Dairy Farmer articles from July 2008

Dairy Farmer archives from July 2008

COMMENT: Looking at longer term.(Alistair Darling Chancellor's recent interviews saying about Inflation (Economics) and its impact on food prices and oil prices)(Brief article)
July 7, 2008... You can't help but have heard Chancellor Alistair Darling's recent interviews saying that food prices went up 40% over last year and oil prices had doubled in the same period - and most tellingly that "we have got to drive these down". ...

Little cheer on feed front despite easing back of cereal price.
July 7, 2008... Cereal prices may have eased slightly but farmers are unlikely to see huge reductions in their winter compound bills unless protein prices dip significantly and there is a respite in energy cost rises, warn feed compounders and straights...

Major change unlikely for nitrogen regulations.
July 7, 2008... Defra may have had more responses to its nitrate consultation than any other, but that still doesn't mean it is going to take notice and change much of the proposed regulations. At an environment conference run by Dairy UK, Maureen Novak...

Proposed carbon emission targets branded unfair.
July 7, 2008... The Government was this week accused of moving the goalposts as regards proposed carbon emission savings expected from the dairy sector. According to a strongly worded statement from Dairy Energy Savings Ltd, a directly owned subsidiary of...

DFB rolls out new range.
July 7, 2008... Dairy Farmers of Britain is rolling out a complete re-launch of NISA's entire cheese range to its 200-plus members as part of its newly appointed Cheese Category Champion. Its first action is to rationalise the 700 or so different cheeses...

Morrisons set to go regional.
July 7, 2008... Morrisons - the last of the major retailers to announce its milk sourcing policy - is going regional. It will be the first major retailer with all its own label standard fresh milk sourced and sold regionally at no extra cost, it says. ...

Bluetongue vaccination.
July 7, 2008... The Joint Action against Bluetongue (JAB) group is reporting that the vaccination campaign is going "exceptionally well", with more than nine million does of vaccine made available to farmers in the Protection Zone. But production problems mean...

First Milk completes brand.
July 7, 2008... It has been a busy month for First Milk - it has embarked on consultations with members on a new capital structure proposal that will recognise capital contributions and pay interest and dividends on them, and also lead to a facility whereby...

Milk Link invests in Oswestry.
July 7, 2008... Milk Link has completed the first phase of a #2.5m investment project at its packing plant in Oswestry, which puts it firmly on the road to becoming "the most advanced packing plant in the UK". Two new lines have been installed and robotic...

United's auction.
July 7, 2008... PRICES at United Dairy Farmers June auction managed to stay slightly ahead of last year with 41m litres selling for an average of 26.21ppl, 0.21ppl up on last year and 1.93ppl up on last month. With all contracts starting July 1, 39m litres on...

Cowmen comment: Neighbours look over hedge with curiosity.
July 7, 2008... After the hustle and bustle of a busy silage season, Tim Gibson seized the opportunity for a break and headed off to South Africa where he was surprised by what he found. Silage this year went off well. I can only say it's been one of the...

Thirty-seven SFP phone calls later and we are still waiting!(Animal vaccination)(Report)
July 7, 2008... No matter how urgently you may need the cash, there's no hurrying the RPA. Sally Leaney finds out that protracted negotiations are par for the course. We turned the stock out later than usual this year as we were waiting to vaccinate them...

Well it's somebody's birthday but I'm not allowed to mention it.
July 7, 2008... With cows starting to calve and the first days of hot sunshine, Paul Higgins gets cracking on the silage mowing. May is a great month as everything looks its best - stock, fields and the whole countryside in general. This year was a...

Morrisons eventually falls into line with other major retailers.
July 7, 2008... Just as Morrisons finally decides to move over the criticism about the unfairness of its milk procurement policy, retailing supremo Tesco comes a cropper over its bull calf scheme. Ian Potter gives us the latest. Supermarkets - don't we...

Grassland champ uses wholecrop to help keep feed costs in check.
July 7, 2008... High feed prices are driving producers to look at making even better use of forage and the current holder of the British Grassland Award, Arthur Owen, uses a mixture of wholecrop wheat and grass silage to help keep escalating input costs in...

