Dairy Farmer articles from January 2009

Dairy Farmer archives from January 2009

COMMENT: Just what we didn't need.
January 23, 2009... We've all been shivering a bit this past week and with the EU dependent for one quarter of its gas from Russia it's a precarious state to be in as Bulgaria and Slovakia will readily testify. As with energy so with food - you don't miss them...

NFU slams into Arla after announcement of price drop of 2ppl.
January 23, 2009... In a shock move Arla Foods kicked off the year by reducing its price by a massive 2ppl, taking its standard litre price down to 25p. Somewhat surprisingly the firm blamed the decline in commodity markets for the decision and was roundly...

UDF auction price slumps.
January 23, 2009... While milk prices in the UK are falling or under severe pressure, those in Northern Ireland have dropped like a stone. The price paid to United Dairy Farmers' members is down to just over 20ppl as a result of a recent 4ppl cut. December's...

Long Clawson cheese deal gets all clear.
January 23, 2009... In a move which indicates that there is at least one brain cell at work in the offices of the Competition Commission, the organisation has "provisionally cleared" the acquisition by Long Clawson of Dairy Crest's Hartingdon creamery. The deal...

Figures reveal producer trends.
January 23, 2009... A fifth of the nation's milk comes from just 800 farmers, with the number of farmers producing more than four million litres of milk increasing from 48 to 84 since 2004 (representing 4.3% of GB's overall production). There was also a rise...

NVZ appeals.(Nitrate Vulnerable Zone )(Brief article)
January 23, 2009... Time is running out for farmers to appeal if their farms have been included in the new Nitrate Vulnerable Zone areas. The new rules came into force on January 1 and appeal deadline is January 31. The onus is on farmers to find out for...

Bright future in longer run.
January 23, 2009... Dairy leaders are urging dairy farmers to see through the present difficulties to the "better times" that will inevitably come. The eternally optimistic Dairy UK reassures that "the mixture of difficult trading conditions, high input prices...

Last call for conference.(Conference news)
January 23, 2009... There's still time to register for the British Cattle Breeders Club Conference this year - but only just! Held at a new venue, the Telford Golf and Spa hotel, speakers on the dairy day - on Wednesday January 21 - include Peter Kendall on the...

Bluetongue battle.(Brief article)
January 23, 2009... Farmers are being urged to keep up the battle against bluetongue through 2009 by continuing to vaccinate their animals. Although Defra will not be underwriting further vaccine supplies for 2009 it will be making available the remaining 12m...

Pedigree registrations.
January 23, 2009... Registrations in the Jersey pedigree herdbook exceeded 10,000 in 2008. For pedigree registrations there was an increase in UK born animals of 14% and semen sales showed big growth with an increase of 37% in the year. Copyright: CMP...

Weak pound will be factor in determining farm profitability.
January 23, 2009... Although the lowly state of sterling may stop too many dairy imports from being sucked into the country, Tim Gibson has also to think of the other side of his business which is installing imported robotic milkers. Welcome to the New Year,...

I am hoping we'll be first to to get the cheque this year!
January 23, 2009... As she was very much at the end of the RPA queue last year, Sally Leaney is secretly hoping that she will fare much better this year and is all prepared for a New Year surprise! We start the New Year amid a global credit crisis with...

Even a few smacks with the sledgehammer failed to fix it.(Viewpoint essay)
January 23, 2009... This month Paul Higgins was determined to be prepared for anything the arduous winter scraping routine could throw at him but soon discovered that his new-found turn of speed was a rather mixed blessing. The winter started off quite well....

Dairy UK will continue to represent producers, reassures new chairman.(Interview)
January 23, 2009... Following the furore surrounding the departure of the last chairman of Dairy UK, Dairy Crest's chief executive Mark Allen has now moved in to take up the reins. Chris Walkland talks to him about whether the NFU's withdrawal has radically...

Captain Grantchester charts new course to keep the ship afloat.
January 23, 2009... The shock of a massive 2ppl price cut, particularly from a liquid buyer, has undeniably not got the year off to a good start. Ian Potter looks at what else might be in store in these choppy seas. Another year starts - and what a start with...

CANADA: Canadians prosper as quotas shelter them from battering.
January 23, 2009... Journalist Richard Halleron has recently returned from a Semex-hosted trip to Canada where he found that dairy farmers there are pretty happy with their lot and was amazed at the optimism a half-decent milk price can generate. Canadian...

