Dairy Farmer articles from February 2008

Dairy Farmer archives from February 2008

COMMENT: Win-win all round?(Brief article)
February 11, 2008... There was no getting away from the one lasting image of that powerful documentary The Lie of the Land and that was the shooting of newborn calves by the Devon huntsman on his rounds. Just as such graphic images have all the potential of...

Tesco group sign up to ending the export of dairy bull calves.
February 11, 2008... An influential forum of UK beef and dairy organisations, retailers and animal welfarists is backing a set of potentially far-reaching aims to solve the problem of dairy black-and-white bull calves - currently being shot at birth on a large...

Roadmap's new route.
February 11, 2008... If all of the recommendations put forward by the dairy sector at the so- called "Roadmap" meeting come to fruition, then the retailers will be asked to "establish dedicated supply arrangements with direct relationships and long-term pricing...

Milk prices manage to keep ahead of hike in feed costs.
February 11, 2008... Latest farm sampling figures show the monthly milk cheque has increased by almost half for a tiny 3% lift in milk output. According to BOCM PAULS figures for 700 costed herds, the average monthly milk cheque for November 2006 was just short...

UK sire Picston Shottle wows them in US.(Brief article)
February 11, 2008... Top UK proven sire Picston Shottle has put himself up with the greats of the Holstein breed by becoming the first British bull to top the American Holstein sire rankings. This is the first time for 10 years that a non-American bull has held the...

Sainbury's ready to tell customers.
February 11, 2008... Sainsbury's "multi million" investment in its Dairy Development Group is gearing up to enter what will effectively be the second stage of its development - telling consumers what it has been doing with its farmers, and why. The retailer...

Milk supply is just balanced.
February 11, 2008... David Dobbin, chief executive of United Dairy Farmers - and the main industry leader to predict last year's astronomic price rises - is warning that oversupply will be the main threat to milk prices this year.Speaking at the Semex conference he...

Waitrose checks out future plans.
February 11, 2008... Retailing giant Waitrose, which has operated a dedicated pool structure since 2000, has issued evidence that demonstrates just how successful such pools can be. Its dedicated supply base of farmers has been relatively stable over the last seven...

East of England Co-op withdraws.
February 11, 2008... The East of England Co-operative Society is withdrawing from milk processing and is in discussions with Dairy Crest over the future of the plant. If the deal goes ahead the business will transfer in February 2008, closing in early March. Milk...

First Milk funding for development.
February 11, 2008... First Milk Academy and The Royal Agricultural College have secured funding of #78,875 from the Pathfinder project to assist with the professional development of the co-op's members, plus a further #10,000 from the Western Vocational Lifelong...

Cowmen comment: Where will our next farming generation ever come from?
February 11, 2008... This month John Trunch tells us why he is not best pleased with Mr Benn's performance to date and why it's wrong to force the industry to cover the cost of the government's own mistakes. So it is time for me to stick my head above the...

Defra has its own cunning plan for keeping bluetongue at bay.
February 11, 2008... Anxious to play her part and follow Defra guidelines in the fight against bluetongue, our south-west correspondent Pat Bird is sacrificing her net curtains for Queen and country. As it happens the year didn't start too well for me. A nasty...

Why are we forced to dance to the tune of bungling bureaucrats?
February 11, 2008... With ever increasing regulation on producer activities, our Scottish correspondent Donald McColm is beginning to question the validity of such restrictions and why they ever existed in the first place. As we enter a new year the legacy of...

I wonder who will be taking the lead role in co-op merger talks?
February 11, 2008... Merger talks between Milk Link and First Milk have cleared the first hurdle, but according to Ian Potter the devil will be in the detail. The so-called "merger" between First Milk and Milk Link was given the green light by the Competition...

Reshuffle in the rankings as impact of new index starts to feed through.
February 11, 2008... The introduction of new fertility data for some foreign sires and the launch of the new type proofs here means there are inevitably changes in the production and type rankings. Angela Rhodes takes a look at the latest Holstein sire proofs. ...

Breeding: Revamped type index puts emphasis more on commercial traits.
February 11, 2008... The January proofs have seen the launch of a revamped Type Merit index which aims to place more emphasis on functional type traits and less on stature, angularity and body depth. The index is now made up of 40% mammary and 30% feet and legs,...

Maize: NIAB lists earlier varieties suitable for marginal areas.
February 11, 2008... Last season presented greater challenges to maize growers than many before and highlighted the need for careful varietal selection. Ann Hardy reviews some of the newcomers and some of the top performers on this year's NIAB Descriptive List and...

Decide on end use before selecting your variety.
February 11, 2008... Knowing your site and the end use of your maize are the two keys to consider when selecting a variety. This message from Syngenta's Nigel Padbury - also chairman of the British Society of Plant Breeders - is the first step in making sense...

It's critical to get high yields of energy to reduce cake cost.
February 11, 2008... With rising concentrate costs, this year will highlight the benefits of growing a high energy crop more than ever before. Ann Hardy finds out why choosing a high ME variety can be so crucial to containing feed costs. The extra value of...

Maize: Site selection is crucial step to successful maize cropping.
February 11, 2008... The poor growing conditions for maize in 2007 should focus farmers' attention on which fields are really suitable for the crop and how they should be prepared. Unlike the previous year when most varieties performed in most chosen...

Maize: Farm trials ready to furnish maize data from the regions.
February 11, 2008... A new farm-based trials programme involving over 30 UK dairy farms is set to deliver greater levels of regional production data than NIAB and accelerate development of new high energy maize varieties. New generation `multi-seed' varieties...

Maize: Take action to avoid a late harvest.
February 11, 2008... The weather may well need to be on the side of the grower for maize to reach maturity, but action can be taken at seeding time to help achieve the right results. This message from agronomist Simon Draper follows a year in which large areas...

Maize: Chop length critical in getting most from your maize rations.
February 11, 2008... According to maize consultant Ian Grandfield, setting the chop length to over 20mm to get a long fibre component could be detrimental to performance. A "back to basics" approach to the key issues of variety selection, harvest maturity and...

Why we need to look a little closer at the type of starch.
February 11, 2008... More critical assessment of the starch fraction of maize is beginning to indicate that it is the type of starch present which could be the crucial factor in determining the cow's response to it. According to nutritionist Bruce Woodacre...

Milk prices: Wyke Farms take top ranking with greatest increase.
February 11, 2008... Comparing prices for the last calendar year, Wyke Farms paid the biggest increase for our standard litre (4%b/f and 3.3% prot, Bactoscans of 30,000/ml and SCCs of 200,000/ml, 1mltrs/yr on EODC) of 10.12ppl, ending the year 2.2ppl above our...

Getting those posts planted without all that physical effort.
February 11, 2008... Whether it's putting in completely new lengths or replacing those less stock-proof bits, fencing can be a demanding job. Take a look at this homemade post knocker which should help speed things up. Hands up anyone who has NOT chased cattle...

Yes, as you might have known it did finally catch up with us.( )
February 11, 2008... Despite getting the wagons in a circle in an attempt to dispel any invaders, the dreaded TB scourge has finally worked its way onto Roger Evans' farm and is set to cause a radical policy rethink. So there we go, job done, just as I...