MILKING: Cluster flushing helping to bring cell count down.
July 7, 2008... Since installing an automated cluster flushing system, Cornish producer Nicky Monies has seen significant improvements in udder hygiene and a welcome boost to his milk cheque by eliminating cross contamination between cows. Milk quality is...

MILKING: Teat scoring can be good indicator of equipment performance.
July 7, 2008... Measuring changes in teat score over several weeks can be a good indicator as to whether milking equipment is performing as it should. Teat condition can directly influence mastitis levels and that's why it's important to know just how well...

MILKING: Level of automation goes up.(Cattle industry usage different automation systems)
July 7, 2008... An emphasis on keeping records and saving labour has led to the degree of automation which was once an add-on extra becoming an integral part of today's parlour equipment. Improvements in technology have made practical tasks such as moving...

MILKING: Designing your new parlour to meet future requirements.
July 7, 2008... Spend in haste, milk at leisure. Producers looking to invest some of their hard-earned milk cheque in upgrading or renewing their milking plant are strongly advised to carefully consider all their options first. Too many mistakes were made...

MILKING: Reduce vacuum pumps.
July 7, 2008... Big parlours need blasts of water to create enough force for a good scrubbing action during cleaning. Hence vacuum pump capacity is always sized to cope with the greater energy demand for cleaning. However, Dairymaster's Jetsaver saves...

MILKING: Rapid exit offers feeding facilities.(WestfaliaSurge UK Ltd offered Food containers)(Brief article)
July 7, 2008... Feeding in parlour to better target concentrate useage is coming back in vogue. For herds still wanting to achieve high throughputs, WestfaliaSurge has produced Globall90Ref. This rapid exit with feeding facilities feeds accurately and cleanly...

MILKING: Brushes save on teat dip.(Dairy Spares Ltd. offered DipSave)(Brief article)
July 7, 2008... Savings of up to 30% in teat dip costs can be made using a DipSave from Dairy Spares. This plastic cap clips onto the top of teat dip cups and contains a circular array of brushes to regulate the volume of dip applied. This enables a more...

MILKING: Heat detection system.(Crysta-Heat system from Fullwood )(Brief article)
July 7, 2008... With heat detection rates often below 60%, Fullwood's Crysta-Heat stand- alone heat detection system claims to boost conception rates to first service by 10%. It works alongside all makes and types of parlour and is based on each cow...

MILKING: Second-hand parlours may be discounted but check out first!
July 7, 2008... With milk producers quitting the industry, there's some pretty top notch kit coming onto the market, but buyers should be cautious before they put in their bid. Buying second hand should only be done after careful consideration, warns...

Letter: Better results in three years or more profit next winter?(Letter to the editor)
July 7, 2008... From: Peter N Allen at www.totaldietmanagement.com In the June edition of Dairy Farmer, the re-launched MDC, now calling themselves DairyCo, produced advice to producers on how to choose your semen, for better results in three years time....

Milk prices: Morrisons rise to be shared out at 0.3ppl.
July 7, 2008... Following Morrisons announcement that its 1ppl increase from June 1 was to be shared between Arla Foods and Dairy Crest producers not already supplying on retailer contracts, both processors have confirmed those producers will receive 0.3ppl....

Milk prices: DFB is the first to move.
July 7, 2008... Dairy Farmers of Britain has increased its producer milk price by 0.5ppl across all contracts from Jun'08, including CI and organic, and was the first of the three main co-ops to announce a price increase this year. The increase, which...

Milk prices: Extra payment.
July 7, 2008... North Welsh farmer co-op, South Caernarfon, has confirmed it is to pay members a 0.6ppl 13th payment on all litres supplied for the year to Mar'08. The payment will be made in mid July following the Society's AGM with members having the option...

Milk prices: Glanbia Cheese 0.6ppl increase.
July 7, 2008... Glanbia Cheese has confirmed it will increase its milk price paid to producers for milk supplied into its Llangefni Mozzarella plant (Anglesey) by 0.6ppl from Jun'08, taking our price for them to 25.7ppl and 25.63ppl on its flat base and...

After all my horoscope said it would be my lucky week!
July 7, 2008... Buoyed up by his latest star predictions and with a little help from his lucky comb, Roger Evans tackles the week with great expectations. This has been a very strange week. It's been an unsettling sort of week. I don't think I've ever...