Dairy Farmer articles from August 2008

Dairy Farmer archives from August 2008

Milk Link results.(Brief article)
August 7, 2008... Despite pressure on costs, Milk Link's financial performance improved significantly last year with Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation increasing 8% from #28.2m to #30.5m on the back of turnover rising from #509m to...

COMMENT: Breaching the 30p threshold.(Brief article)
August 7, 2008... As increased input costs continue to feed through and gobble up potential margins, milk looks set to become even tighter than it is now. Whatever financial carrots are dangled to squeeze out more this autumn, producers are faced with either...

Milk supplies look set to remain tight.
August 7, 2008... Milk production is still falling at an alarming rate, with June's production being 20m litres down on last year at 1127m litres. This is also 50m litres lower than the year before, and nearly 140m litres down on five years ago. ...

Big opportunity for DFB?
August 7, 2008... The Co-operative Group deal to buy Somerfields is being seen as a major opportunity for DFB, which has invested substantially in its dairies to bring them up to `Tesco standards' and which renewed its contract with the Co-op last year. The...

WTO talks threaten UK cheese industry.
August 7, 2008... Cheese has enough problems already but now it could become a major pawn in the political game that is the World Trade talks. "We've written to tell both the UK Government and the European Commission that offering import quotas for cheese...

First Milk to pay #1.85m.
August 7, 2008... In a surprise move, and one 18 months before it was expected, First Milk has paid out a member processing interest payment of #1.85m. This means that a typical million-litre producer will receive a payment of just over #1000. This represents a...

Defra hammers dairy farmers on NVZ regs.
August 7, 2008... Farmers had been warned that Defra was minded to make few changes to its original Nitrate Vulnerable Zones proposals. True to the organisation's word it hasn't. Aside from making new slurry stores eligible for tax allowances, Defra's final...

True cost of family labour.(Survey)(Brief article)
August 7, 2008... According to a recent RABDF analysis, family labour now amounts to 4.43p per litre, a 16% increase over the last four years. The survey looked at 500 dairy farmers with an average herd size of 156 cows and yield of 7112 litres. These herds...

Farming bodies to shun Defra after disappointing TB stand.
August 7, 2008... Relationships between the farming organisations and Defra are at an all time low since Hilary Benn's decision not to allow badger culling. With a court case already announced that will legally challenge the decision, the NFU, NBA and TFA...

Big machinery is fine but is death knell to country skills.
August 7, 2008... Farming is a bit like motoring with someone always there pushing you to go that bit faster, but, as John Trunch questions, is it always a good thing? I picked up somewhere early this morning a snippet of information about police adding a...

COWMAN COMMENT: Which drawer has Government put our industry in?
August 7, 2008... This month as Pat Bird embarks on what seems the never-ending job of worming and vaccinating stock, she pauses to reflect on the state of the industry and asks just who is in charge of policy making? It's that time of the year again -...

COWMEN COMMENT: Why it might be time to look for new milk buyer.
August 7, 2008... After many years as a staunch co-op supporter, Donald McColm is getting a little tired of the `jam tomorrow' promise and looking at alternative buyers for his milk. I remember coming home from school and announcing to my dad that I'd just...

INTERVIEW: Is anyone listening to the NFU contracts campaign?(Interview)
August 7, 2008... There is little doubt where the power lies on the milk contracts front and producers still smart from processor diktats, but will the NFU's campaign for reform ever make headway? Chris Walkland talks to NFU's dairy board chairman Gwyn Jones....

I can't see anything that will stop supplies dropping like a stone.
August 7, 2008... With most of the parameters out of kilter, most importantly the feed to milk price ratio, there's little incentive to produce more milk, as Ian Potter tells us. It can be a strain topping up the industry's popularity charts as I have done...

LETTER: Mary under attack about her costings.(Letter to the editor)
August 7, 2008... From: Wil Williams, Clwch Holsteins, Clwch Dernog, Llanddevsant, Anglesey LL65 4AY. I once asked a statistician for the figures for a matter I was looking into and got the reply "what do you want them to be?" Well, Mary Mead in DF June...

LETTER: Dairy figures not value for money.(Letter to the editor)
August 7, 2008... From: Miles Browne, West Mains, Gordon, Berwickshire TD3 6JL. I am told the Romans stuck their fingers down their throats when they wanted to be sick. We dairy farmers of the 21st century are much more sophisticated than that. We contribute...

BREEDING: Have we hit a plateau for milk?
August 7, 2008... New figures produced by DairyCo breeding+ show that the genetic potential of dairy cows to produce milk is beginning to level off. Ann Hardy reports. This levelling off follows at least 30 years during which Predicted Transmitting Ability...

BREEDING: Keep an eye on this one.(Brief article)
August 7, 2008... One to watch for in the August proof run is Cogent Loader whose characteristic black daughters are starting to attract attention on UK farms. Loader is a grandson of one of the foundation cows of the Cogent nucleus herd, Cogent Looking,...

BREEDING: Dairy Daughters' Italian list topper.
August 7, 2008... Dairy Daughters has secured supplies of the sought after sire Alpag Iron Active, the Boss Iron son who made his debut at the top of the most recent genetic rankings in Italy. Active appears to be transmitting traits of both his parents -...

BREEDING: Return of Toystory for UK breeders.(united kingdom)(Brief article)
August 7, 2008... Toystory is now back and available to UK breeders. Jenny Lou Marshall Toystory-ET *TV has proven to be a high calibre bull with current proof figures of +2.54 Type Merit, +546kg milk, an udder composite of +2.77 and an impressive `no faults'...

