Dairy Farmer articles from July 2003

Dairy Farmer archives from July 2003

COMMENT: Ready on a plate.(Inside sources have confirmed that Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is just as committed to seeing milk decoupled in 2005 as it is all other sectors)
July 22, 2003... Inside sources have confirmed that DEFRA is just as committed to seeing milk decoupled in 2005 as it is all other sectors, which puts the cat among the pigeons after it was long thought that milk had been well and truly parked till 2007. ...

Angry reaction to feta ruling.(Greece granted a monopoly on feta cheese prodution.)(Brief Article)
July 22, 2003... A Yorkshire dairy has been told it can no longer produce feta cheese because it now falls under EU protective status, and UK specialist cheesemakers are up in arms over the decision to grant Greece a monopoly on the product. The cheese has...

Boning up on dairy intakes.(Brief Article)
July 22, 2003... Dairy Council hit back sharply this week over a Daily Mail report where scientists contested the idea that a dairy-based diet helps prevent osteoporosis, claiming that they have mis-interpreted the science. Profs Jane Plant and Gill Tidey...

UK could go for early decoupling.(Brief Article)
July 22, 2003... UK could take an early lead on the rest of Europe by ignoring the three year delay for the introduction of dairy decoupling in favour of an earlier implementation date. Permission to do this was secured by DEFRA minister Margaret Beckett...

Milk profile.(Brief Article)
July 22, 2003... Current measures to alter the milk production profile seem to be having little effect as this year's spring milk flush has resulted in the highest monthly production totals since deregulation. Following on from a slight increase in May the...

Peter Dixon Smith's decision to retire.(Brief Article)
July 22, 2003... One of the UK's highest yielding pedigree Holstein herds will go under the hammer this autumn following Leicestershire breeder Peter Dixon Smith's decision to retire after 50 years in the business and disperse the famous Gold Cup winning Lyons...

Disgrace there's no price increase.(Brief Article)
July 22, 2003... Frustration is starting to spill over among Dairy Farmers of Britain producers who have now been told there will be no price increase before 1st August - a full month after the start of the new contract period. DFOB was expected to be one...

DIAL [Dairy Industry Association Ltd.] warned supply could be in jeopardy.(Brief Article)
July 22, 2003... NFU deputy president issued a stern warning to milk processors to start offering a fair price for their milk or they simply wouldn't continue to get supplies post decoupling. Coming out fiercely in favour of decoupling across all sectors,...

Calf prices: first hint of decoupling effect.(Brief Article)
July 22, 2003... The possible removal of headage payments in January 2005 means dairy bred beef heifers and Holstein bull calves will be worth a maximum #15 a head this autumn, according to industry figures. Warwickshire-based Rosette Foods Ltd has been one of...

Cowmen comment: How our Tim got on to page three.(Column)
July 22, 2003... Tim Gibson's highly successful farm open day has unexpectedly opened up exciting new avenues... not least as a media star in the tabloids. DF exclusive... read all about it... I must start by thanking all those who attended the open day....

COWMEN COMMENT: English eat to live while the French...
July 22, 2003... After a weeks holiday over the channel Sally Leaney is more convinced than ever that France's healthy cultural respect towards food puts its farmers in a class which envious UK producers can only stand and marvel at. We have just returned...

COWMEN COMMENT: Dairy inspection now done with binoculars!(Column)
July 22, 2003... After coping with an exasperating tractor, fatigued forage harvester and a disappointing TB failure, our Stratford-upon-Avon cowman Paul Higgins was hardly surprised when, to top it all, the dairy inspector called complete with binoculars....

INTERVIEW: Farmers For Action pushing for 4.5ppl hike by the autumn.(Interview)
July 22, 2003... Flushed with his recent success at Lidl's, Farmers For Action chairman David Handley is hell bent on achieving the European milk price by this autumn. Peter Hollinshead talks to him about the role of FFA and the on- going problems facing the...

Cogent calls for clear out.(Brief Article)
July 22, 2003... Cogent has come out fighting and condemned the practice of selling CVM (Complex Vertebral Malformation) bull semen as a "scandal" and declared the UK is being used as a "dumping ground" for such material. Managing director Tim Heywood has...

UK genetic progress puts us among best.
July 22, 2003... UK progeny tested sires are now on a par with the world's best according to Gordon Swanson at MDCEL. Recent analysis of international genetic trends shows that UK progeny tested sires have closed the gap on the rest of the world. In just 10...

US top ranker joining line-up.(Brief Article)
July 22, 2003... The new number one Holstein sire in the US is now available in the UK having just been added to the Dairy Daughters line-up. O-Bee Manfred Justice is a son of Ha Ho Cubby Manfred out of an EX92 Bell Elton dam. Manfred has been a very good sire...

Farm assured stud launched by Semex.(Brief Article)
July 22, 2003... Producers looking for high reliability, UK-proven Canadian sires can now select from a range of UK Farm Assured bulls recently launched by Semex. Between them the eight bulls in the line up have over 51,000 daughters in milk in this country...

