Dairy Farmer articles from August 2007

Dairy Farmer archives from August 2007

COMMENT: Slice of the action...(milk prices)(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... All the talk of spot prices hitting 30ppl has left producers open- mouthed on the sidelines wondering what the heck is going on. They know full well they have not yet passed breakeven let alone anything else, and if the market is that afire...

Producer anger over delay in milk price rise coming through.
August 3, 2007... Producers are hopping mad over the delay in their milk price increases when world market prices have gone through the roof. Concerns are increasing that retailers and processors are putting the brake on their price rises to pocket the money...

Building better future.
August 3, 2007... Seize the moment! The dairy industry should make the most of the current strong market environment to put the industry on a firmer footing for the future. That's the united view of the MDC, Dairy UK, NFU and NFU Scotland, which all came...

United average up at 28.71ppl.
August 3, 2007... United Dairy Farmer's July milk auction turned conventional milk into organic premium prices as a total of 39mltrs sold for an average price of 28.71ppl, 2.71ppl up on last month's average of 26ppl and 11.1ppl up on last year. With all...

AFMP members to acquire part of UK business?
August 3, 2007... Arla Foods is initiating a process which could lead to members of Arla Foods Milk Partnership (AFMP) acquiring part ownership of Arla Foods' UK business. A negotiating team of producer directors has been nominated to engage in "substantive...

Co-ops argue over cheese contract.
August 3, 2007... First Milk has won the contract to supply half of The Co-operative's cheese business of 3000 tonnes, but immediately found itself at the centre of accusations from DFB, which lost it, that First Milk had won the business on price. First...

Short of milk.
August 3, 2007... If milk buyers haven't worried about being short of milk before they are now. According to the RPA we produced 1148.2m litres in June - the lowest figure by 20ml ever, and 30ml less than last year. So far we've produced 3610m litres, compared...

Dairy Show.
August 3, 2007... Lucky winner of the Dairy Show prize of 20 straws of sexed semen from the world famous bull Lucente is Martin Johnson, Trebblehayes Farm, Membury, Devon (yes actually just in Devon!). Mr Johnson runs a herd of 140 black-and-whites doing just...

Milk Link sees profits on rise.(Financial report)(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... It promised it would do it, and seemingly it is. When Milk Link purchased the Express and Glanbia businesses it promised to turn uninspiring, ordinarily performing businesses into vibrant, profitable ones. Latest profit shows the co-op's...

PIC to quit Lilyhall cheese site but goes in search of another.
August 3, 2007... Partners in Cheese has pulled out of plans to build a new cheese dairy at Workington, Cumbria, because an adjacent site will be cleaning contaminated metal from nuclear plants. However the firm has not ditched its plans but is undertaking a...

Cowman comment: I`m not expecting too much from our new political team!(parliamentary representatives do not meet expectations)(Viewpoint essay)
August 3, 2007... Despite all the problems facing agriculture, John Trunch doesn't see much change, if any, in approach when it comes to our newly-appointed parliamentary representatives. I have in front of me the new cabinet list which I had hoped would...

Are we about to see the repeat of earlier failed TB strategies?(protection of dairy cattle from Tuberculosis)
August 3, 2007... While just keeping her head above the rising flood waters of the south- west, Pat Bird is worried that we could be about to witness a re-run of some of the earlier failed TB policies. It's early July, the TV is showing flooded fields and...

Cowman comment: Why Shorty, our bull, was never going to be up to job.
August 3, 2007... While our Scottish correspondent Donald McColm is overjoyed finally to have got an all-clear on his latest TB test, he still faces the question of what to do with Eric's problematic offspring. And as for Shorty...well... Despite June being...

Potter's View: Hogwarts and the case of the invisible milk price rises.
August 3, 2007... Once more the name of Potter is catapulted before the great British public and there's magic afoot...magic like you've never seen before. It's incredible, it's stupendous, it's unbelievable... how do they do it? Long lost second cousin Ian...

EU News: Bright forecast offers longer term prospects for producers.
August 3, 2007... World dairy prices are booming - and according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which represents the world's developed economies, there is no reason for a collapse, even when prices move off current record...

EU News: Germans warn of collapse in production as many quit industry.(European Union)(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... There is growing evidence that European farmers are not crying wolf with warnings that they will quit the industry if profitability does not improve. For the first time in many years, milk production fell in Germany last year. This was...

Irish join Danes in call for release of extra quota to allow expansion.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... With the demise of milk quotas inevitable, debate in the European farming lobby is turning to how the Commission should manage the end of structures that have been around since the early 1980s. Three options are available - a gradual annual...

End of quotas is confirmed.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... EU farm commissioner, Marianne Fischer Boel, has confirmed that all dairy export refunds and intervention support will be gone by 2013, whether or not there is a new World Trade Organisation deal. She has deemed these elements incompatible...

