Dairy Farmer articles from June 2006

Dairy Farmer archives from June 2006

COMMENT: Little local difficulty.
June 26, 2006... As the Commission starts to focus on the future of milk quotas it inevitably faces the fundamental problem of how to manage the transition from controlled production and assisted marketing to full-on free global trading. Such a volte face...

Co-ops lash back at critics and lay claim to the higher ground.
June 26, 2006... Co-op leaders hit back this week after coming under attack in a report from City analysts Oriel Securities which denigrated the co-ops in favour of the plcs. It questioned "how comfortable the retailers would be in relying upon businesses...

Whole milk is given the chop.
June 26, 2006... Whole milk is bad for children, right? Well it is according to the Government, which has decided to restrict milk for schools to skim and semi-skimmed only. Dairy UK, which complained about the move, says these milks may have marginally...

Arla's shock drop claimed to reflect balancing costs.(Arla Foods Ingredients A.m.b.a. )(Brief article)
June 26, 2006... Arla Foods gave its clearest signal yet that it doesn't want more butterfat for its liquid contracts or uneven supplies and is to drop its price 0.4ppl from this month. In what it terms its market related pricing policy it cites that...

Nerves grate over prospects for cheese price.
June 26, 2006... Cheese processors are facing nervous times with cheese prices falling and some UK and Irish processors said to be "making cheese like it is going out of fashion". In January the amount of milk sent into UK cheddar plants increased by 20%...

Profits in for squeeze.
June 26, 2006... UK dairy farmers could be looking forward to receiving a cash dividend of around #16m this summer and be the proud collective majority shareholder of a business worth #500m - had they not sold any of the 75m or so shares allocated to them on...

MDC in limbo as it awaits decision over new structure.
June 26, 2006... The recent parliamentary reshuffle which saw Margaret Beckett promoted and Lord Bach fired has resulted in over a months delay for the MDC in finding out what plans Defra has for it and the other Levy Boards. The organisation will now have...

French get help in restructuring dairy industry.(Brief article)
June 26, 2006... Brussels may frown on state aid but the French government has ploughed another #7m into a scheme to restructure its dairy industry. This brings to over #20m the amount invested by the French government in a rationalisation programme, with...

Cowman comment: Sorry NFU, but you've got it wrong this time.
June 26, 2006... After a few parting good wishes for Mrs Beckett, John Trunch turns his firepower on the NFU and gives them a broadside before getting back to his more seasonal duties on ragwort patrol. An old man came to the pearly gates, his hands gnarled...

Cowman comment: Hitched up caravan and drove off without a thought.
June 26, 2006... Having heroically held back the tears at Mrs Beckett's sad departure, Pat Bird is now busy channelling her energies from cattle identification into the ovine world, which she is finding somewhat mysterious! A year ago I warned not to rely...

Cowman comment: Buy local if you can but it isn't that easy.
June 26, 2006... After giving a (cheery) farewell to Mrs Beckett, our Scottish correspondent Donald McColm sets off on more mundane matters like finding some local butter... but can he? When I wrote my last DF report I was looking forward to an early...

Potter's View: Why it could be time to put our money on Theo Walcott.
June 26, 2006... With certain organisations hell bent on denigrating milk, Ian Potter suggests it's high time we countered this by signing up a modern footballing icon - with or without metatarsal fracture - to help refute all this adverse publicity. ...

EU News: EC starts to plan for future of milk quotas.
June 26, 2006... The European Commission insists the future of milk quotas is not in doubt - but it is under growing pressure to include these in the 2008/09 review of the CAP. This reflects concerns that the EU quota is at too high a level for the market...

EU News: Conflict over where export subsidies go.
June 26, 2006... A report on Europe's dairy subsidies has revealed that while farmers have struggled with low milk prices processors have received millions in export subsidies. The report was produced by farmsubsidy.org, which supports New Zealand and...

EU News: EU wrangle over WTO concessions.(World Trade Organization)(Brief article)
June 26, 2006... EU farm commissioner, Mariann Fischer Boel, and trade commissioner Peter Mandelson have continued their good cop/bad cop act over concessions from Europe to secure a World Trade Organisation deal. As discussions on technicalities continue in...

Conference: Simply too much milk in system.(markets)(Brief article)
June 26, 2006... Until there was a shortage of milk, SAC's head of dairy research Dave Roberts said he was very pessimistic about the milk price for the vast majority of producers. Looking at future dairying systems, Dr Roberts said that until UK...

Conference: Milk contracts should be related to markets.
June 26, 2006... The future of the dairy industry came under close scrutiny at the latest Scottish Agriculture College conference. Jennifer MacKenzie reports. The way forward for UK dairy producers was in greater collaboration, both in market connection...

