Dairy Farmer articles from August 2004

Dairy Farmer archives from August 2004

COMMENT: Co-ops left carrying can!(balancing of milk quotas)(Brief Article)(Column)
August 10, 2004... As John Turner's interview (p10) so pointedly reveals there is nothing to be had from the supermarkets even if producers are only getting #2.90 an hour. Likewise it will be difficult, even on his Fair Trade wicket, to turn fickle consumers...

New thinking needed to avoid spring milk crisis.(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... The dairy industry needs some radical new thinking if it is to avoid a price collapse next spring, warned Kite consultant John Allen this week. With under-production this spring, all the signs are that farmers are gearing up to produce as...

Organic bubble looks to have finally burst.(organic milk production)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... Just as producers who opted for organic production are getting into full swing, it is increasingly looking that the organic milk bubble has burst. A report by the ZMP agency in Germany says that in the UK many farmers who converted to...

Prices rising in N Ireland.(Northern Ireland)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... Dairy farmers in Northern Ireland are set for a good autumn, with milk prices rising at the United Dairy Farmers auction in July for the third month in a row. The average for milk to be delivered to processors from August to October will...

Manage quota to sharpen market demand.(recommendations to European Dairy Farmers )(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... A meeting of the European Dairy Farmers organisation in Wales has heard a warning that if milk prices in the EU slump to world levels of around 14ppl for any length of time most farmers would be unable to remain in production. According to...

Code characters carry message in countryside.(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... The Countryside Agency has enlisted the help of Academy Award winning animation company Aardman to promote the launch of its revised Countryside Code. The company has created a new set of its popular Creature Comfort characters to illustrate...

Forward buy now on soya.(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... Producers still looking to forward buy soya for this winter's rations should take advantage of current prices and stock up now. Predictions of a bumper soya crop in the US have resulted in prices dropping back to around #150 a tonne delivered...

DC closes down yoghurt factory.(Yoplait Dairy Crest closes factory in Enfield)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... Tough competition in the own label sector has forced Yoplait Dairy Crest to pull stumps on its Essex-based factory in Enfield. The factory which is jointly run by Dairy Crest and French processor Yoplait has been primarily used to produce...

Angry reaction over compulsory 2m strip.(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... Farming organisations have reacted angrily to Defra's decision to impose a two metre uncultivated field margin as part of cross- compliance requirements in England. The farming and environmental lobbies, which included the RSPB and English...

Cowmen comment: What would this unified body do for producers?
August 10, 2004... The fact that there are now more Defra staff than dairy farmers is symptomatic of the state of the industry, and something which seems unlikely to be rectified by the proposed pan-industry body, according to our south-west correspondent John...

Cowmen comment: Why calf registration should carry warning.
August 10, 2004... Anxious to do her bit to comply with exhortations to register calves on line, Pat Bird thought she would give it a whirl. But she soon wished she hadn't. When the words ".gov.uk" follow a secure web site, everything seems to go pear...

Cowmen comment: Reseeding is not as simple as it was.
August 10, 2004... Fresh back from a week's holiday abroad, and our Scottish correspondent is struck by the transformation from the scorched earth he left to the verdant pasture that greeted his return. But the trouble is he now doesn't have the range of...

INTERVIEW - FARM: why we donned our Tesco tee-shirts!(Interview)
August 10, 2004... Visitors to the Royal and Royal Welsh may have witnessed a small band of producers making their presence felt outside the Tesco stand. Lincolnshire dairy farmer John Turner, who is on the board of the new pressure group FARM, explains what his...

British milk price at bottom of EU league.(Europe Union)(Milk Development Council)
August 10, 2004... British milk prices were the lowest in the EU last year for the sixth year in a row - and the Milk Development Council says factors other than the weakness of the euro against sterling were in play. Making matters worse was that the gap...

French milk in short supply.(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... French milk deliveries in the 2003/04 quota year fell to the lowest level recorded since quotas began. Just over half of farmers ended the year below quota. This was partly because of weather problems but the main reason was that many allowed...

First round of cuts has limited impact.(dairy industry support prices)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... The first cuts in dairy support under CAP reform were triggered in July, but in a buoyant world market pessimistic forecasts of a fall in milk prices proved wrong. However this reflects dairy product shortages in the southern hemisphere....

Greenpeace has claims dismissed.(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... Greenpeace's anti-GM claims about milk have been condemned by a German court on the grounds that they are based on false information. The action was brought against Greenpeace by the Mueller dairy company in the wake of claims by the...