BREEDING: Fast and furious!
July 22, 2003... In the fourth in her series of articles assessing the role of management traits in herd improvement, Holstein UK Animal Breeding & Research Analyst, Lucy Andrews, works with the University of Edinburgh to investigate ease of milking as a...

Letter: MDC wasting my money on man from down-under.(The conduct of the Movement for Democratic Change.)(Letter to the Editor)
July 22, 2003... From: Miles Browne, West Mains, Gordon, Berwickshire, TD3 6JL. Happening to be in Cambletown on the same day as MDC's Australian grass evangelist, I popped along for one hour of his three leaf grazing mantra. Luckily five mentions of...

Letter: Powerstart winner.(Letter to the Editor)
July 22, 2003... Winner of this year's Powerstart silage competition is Mark Andrews, Bury End Farm, Worcestershire, who runs a herd of 119 with an average yield of 8898 litres of which a colossal 4394 litres is from forage. His silage sample, which was a mix...

Letter: Staffs group looking to get into discount buying.(Letter to the Editor)
July 22, 2003... From: Roger Clarke, Little Rowe Farm, Stapleford, Staffs ST5 4EN. I would just like to draw to the attention of your readers in the North Staffordshire area a study group we run to help with the exchange of farming ideas. Grass Roots, as it...

Letter: Top bulls now allocated to their marketing studs.(Letter to the Editor)
July 22, 2003... From: Evans Drayton, managing director, Dairy Daughters, PO Box 4, Unit 10, Whiteway Court, Cirencester GL7 7YG. Much as I enjoyed reading your articles in the Breeding section of the June edition, there was incorrect information given as...

Letter: Quality milk awards so far.(Letter to the Editor)
July 22, 2003... As we speak, our judges are out there sifting through the details of the short-listed finalists in this year's DF sponsored Pharmacia Quality Milk Awards. The ultimate winner will be announced at the Dairy Event and will receive the top prize...

POTTER'S VIEW: Don't allow yourself to subsidise.(Column)
July 22, 2003... In what looks set to herald the dawn of a new era in the brave new world of post-MTR life, prices will fall as support is cut away but the crucial thing, says Ian Potter, is not to start adding your entitlement allowance to market prices or...

EU NEWS: Mid-Term Review - what does all the talk mean for us?(Understanding Common Agricultural Policy.)
July 22, 2003... Six months after the mid-term review proposals were published, and after a farm council that lasted three weeks, EU farm ministers have reformed the CAP. Complete decoupling seems to be off the EU agenda, but farmers still face change and price...

BUSINESS: Making sure your figures stack up before investing.
July 22, 2003... In any business there are always constraints and dairy farming is no different. Jimmy Goldie, head of SAC Dairy Services Unit, looks at the financial and physical constraints that will impact on investment decisions. With current low...

BUSINESS: How careful planning keeps taxman at bay.
July 22, 2003... Despite the continued downward pressure on farm profits, all dairy businesses can potentially benefit from prudent tax planning according to Peter Fry, tax manager with Promar International. Tax planning is usually associated with...

BUSINESS: Barn conversions: cashing in on your redundant assets.
July 22, 2003... Want to convert those old barns to dwellings? In the first of two articles chartered surveyor David Haston looks at the opportunities and potential problems in developing redundant farm buildings. With farm incomes under pressure, an...

BUSINESS: Building up your own DIY website.(The Village Pantry.)
July 22, 2003... For most small businesses, developing a bespoke website can be prohibitively expensive and also a bit daunting for those not used to travelling on the information super highway. Angela Rhodes finds out how one Yorkshire farm shop got on-line...

BUSINESS: Herdsman turns busy webmaster.(www.farmstoreonline.co.)
July 22, 2003... Five years ago when David Stretch started milking the 230-strong pedigree Donnah herd, he would not have imagined casting off apron and gloves and metamorphosing into a full-time web master. Peter Hollinshead went to investigate. After 25...

Mild cheddar leads the way.
July 22, 2003... The long awaited firming of cheddar prices looks set to herald the start of the demise of the price-depressing overhang and act as a harbinger of better things to come. Latest market reports are showing mild cheddar prices firming...

Dairy Crest closure forces 200ml on market.(Brief Article)
July 22, 2003... Dairy Crest is reducing the size of its ingredients business by closing part of its operation at Chard in Somerset. Production of skimmed milk powder and bulk butter, largely for the commodity dairy ingredients market, ceased in early July. ...

Shifting income group.(Brief Article)
July 22, 2003... Fewer middle income earners and increased numbers of low and high earning consumers will force a change in the balance of food production as market demands evolve. According to Matt Sheehan of Promar, currently around 80% of the population...

Dairy products reduce asthma.(Brief Article)
July 22, 2003... Young children drinking full cream milk and eating butter are less likely to develop asthma than those who don't. That is the conclusion from a year-long study of the diets of 3000 two- year-olds carried out by the Dutch National Institute...

GOOD EVANS: Cash dispensers are positively antisocial.
July 22, 2003... Now that our very own technophobe has finally bowed to the power of the microchip, he is suddenly finding an unexpected, rather serious, downside... he no longer needs to go to the pub to cash a cheque. Perhaps his gut instincts were right...