paul Wade of...

Damper cab suspension.(Massey-Ferguson GmbH)(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Three of Massey Ferguson's new 6400 series tractors fall into the popular dairy farm category up to 150hp. These include the MF6465 (120 to 130hp), MF6475, (135 to 145hp) and MF6480 (145 to 150hp). Replacing six-cylinder models in the 6200...

Improving versatility and field performance.(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Improving versatility and field performance is a new transmission for McCormick CX tractors from 73 to 102hp. Called XtraShift, the option makes life easier for the driver by providing fingertip shifts between forward and reverse with no need...

Deere's full frame design.(Deere and Co.)(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Officially unveiled at the SIMA show in Paris at the end of February, John Deere's new 5020 Series tractors are the first of the company's lower horsepower machines to be based on the award-winning full frame design. Compact, manoeuvrable...

Renault improves operator comfort.(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Ranging in power from 70 to 100hp, the new Renault Celtis range replaces the Ceres and Cergos tractors. There are four models - 426 (72- 75hp), 436 (80-84hp), 446 (90-92hp) and 456 (100-102hp), the first three of which are available in both 2...

BVD - new strain adds to problems.(Bovine Viral Diarrhoea)
August 27, 2003... Bovine Viral Diarrhoea is present in over 95% of dairy herds in the country and the emergence of a new strain is just starting to show itself. Vet Jonathan Reader from the Kingfisher Veterinary Practice in Somerset looks at the diagnosis and...

Rocketing demand for selenium enriched milk.(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... A newly launched selenium-enriched milk is sweeping Korea and forcing the producing dairy to double output to meet demand. The functional milk, Selk, was launched by the Seoul Dairy Co-operative to meet the demand from Koreans who are...

Role in human health market.(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Milk derivatives are already well established in helping in the medical world with blood pressure and asthma, but now they are starting to be used in food preservation techniques as well. DMV International, a subsidiary of the huge...

Unilever launches own low fat `cream'.(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Unilever will start selling chilled fresh dairy products in Dutch supermarkets this autumn including three alternatives to cream. The new range, based on a mixture of milk and vegetable fats, is to be sold under the Blue Band Finesse brand...

Nantwich show cheese toppers.(Nantwich International Cheese Show)(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Wyke Farms from Somerset took the top cheddar prize at this year's Nantwich International Cheese Show. The family company, which is the largest independent farmhouse cheese maker in the country, was presented with the Michelstown Cup for...

#8m spend for Nesquik Fresh launch.(Nestle S.A.)(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Ahead of MDC's research, Nestle launched its Nesquik Fresh in July in partnership with Milk Link. Specifically developed for children, it is made with fresh British milk and available in Strawberry and Chocolate flavours. Sold in 1 litre...

School milk bars add an extra 3m litres.(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... THE `White Stuff' milk bars are currently adding 3m litres a year to liquid milk consumption in Britain. Funded by the MDC and First Milk, each of the 310 bars is selling on average 10,000 litres a year. "This is a resounding success,"...

Flavour milk market has big potential.(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... The flavoured milk market holds great potential in Britain as countries with similar cultures are drinking huge quantities compared with the British and it's not just children, according to the latest findings. MDC research in Australia,...

GOOD EVANS: Time to call a truce on silage tyres!(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... Having been repeatedly `handbagged' over his clamp sheeting comments, our penitent correspondent finally extends the olive branch to tyre flinging farmers' wives everywhere. Among the many things I do regret is the fact that I once...