Dairy Farmer articles from January 2005

Dairy Farmer archives from January 2005

Launch of natural heat stable cheese.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2005... Cheshire-based Joseph Heler Cheese will be laying claim to having developed the year's most innovative dairy product with the launch of the UK's first natural heat stable cheese at the forthcoming International Food and Drink Exhibition in...

Enough is enough.(sales force planning, dairy farms)(Brief Article)
January 26, 2005... In the so-called free trade US, the dairy industry has grabbed the initiative and taken a leaf out of OPEC's rulebook by controlling milk supplies (p12). Admittedly to the outsider it may seem nothing short of a finger in the dyke as...

Support for campaign to increase milk price.
January 26, 2005... The joint FFA and farming union campaign for a 3ppl cost-driven milk price increase has met with widespread industry support but no-one wants to be seen to make the first move and raise prices to customers. "We are doing exactly what any...

Crossbreeding: Norwegian Red import deal.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2005... Semen distributor Greenacres has announced an exclusive marketing agreement with Norwegian cattle breeding co-op Geno Global. As a long established distributor of Canadian Holstein genetics, Greenacres will now take on the sole right to market...

Yamaha ATV.
January 26, 2005... First name out of the hat from our Dairy Farmer Trail entries was Richard Messenger of Howes Farm, Calthwaite, Penrith, who will shortly take delivery of our super Yamaha ATV Beartracker. Richard farms with his father and mother, William and...

McClellands moves into Lactalis group.(Lactalis UK)(Brief Article)
January 26, 2005... Glasgow-based cheese processor McClellands has been bought out by one of the world's largest cheese manufacturers, Lactalis. The French company best known in the UK for its President brand of Brie, Emmental and butter, currently has sales...

Digital cameras.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2005... Winner of our Olympus digital camera is Mr Andrew Hannah of Garrie Farm, Stranraer, Wigtownshire. Andrew and his wife Jean run a 125 Holstein-Friesian commercial herd on the 150-acre farm in partnership with his brother. The family comprises...

Dansco suppliers dig in their heels.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2005... Direct suppliers to the West Wales-based mozzarella manufacturer Dansco have struck a small blow for producer power by forcing the reinstatement of a 0.45ppl price cut. The company announced plans to cut the January milk price last...

Teenagers target of #3m spending.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2005... A total of #1.5m has been awarded from the EC to match fund the MDC's new two-year campaign promoting the benefits of milk, cheese and yogurt to teenage girls. The #3m campaign has also won the support of several British dairies and co-ops. ...

Barrier teat dip.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2005... Devon based James Voysey is the winner of Agri-Lloyd International's offer of #1000 UDDERgold Platinum barrier teat dip made in Dairy Farmer's September issue. Mr Vosey of Furzeleigh Down Farm, near Axminster, has recently converted his herd to...

Cowmen comment: Stand by ready for the SFP inspector.
January 26, 2005... In between easing Charolais bullocks off Micra bonnets, our south-west correspondent Sally Leaney has been busy reading the SFP rules and wonders at what point the hay tedder is considered to be merely resting between seasons and when it...

Cowmen comment: Solicitor's letter and I'm not even there.
January 26, 2005... Apart from receiving an intriguing solicitor's warning, our Yorkshire correspondent Tim Gibson has been crunching the numbers on herd health and comes up with some fascinating findings. Read on. Having had the most response I have ever had...

Cowmen comment: Will we fall off without our stabilisers?(dairy management with out farm subsidies)
January 26, 2005... Under the new farm payment system we'll all be youngsters learning to ride our new bikes and, like Paul Higgins, we all know the lip-biting moment when the stabilisers finally come off. Plus the sad demise of his trusty cow dog which had...

How US dairymen are taking lesson from oil industry.
January 26, 2005... US dairymen have taken a leaf out of OPEC's rulebook and formulated a mechanism for moderating price swings by buying cattle up. Managing editor of Hoard's Dairyman, Steven Larson, tells us how the system works. Periods of high milk prices...

