Dairy Farmer articles from January 2008

Dairy Farmer archives from January 2008

COMMENT: Dutch courage.
January 24, 2008... Whatever happened to the brave heart of our Dutch entrepreneur Ronald Akkerman? After the heart-thumping roller-coaster of a ride he gave us, he finally ups stumps to disappear over the horizon leaving behind some pretty angry suppliers....

Akkerman decides to walk away from his cheese factory plans.
January 24, 2008... Just before Christmas the much talked about figure of Dutchman Ronald Akkerman ditched his producers, sold out to Meadow Foods, and left many an angry Cumbrian producer in his wake. For four years Ronald Akkerman had been touting around his...

Auction prices.
January 24, 2008... As a consequence of the steadying of dairy commodity prices, particularly in the last month or so, milk buyers in Northern Ireland rejected virtually all option milk for January 2008. Option milk is milk offered up for allocation in relation to...

Milk prices should hold firm.
January 24, 2008... Dairy experts believe milk prices will remain firm for the first few months of 2008, despite dips in commodity market indices and the first reported price fall to farmers for 15 months. A 1.6ppl drop was applied to a small group of 35...

New EU regulations for the transport of live animals.
January 24, 2008... On January 5 2008, new EU regulations came into force affecting all businesses that transport cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses and poultry by road in connection with an economic activity on journeys over 65km. The driver and attendants now...

Defra consults on quota increase.(Defra inc)(Brief article)
January 24, 2008... Should the EU impose a 2% increase in milk quotas for 2008? Defra is consulting the industry but is giving it barely any time to respond. The deadline for responses to this question was January 17, giving just six working days. The proposal is...

Co-ops get the green light for merger plans.
January 24, 2008... First Milk and Milk Link will be allowed to merge, according to the Office of Fair Trading which has decided not to refer their merger plans to the competition authorities. Although the organisation looked at territorial, milk supply, cheese...

BRC maintains farmers did get the money.
January 24, 2008... The OFT's investigation into price fixing by the retailers and processors threw the spotlight firmly back to one of its most unsavoury periods - 2002 and 2003 when almost nightly desperate farmers were being mobilised to picket distribution...

First Milk invests in Scottish creameries.
January 24, 2008... First Milk is investing #650,000 in its Rothesay creamery by installing state-of-the-art equipment which will enable whey to be processed at the site for the first time. The investment has been supported by Highlands & Islands Enterprise which...

Struggling to find way through our very own abortion storm.
January 24, 2008... Despite optimism over better milk prices, Tim Gibson has had his hands more than full with a devastating abortion storm sweeping through his herd. Welcome to 2008! What a year the last one was and looking back at what I started with last...

Just make sure you have got everything under lock and key.
January 24, 2008... Goodwill to all men maybe but the last thing you want in the busy build up to the festive season is some light-fingered person helping themselves to your property. Sally Leaney tells us of her nocturnal visitors. I am ever hopeful this...

Here's hoping this year will show bit of an improvement.
January 24, 2008... This month our Stratford-upon-Avon correspondent Paul Higgins is full of optimism that the coming year can only be an improvement on the last! As we get a foothold in the new year, I personally won't be remembering last year with too much...

Interview - Why our milk contracts are no longer fit for purpose.(Interview)
January 24, 2008... There is growing awareness that we need to view the present-day climate as an opportunity to put our house in order. Chris Walkland talks to dairy sector chairman Gwyn Jones about the need for a radical overhaul of milk contracts. What's...

Potter's View - Oh dear, Ronald, was it something I said?
January 24, 2008... What on earth, you may ask, has Ian Potter's night out with Abba's leggy squeeze, Agnetha, at the Pocklington village hall got to do with Dutchman Ronald Akkerman's cheese factory? Sadly, one very important thing. "I have a dream." So goes...

Breeding - Revised bull index designed to reflect commercial traits.
January 24, 2008... The way a cow looks can be very dear to some farmers' hearts. It can also impinge on her lifespan, health and her commercial success. The launch this month of a new Type Merit for bulls is designed to improve all of these factors. Ann Hardy...

Inbreeding: take care over sire selection or could end up paying price.
January 24, 2008... Is inbreeding the time bomb that some breeders suggest or are the levels in the UK too low to be of concern? Ann Hardy reports on new data from MDC breeding+ which precisely reveals this country's position and why we cannot afford to be...

INBREEDING: WHAT IS IT?(Inbreeding arises when individuals which are related are bred together)(Brief article)
January 24, 2008... Inbreeding arises when individuals which are related are bred together. The closer the relationship, the higher the level of inbreeding (see Table 1). The effects of inbreeding are to concentrate the breeding pool around fewer and fewer...

Breeding - How would your heifers fare put up against MOET herd?(multiple ovulation and embryo transfer)
January 24, 2008... UK dairy farmers with well bred heifers which look promising enough to suggest they may have a future as a bull mother can now apply to the Genus ABS Breeder Owned Heifer Scheme. Solo is breeding daughters with impressive udders with strong...

Caledonian swallows Stewartry group and looks around for more.
January 24, 2008... Having recruited the 50mltr Stewartry group towards the end of last year, Caledonian Cheese is now looking to recruit still more suppliers. It increased its price by 1.25ppl from Nov'07 and confirmed a further 0.5ppl increase from Dec'07. ...

Milk prices - Oct'07 farm gate price at 26.53ppl.
January 24, 2008... Defra's provisionalfarm gate milk price (including retrospective bonuses) for Oct'07 was 26.53ppl, some 7.69ppl up on the same month last year but just falling short of the all-time October high of 26.77ppl in 1995. Protein production continues...

Milk prices - Robert Wiseman Dairies to standardise supply contract.
January 24, 2008... With the exception of producers on the Tesco `core' contract, already on our standard litre price of 27.5ppl for 1mltr producer on 3.85% butterfat, Robert Wiseman Dairies is to standardise its milk price across its UK contracts from Feb'08,...

Milk Link prices all `B' litres at the full rate until March.
January 24, 2008... In addition to increasing members' prices by circa 8ppl since the start of the year (including the latest rise of 1.2ppl from Nov'07) to around 25.2ppl on their standard litre basis, Milk Link says members will benefit further with the decision...

Good Evans - Mmm, how about being tied to something a bit younger?
January 24, 2008... What with now being a leading light in the Shorthorn world and getting a top bidder mention in the revered Farmers Guardian, you would think Roger Evans' cup veritably overfloweth. But there is a downside... I've just completed the...