CANADA: Genomically selected sires for UK market.
January 23, 2009... Canada's dairy industry has announced afive-year genomic development plan, costing #20 million, which experts believe will put it well ahead of the world in applying this cutting-edge animal breeding technology. All of the country's AI...

CANADA: Calves that get up to 12 litres/day!
January 23, 2009... Canada's milk producers are committed to breeding from heifers as young as 12 months of age. They believe that if a replacement is tall enough - and heavy enough - then she can take her place in the milking herd at 21 months. All of this is...

CANADA: Farmers paying for promotion.
January 23, 2009... Every dairy farmer in Canada is paying the equivalent of 0.6ppl to help fund the generic promotion of liquid milk and dairy products. The money is deducted as a levy from the monthly milk cheque. But it's a price producers are happy to pay,...

CANADA: Classification brings big benefits.
January 23, 2009... There are approximately one million dairy cows in Canada. Of these, over 70% are milk recorded and almost 25% regularly classified. Put another way, 70% of milk producers in Canada regularly classify all or some of their cows. "In...

NVZs: Cost of complying with NVZ requirements could spell end.
January 23, 2009... The implementation of Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) rules from January 2009 brings a heavy financial cost for many dairy farmers. Michael Finch reports. Many dairy farmers whose cattle produce milk from the slopes of the Pennine hills...

NVZs: MPs are being lobbied.
January 23, 2009... The National Farmers Union locally and nationally has been lobbying MPs and Environment Secretary Hilary Benn to draw attention to the problems dairy farmers face over NVZs. Tim Coy of the union's Honley office told Dairy Farmer: "It is...

BREEDING: Block calving makes big demands on cow fertility.
January 23, 2009... A Welsh dairy unit has cut its empty rate from 17% to just 8% by focusing on breeding the right cow to suit its grassland system and correctly managing that animal. Debbie James reports. David and Laura Gravell converted their system at...

BREEDING: US forges ahead in genomic testing to up reliability of sires.
January 23, 2009... As of January this year, genomic test results will be included in US bull proofs, thanks to work initiated by the United States Department of Agriculture in 2001 - a move which will impact on US bulls used in British herds. With the...

BREEDING: Working to reap benefits of crossbreeding.
January 23, 2009... Shropshire dairy farmer Gareth Hotchkiss is breaking with current trends by running a crossbred, low-input herd to make the most of grazed grass. Jennifer Mackenzie reports. Traditional breeds including the Dairy Shorthorn and Jersey have...

LETTER: Putting power back in producers' hands.(Letter to the editor)
January 23, 2009... From: Robert Fisher, Ardgillan House, 24 Melton Green, Wath, Rotherham S63 6AB. Do you really think that Arla's January two pence cut in their milk price is really anything to do with falling commodity markets? When Dairy Farmers of...

LETTER: Dairy Daughters do their bit for charity.(Letter to the editor)
January 23, 2009... Staff at the Taunton office of Dairy Daughters are again doing their bit to raise funds for the charity Farm Crisis Network by offering a year planner featuring.... themselves. Any non customers wanting a year planner can order one by...

MILK PRICES: Cheesemakers start to feel the pressure.
January 23, 2009... Following DFB's 2ppl cut to members from Nov'08, others have followed including Arla (2ppl) and First Milk (1.25ppl). Somerset Farmhouse cheesemaker Wyke Farms, who over the last 14 months has established itself with one of the leading...

MILK PRICES: Arla increases premium rate.
January 23, 2009... This month our 12-month rolling milk price league reflects prices paid for Nov'08 supplies. One price highlight we have not reported is that of Arla Foods. As a result of its second quarterly review (Sept to Nov) of the 0.3ppl Non-aligned Farm...

MILK PRICES: Milk Link to match last year's #4m.
January 23, 2009... Posting a strong first half-year business performance, Milk Link say it is confident that as well as having increased its producer milk price by 1.5ppl since Apr'08, its Processing Interest Payment to members for the full year 2008/09 will be...

Installing a backing gate could save you a great deal of effort.
January 23, 2009... Clambering out of the pit and encouraging reluctant members of the herd to move becomes a habit and part of the job, yet the interruption in the routine takes extra time and effort especially when energy levels may be low! Automatic...

GOOD EVANS: Limmy they are not but they still cleared wall effortlessly.
January 23, 2009... Despite the colour implication, a lot of the new Swedish Red crossbred heifers are starting to look amazingly like their Limousin counterparts and, according to Roger Evans, that's not where the similarity ends either. As the number of...