POTTER'S VIEW: The mad, mad world of dairy politics.(milk production)
January 26, 2005... The question is that while the recent 3ppl initiative is to be welcomed, is the requested analysis of producer costs merely another case of rearranging deckchairs in this crazy world of milk politics or are we at last about to witness the first...

EU NEWS: Merger plans set to put the pressure on.
January 26, 2005... The dairy industry across Europe is just coming to terms with the full implications of the planned merger between Arla and Campina to create Europe's biggest dairy business. This is expected to trigger new interest in rationalisation elsewhere...

EU NEWS: Quota changes.
January 26, 2005... Irish farm minister Mary Coughlan has announced major changes to the restructuring scheme which governs the transfer of milk quota. She has attempted to strike a balance between those that wanted a system with few controls to prevent quota...

EU NEWS: Global milk production grows.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2005... The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says global milk production has increased by almost 2 per cent. China continues topping the league table for growth, with a spectacular 20 per cent- plus increase on top on a similar...

EU NEWS: Red tape under scrutiny but don't hold your breath.(European Union)(Brief Article)
January 26, 2005... EU farm commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has agreed to look at ways to reduce the red tape associated with the CAP - but the message from most observers in Brussels is that farmers should not hold their breath waiting for big improvements. At...

EU NEWS: Farm incomes rise in new EU states.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2005... Farm incomes have risen by 50 per cent in the 10 new member states which joined the EU last May. However, in the old EU 15, the increase was a more depressing 0.8 per cent, meaning farm incomes failed to keep pace with the low eurozone...

EU NEWS: German `catastrophe'.(Dairy farms management)(Brief Article)
January 26, 2005... The main German farm union, DBV, has described 2004 as a catastrophic year for German dairy farmers. It says incomes plunged because of a big drop in prices paid for milk and because farmers were also squeezed by higher feed costs. The result...

BREEDING: Building cows that will last into the future.
January 26, 2005... Cattle classification is undergoing a radical review as breeders look to improve the lasting ability of milking cows. Lucy Andrews, research and development manager, and John Gribbon, breed development executive, at Holstein UK give us the...

BREEDING: How cross breeding can help arrest fall in fertility.
January 26, 2005... While pedigree Holstein breeders will continue to utilise superior proven bloodlines, commercial milk producers now have a unique opportunity to assess their own breeding goals following the results of several cross-breeding trials. Bruce...

SET-ASIDE: Urgent - get those set-aside rules sorted now!(interview of Francis Mordaunt)(Interview)
January 26, 2005... Many dairy farmers may face the requirement for set-aside for the first time as grassland now becomes classed as arable. Francis Mordaunt of Andersons consultants helps us through the minefield. The set-aside calculation for 2005 is...

Letter: Vigilantes.(Letter to the Editor)
January 26, 2005... How many people have given their lives to live in a free, democratic society? Freedom to go about their daily life and freedom to earn an honest living. Yet here we are in the 21st century and we find some dairy farmers being discriminated...

Letter: Cause of extra stress.(Letter to the Editor)
January 26, 2005... The interview with Richard Davis, reported in last month's Dairy Farmer, was a stirrer. Mr Davies claimed that NDFAS is ".. about protecting the integrity of milk", which prompted the interviewer to ask "but isn't that the job of the Food...

Letter: Where is advertising for English produce?(Letter to the Editor)
January 26, 2005... We were told farm assurance would get us closer to the customer because supermarkets would advertise where the produce came from. Whenever I ask at the counter if they can tell me where the meat is from they can't and do not want to be...

Letter: Inspections are thorough enough.(Letter to the Editor)
January 26, 2005... NDFAS is a total waste of time and money with their employees darting hundreds of miles around the countryside trying to coerce dairy farmers into doing the most irrelevant tasks. Most common sense discipline is already in place and regulated...