Capping is ruled out on EU farm payments.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... The health check review of the CAP might be a year away - but EU farm commissioner, Marianne Fischer Boel, and her senior officials have begun taking the political temperature. For now, few ideas on their agenda pose a threat to UK farming. ...

Triple squeeze on production.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... The Australian agricultural department has forecast that world dairy prices will remain strong for the rest of this year and into 2008 as well. It says that with global demand for dairy products rising, none of the three main players are...

Breeding: PLI revamp set to cause shake-up in bull rankings.
August 3, 2007... A major revamp of the Profitable Lifetime Index (PLI) sees a reduced emphasis on production and a greater focus on fitness traits. Angela Rhodes reports on an index upgrade that is set to shake up the August sire rankings. Ever since its...

Slurry: Finding a cheaper solution to slurry storage problems.
August 3, 2007... Recent projections portend more onerous slurry store regulations with all the associated costs, but one Staffordshire family has resorted to a well tried and tested approach. Recent comments from the NFU and RABDF on the environmental...

Slurry: Extracts from NFU's `Milk: What price 2007'.
August 3, 2007... It still remains unclear when the anticipated proposals from Defra on the Nitrates Action Plan may emerge or the precise nature of the content. But we understand that the proposals are likely to: * Extend so-called `closed periods' during...

Slurry: Aeration lowers emission.
August 3, 2007... Recent research into slurry storage has revealed that the release of dangerous levels of hydrogen sulphide or harmful slurry gas often caused by mechanical mixing can be avoided where aeration systems are utilised. The research was undertaken...

Slurry: Sand may be good for cubicles but can play havoc with pumps.
August 3, 2007... Sand may be the ideal soft material for cubicle bedding but the headache is in handling it afterwards. Ann Hardy reports on a new auger system which is claimed to address many of the problems associated with handling that sand-slurry mix. ...

Slurry: Learning the best ways to store and recycle sand.
August 3, 2007... Robert Horton's vet, Peter May, has been involved with the system from the start and has undertaken the bacterial analysis of the recycled sand. He comments: "These are very early days and we are still learning how to manage the system,...

Slurry: Three wheels on my wagon.
August 3, 2007... The need to save time has already led to the development of larger slurry tankers but this unfortunately tends to increase ground pressure. Now one Dutch firm appears to have come up with a novel solution to solve this problem, as Steven Vale...

Housing: Will your cubicles be just as comfortable?
August 3, 2007... Cow comfort is a big issue and can seriously affect production, but getting those cubicle designs right can be a real challenge. Dr Martin Yeates, Kingshay technical manager, shares some tips for improving your cows' well being. Many...

Milk prices: Cheesemen forced to bid up for their supply.
August 3, 2007... As we push on through the lousy summer weather, there can be no doubt momentum is building on producer prices for milk supplied for cheese and manufacturing. While understandably many producers will start to feel frustration by the fact...

Milk prices: First Milk bills own cheese division.
August 3, 2007... Fresh on the back of being awarded 50% of the Co-operative own label cheese business (equating to around 3000t/yr) as well as being allowed to stock its newly reformed Scottish Pride brand across 400 stores in Scotland, First Milk has confirmed...

Milk prices: Meadow Foods boosts its Aug increase to 1.6ppl.
August 3, 2007... Meadow Foods has increased its previously announced producer milk price increase of 0.5ppl from Aug'07 to 1.6ppl. With future security of milk supply said to be a real issue with customers, the company has decided this latest increase should be...

Milk prices: Belton wins Tesco listing.
August 3, 2007... Crowned overall winner of the Tesco Cheese Challenge at the retailer's event in London earlier this month for its rind-on Traditional Double Gloucester, Belton Cheese has been rewarded by being given an automatic national listing in Tesco...

Arla Foods suspends balancing charge.
August 3, 2007... Arla Foods is to increase its AFMP standard litre milk price by 0.3ppl from Jul'07, while at the same time suspending the balancing charge from June on all excess litres above Members' Base Annual Daily Production. The company puts the...

Milk prices: Sainsbury's increase 1ppl from Jul'07.
August 3, 2007... Sainsbury's has increased its liquid milk price to its 370 producers in the Sainsbury's Dairy Development Group (SDDG) by 1ppl from Jul'07. The retailer says the increase is as a direct result of listening to the concerns voiced by SDDG...

Good Evans: We seem to be struggling a bit with our maize this year.
August 3, 2007... The ravages of rooks, slugs and leatherjackets have driven Roger Evans to re-sow the most damaged parts of his maize crop with a high yield ryegrass. And the young heifers are playing up a bit too. I received the news with fixed feelings. I...