Poland gets export boost.(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... The Polish dairy industry is enjoying boom times, with EU membership boosting demand for milk and dairy products which are cheaper there than in its EU neighbours. German and Dutch buyers have reportedly been active, and as a result...

Arla holds number one spot.(Arla Foods)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... Arla Foods is Europe's biggest dairy co-operative with sales of almost E5.5bn, and according to Dutch figures it is followed by Friesland and Campina in Holland, Sodiall in France and two German co-operatives. Ireland's Glanbia is seventh...

POTTER'S VIEW: So what is forcing milk prices down?
August 10, 2004... Casting around for evidence as to why milk prices should be heading south, Ian Potter is forced to the conclusion that President Clinton was right after all. It's always a pleasure to have a cuppa with our customers and non- customers at...

BREEDING: Dutch put on good show as progeny groups fight it out.(progeny test programme)
August 10, 2004... The Dutch may be having problems in the UK AI market at the moment but they can still put on one of the best progeny showcases in the world. Angela Rhodes reports from this year's All Holland Dairy Show in Utrecht. The biennial NRM All...

Letter: Fear of broken promises.(Letter to the Editor)
August 10, 2004... From: Sarah North, team leader, GM Campaign, Greenpeace UK. I was disappointed by the old greenies vs farmers cliche churned out in your article last month ("Greenpeace protest against GM feedstuff gets angry response"). I would like...

Health benefits and taste all important!(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... From: Mr J B D Bateman, Lodmore Farm, East Harptree, Bristol BS40 6DF. The only real wonder is that Ian Potter should be surprised at Sainsburys' soya milk promotion. Here we have yet another step in the development of the dairy industry,...

Letter: That missing 18ppl.(Letter to the Editor)
August 10, 2004... Re the missing 18ppl on the processing side, one N Yorkshire producer, who also bottled his own milk, called to say the figure was not far from the mark. According to his reckoning, it cost 2ppl to collect the milk, 4ppl for the actual...

BUSINESS: Benchmarking on ppl can be misleading.
August 10, 2004... Benchmarking is a topical subject but the question is how should you use it to really improve your business? John Warrington, principal finance consultant with Promar International, considers the potential benefits and pitfalls. Assessing...

BUSINESS: Is the barn door closing fast?
August 10, 2004... Many hard pressed producers forced out of milk may see their next move as conversion of their redundant farm buildings to residential use. But the opportunity for that is fast diminishing in some parts of the country as Tony Rimmer, partner at...

BUSINESS: How much profit did you generate today?(Agricultural Development and Advisory Service)
August 10, 2004... In an attempt to take the benchmarking concept a stage further, ADAS Dairy Group director Ian Powell introduces his latest idea of daily profit. Benchmarking provides an excellent starting point to identify the strengths and weaknesses of...

First cut is looking good.
August 10, 2004... High quality first cut silage could boost milk output from forage by up to 2litres/cow/day this winter, according to Frank Wright ruminant feed specialist Cara Freeston-Smith. Results from the first 900 samples of first cut silage suggest...

BUSINESS: Danes dig in deep despite hefty loans.
August 10, 2004... The Danish dairy industry has gone through an intense period of rationalisation in recent years. Those who remain are investing heavily and see a bright future for their businesses in spite of being saddled with a huge amount of long term debt...

How better nutrition can help lift margins.
August 10, 2004... According to an industry consultant there is too much erroneous advice on cow nutrition, and getting back to basics could improve margins by 5ppl. Peter Hollinshead reports. Milk producers may be forced out of the industry on the back of...

Fighting to keep merchants viable.(National Office of Animal Health)(European Commission)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... With the EC directive to make all farm medicines prescription only, fears abound over the availability and access to drugs in future. The drug companies' umbrella group, the National Office of Animal Health, is cautiously optimistic that it...

DNA hair test will show hunger gene.(Deoxyribonucleic Acid)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... A handful of hair taken from the tail head of cattle is sufficient to test for the presence of an appetite gene in those animals. As part of a pan-European launch, Merial Animal Health is first offering the test to UK producers who wish to...

Delay treatment until sure disease present.(bovine spongiform encephalopathy)
August 10, 2004... Vets from around the world met in Quebec for the World Buiatrics Conference. Along with the familiar fertility and disease issues tackled were BSE in North America and the threat of bio terrorism. Richard Wright reports. The old adage has...