Letter: More emphasis needed on `GM-free'.(Letter to the Editor)
January 26, 2005... NDFAS has been raising standards while milk prices have been falling; it is not surprising many farmers wonder what is the point. The basic problem is that NDFAS ignores the issue most important to customers and most likely to give the Little...

Letter: Check out the tankers and dairies.(Letter to the Editor)
January 26, 2005... We, the farming community, have been asking for a reduction in paperwork, and what did the NFU do. They gave us the Little Red Tractor and Farm Assurance, and gave the trade a stick to beat us with. We were told that financially we would gain,...

Letter: Fusarium not likely to have caused havoc.(Letter to the Editor)
January 26, 2005... I was very interested in the article "How black dust in maize played havoc with yields". The contributor associated the problem with fusarium but I think it is much more likely to have been Ustilago Maydis or Maize Smut. Maize Smut is not...

Letter: Lengthening of period of milk withdrawal.(Letter to the Editor)
January 26, 2005... I write to notify your readers of the change to the milk withdrawal period for Leo Yellow Milking Cow. The current recommendation that milk for human consumption may only be taken from 84 hours (ie at the 7th milking) after the last treatment...

Telehandlers starting to bite into the tractor market.
January 26, 2005... Love it or hate it, the Merlo Multifarmer, a telehandler that is also fitted with an integral rear linkage/PTO, continues to attract interest particularly on livestock farms. However, the unique position enjoyed by this new breed of telehandler...

GRASSLAND: Taking 4800 litres from grazed grass!
January 26, 2005... Maximising grazed grass is the key to making a living in dairying says Tom Morris, winner of this year's British Grassland Society's National Grassland Management Competition. Sara Gregson reports. Ten years ago Tom Morris's cows ate 10...

We must not squander this opportunity of rise in price.(Price of Milk)
January 26, 2005... For some time the industry has been discussing the issue of the increasing cost of milk production and milk processing, which was brought to public attention by Dairy UK and the NFU in their joint statement last month. Developments the...

Dansco does an about-turn.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2005... Following the abrupt departure of Dansco's managing director, David Neill, the week before Christmas, direct suppliers received a letter on Christmas Eve from company owner Mohammed Soliman, cancelling the 0.45ppl price cut from January. ...

DC cuts milk for cheese price.(Dairy Crest)(Brief Article)
January 26, 2005... Dairy Crest, having held its milk price for cheese since May 2004, is to cut its cheese milk price by 0.5ppl from this month. The company said the decision had not been taken lightly, as it acknowledges the additional cost pressures producers...

MARKETING: Beating bulge.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2005... New research from the University of Tennessee suggests that calcium and, in particular, the calcium found in low-fat dairy products could be the secret to keeping your weight down long-term. The researchers suggest that eating calcium...

MARKETING: Dairy innovators set to reap rewards.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2005... Entries for the MDC's Dairy Innovation Awards increased ten fold in 2004 and winners were announced at the end of the year - selected by well-known names including celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson and Rachel Rowlands, founder of the...

MARKETING: Learning all about your bone structure.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2005... The MDC's Healthy Choices Education Pack for teachers has been highly successful since its launch in September. More than 5000 teachers of children aged five to 11 have received packs, reaching a quarter of all primary schools in England and...

MARKETING: Tesco to put logo on its own label British cheese.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2005... This January Tesco is introducing the Red Tractor Logo to its own-label British cheese, following the success of the tractor on British milk, meat, fish and poultry lines. The logo will now appear on more than 50 own-label British cheeses. ...

Good Evans: How to put a spark into your stock bull's life.(dairy management)
January 26, 2005... Bolstered by his success in taming the stop-at-nothing hormone-pumping Jersey stud last year, our ever-resourceful Pamplona hero is back in business - but this time with a few new tricks up his sleeve. So what does a Limousin bull cost?...