MASTITIS: Start thinking like a vet when it comes to mastitis!
August 7, 2008... How do vets approach the subject of mastitis control and what can dairy farmers learn from their approach? To find out we went along to a Schering-Plough young vet mastitis training day to pick up some pointers. Despite concerted efforts...

NVZS: Starting to gear up to comply with the new NVZ regulations.
August 7, 2008... In full anticipation of the impact the new NVZ proposals will have, one Gloucestershire farmer has had to rethink manure management and invest in additional storage. All the land at Pool Farm, Tetbury, lies within an existing Nitrate...

NVZ REGULATIONS: Getting ready for new nitrogen regulations.
August 7, 2008... Although we still await the final nitrate regulations, dairy farmers can take measures now to prepare for the change and to that end DairyCo has launched a simple but effective tool to help in the process. Ann Hardy reports. Few dairy...

SLURRY MACHINERY: Slootsmid Schuitmaker.
August 7, 2008... Dutch firm Slootsmid supplies application equipment for the Schuitemaker range of tankers and is looking to promote trailing shoe applicators, which the company says can offer improved availability of nutrients in slurry. A share on the...

SLURRY MACHINERY: Samson SP22.(Brief article)
August 7, 2008... With a patented tilting spreader table, the 22cu m SP22 from Samson can be used next to field borders without fear of contamination making it ideal for materials such as sludge cake. Spread widths are up to 24m, using horizontal rotors and...

SLURRY MACHINERY: Veenhuis Eco-Vac.(Brief article)
August 7, 2008... Tanlake Farm Machinery now offers an entry-level version of the Veenhuis Eco-Vac slurry tanker. Developed specifically for the UK market as an alternative to the used machines that they have been importing from Holland, key changes include...

SLURRY MACHINERY: Miro muck spreader.(Brief article)
August 7, 2008... The French-built range of Miro muck spreaders and tankers is now available in the UK from Olesen Agriculture. Muck spreaders are from 6 to 18 tonnes and tankers from 3000 to 20,000- litres with construction from galvanised high tensile...

SLURRY MACHINERY: Slurry Kat Dribble-Pak.
August 7, 2008... Slurry Kat has introduced a dribble bar for applying slurry using an umbilical system. Compared to other systems the Dribble-Pak can carry a reel equipped with 800m of hose while being transported between sites. Maximum working width for...

SLURRY MACHINERY: Aerway aerators.(Brief article)
August 7, 2008... The Canadian-made range of AerWay aerators is now imported by Trevor Sutcliffe of TSF. Among the range of trailed and mounted machines was this unit that combines an aerator and slurry injection system. This 3m wide unit can be used in...

SLURRY MACHINERY: Spreadwise dribble bar.(Brief article)
August 7, 2008... Spreadwise has developed an 8m and 12m dribble bar system that can be used with an umbilical system or mounted on a suitable slurry tanker. The metal frame for the dribble bar has been hot dipped galvanised and the 40mm diameter hoses are...

SLURRY MACHINERY: GT Bunning.(Brief article)
August 7, 2008... In addition to the vertical beater arrangement, G T Bunning's Lowlander rear discharge manure spreader is now offered with a horizontal beater arrangement and is fitted with the new type spinner deck. Not designed for handling the usual...

SLURRY MACHINERY: Kaweco tanker.
August 7, 2008... A number of Claas Xerion Trac VC customers are reported to be interested in the combination of the Xerion 3800 Trac VC reverse drive tractor with a 24,000-litre Kaweco slurry tanker. A swan neck coupling from the tanker transfers up to 7...

RETAILING: Big leap from village delivery round to direct sale business.
August 7, 2008... Faced with the growing pressure on small Pennine milk rounds, one Derbyshire milk producer has responded by developing other outlets for his home-produced milk. Ruth Downing reports. The public's awareness of food miles and locally produced...

MILK PRICES: M&S introduces an environment bonus.
August 7, 2008... M&S has confirmed a new 0.6ppl `Environmental Premium' to be paid to its Dairy Crest suppliers. The additional payment, introduced from Jun'08, will be reviewed quarterly and treated as a separate item outside the existing Milk Pledge model....

MILK PRICES: Cheesemakers up their prices.
August 7, 2008... Summer milk price increases continue, with regional cheesemaker Joseph Heler to pay a further 0.2ppl from Jul'08 taking our price up to 26.7ppl. The company has also introduced a volume bonus for the first time to reflect economics of...

MILK PRICES: Arla to pay 5p on added litres.
August 7, 2008... Arla Foods has confirmed the Jun'08 balancing charge will be 1.5ppl, which is payable on all litres supplied above an individual's BADP (Base Daily Average Production). This calculates as an overall charge of 0.15ppl for our standard litre...

WORKSHOP TIPS: Make best use of all that computer power.
August 7, 2008... Today's gadgets and computers do things which we considered unthinkable just a few years ago, and very often they do them extraordinarily cheaply as well. Here are a couple on my wish list. Yield meters on combines form the basis of modern...

GOOD EVANS: How we've been living with fallout of last year's silage.
August 7, 2008... Wishing to forget last year's poor quality silage, Roger Evans has been casting his eyes forward and getting accustomed to his new found title as Laird, no less. It's a funny old thing this farming, which is just as well because if it...