Reducing heifer mastitis.(Somatic Cell Count)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... In a trial with heifers, Dutch researchers showed that treatment eight weeks before calving reduced cell counts. They say up to a quarter of heifers have high SCCs and 5 per cent are culled for mastitis. They compared dry cow therapy with...

Big impact from BSE.(Bovine spongiform encephalopathy)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... Canada's chief vet, Dr Brian Evans, told delegates its agricultural industry had paid a heavy price for being the source of the first BSE outbreak in North America. He said the issue was not so much public confidence - which he described as...

Rapid response vet team.(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... University of California veterinary professor Jim Cullor warned that farmers are in the front line for an attack by bio-terrorists. He told delegates there was real concern that the biggest industry in North America and elsewhere was wide...

Melatonin under scrutiny.(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... So called night milk from cows milked in darkness is being sold on grounds that it contains up to ten times the level of melatonin, the compound linked to a natural sleep pattern and a traditional cure for jet lag. However researchers in...

Homeopathic treatment trials.(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... Cambridge researchers reported trials to compare homeopathic mastitis treatments with a control group treated with conventional antibiotics. Results were measured in terms of absence of clinical symptoms and absence of bacteria. The...

Wiseman cuts price by 0.4ppl.(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... Following Dairy Crest's 0.33ppl cut in its liquid direct supply contracts from Jun'04, Robert Wiseman has confirmed a flat-rate 0.4ppl cut to its direct supply milk price from Jul'04, with the guarantee to hold the new price until the end of...

Milk Link coming up on inside.(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... This month our milk price league highlights milk prices paid for Jun'04 as well as the rolling average. Our monthly league table production profile has been altered for May'04 to take account of the RPA adjusted production figure of some 23m...

Caledonian cuts 0.6ppl.(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... Four milk buyers analysed in our league cut milk prices from Jun'04. Having already reported on the price cuts by Dairy Crest, Dansco and Watson's, the fourth was Caledonian Cheese. The company has cut its direct supply milk price by a flat...

DFoB agree new capital structure.(Dairy Farmers of Britain )(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... Dairy Farmers of Britain have agreed a new capital structure which will place more of the capital retention in members' names, whilst at the same time introducing a robust financial structure for banks to lend against, in order to facilitate...

Three Glanbia prices dropped.(Glanbia Dairies)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... With less than 20 suppliers remaining on Glanbia supply contracts between Milk Link's Lockerbie and Taw Valley creameries, and with most believed to be retiring from milk production anyhow, we have decided to drop the prices for the league this...

Defra shows farm gate milk price up.(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... Defra's latest UK monthly average farm gate milk price analysis, released for July, puts the average milk price (including retrospective bonuses) for May'04 at 17.23ppl, 1.23ppl up on the May'03 average price of 16ppl. Average protein for...

Nutty number made from imported milk.(Cafe Met Hazelatte)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... CAFE MET, the UK's fastest growing milk drink targeted at the sophisticated 25-40 year old, has introduced a special edition called Hazelatte. Promoted on Arla's stand at the Royal Show, Hazelatte joins two other CAFE MET products, namely...

Fifty years after end of wartime rationing.(health benefits of dairy products)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... Fifty years after the end of rationing, the Dairy Council is reminding consumers about the health benefits of milk. On July 3, 1954, housewives tore up their ration books after surviving for 14 years on plain food and small portions....

Honiton's milkmen are eyes of police.(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... Ten Dairy Crest milkmen in Honiton have been equipped with mobile phones and a 999 hotline to East Devon police to help combat the increase in burglaries from sheds and outhouses. The milkmen will use their mobile phones to report signs of...

Milk promotion turns to football.(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... The milk industry is looking forward to the new football season as the campaign, Milk the Drink of the Professional Footballer, (organised by DIAL in conjunction with the MDC and dairy companies) kicks off in early September. The website...

Roundsman who takes leap to top.(Brief Article)
August 10, 2004... The milkman who, despite his fear of heights, raised #1200 by bungee jumping for charity has been named Milkman of the Year. Sean Garvey, representing Express, won the annual award for consistently going above and beyond the call of duty...

GOOD EVANS: Does David Beckham have a pair like mine?
August 10, 2004... As our intrepid hero quietly refects on any likeness he may share with the legendary D Beckham Esquire, his mind is tormented with other equally challenging matters like electricity men playing tanks in his maize and like securing his FBT...