Conference: Genetic markers could help speed up breeding progress.(dairy cattle breeding)(Brief article)
June 26, 2006... Genetic markers may be important for the future of dairy cattle breeding, SAC senior dairy researcher Geoff Pollott told the conference. "They have the potential to improve genetic progress by more accurately identifying particular...

Conference: Time needed to cope with raft of looming legislation.(Northern Ireland)(Brief article)
June 26, 2006... The challenge that lay ahead for the industry was how to disseminate research and development to producers, said Northern Ireland dairy farmer and Nuffield scholar Will Taylor. Mr Taylor who milks 200 pedigree Holsteins in a NVZ at...

Breeding: Jorryn sets cracking pace in proof ranking.(kalsumer Jorryn)
June 26, 2006... The latest Holstein proof runs have been dominated by new high index entries from Holland but home-grown bulls are more than holding their own when it comes to balanced type and production. Angela Rhodes reports. The May Holstein proofs...

Breeding: Duplex faces challenge for top slot in the type stakes.
June 26, 2006... There may have been a change at the top of the production rankings but Mesland Duplex has retained his position as the top type bull in the UK. Just behind him however are a number of bulls challenging for the top slot. These include...

Breeding: Exclusive: Bull rankings on health and welfare grounds.
June 26, 2006... As more and more is demanded of the modern cow in terms of production, it becomes increasingly important to breed cows that can stay the pace by judicious bull selection. Ann Hardy gives the first exclusive glimpse of bull ranking on health and...

Breeding: Fertility.(bulls)
June 26, 2006... Following a #1.4m joint DEFRA and industry-funded project (industry sponsors include CIS, Cogent, Dartington Trust, Genus, HUK and NMR), a fertility index has now been produced. Published by the MDC since May 2005, it will be included in PLI...

Breeding: SCC +mastitis.(somatic cell count)
June 26, 2006... Somatic cell count and mastitis are similar targets for breeding progress, despite the phenomenal improvements already seen. A decline from an average 600,000 cells/ml in 1971 to well under 200,000 today, and a halving in the incidence of...

Breeding: Lameness.(animal welfare)(Brief article)
June 26, 2006... Lameness is widely considered to be the most serious welfare issue confronting the dairy industry, and Holstein UK's inclusion of locomotion in its type appraisal system in 1994 (the first country in the world to do so) put the UK in a good...

Breeding: Lifespan.(cattle)(Brief article)
June 26, 2006... Longevity may represent the culmination of lifelong health issues and, contrary to widespread belief, it is on its way up. "It's a myth that herd life is getting shorter," says Mr Winters. "It did in the past, but now it's improving....

Breeding: For the future.(calving)(Brief article)
June 26, 2006... Calving ease Calving ease is another welfare trait rising up the agenda. "Both Cogent and Genus are recording this independently and on two different scales, but it is not recorded nationally," says Mr Winters. "The industry is hoping...

Breeding: Condition score.(cattle welfare)
June 26, 2006... Negative energy balance (occurring when a cow consumes less energy than she needs for milk production and other functions) is increasingly implicated in health and welfare issues and if excessive can be found at the root of many health...

Breeding: Using gene markers to help in breeding stock selection.
June 26, 2006... A new chapter is about to open in UK dairy cattle breeding allowing changes in genes to be analysed to define an animal's true potential through a few strands of hair plucked from its tail. Jennifer MacKenzie reports. Gene markers are set...

Breeding: Shorthorns add their weight to cross-breeding programme.(Cheshire Holstein contracts Dairy Shorthorn)
June 26, 2006... The introduction of Dairy Shorthorn blood into a Cheshire Holstein herd has not only helped increase longevity and robustness but added extra value to the calves and cull cows. Jennifer MacKenzie has the story. Holsteins need a lot more in...

Breeding: Cogent takes on new lease of life.(Cogent Breeding Ltd.)
June 26, 2006... Despite last year's wobble, Cheshire-based breeding company Cogent has now re-organised and is settling down to the challenging task of growing its market share. Peter Hollinshead reports. China's impact on global trading is not just...

Letter: Will OFT investigation get near to the facts?(Letter to the editor)
June 26, 2006... From: Mr Philip Poulsom,Wormwood Farm, Corsham, Wilts SN13 8JG. Your report of John Templeton's remarks to the recent RABDF annual conference in Gloucester (DF April 2006) flagged a warning that yet another Whitehall whitewash may be on its...

Milk prices: Re-shuffle in pricing as hygiene bands less stringent.(milk industry)
June 26, 2006... Milk price analyst Stephen Bradley comments on the latest milk industry developments. This month our milk price league table rolls into a new milk year, reporting on prices paid for Apr'06 milk supply. As a result we've taken the...

Milk prices: Additions to league.(Dairy Crest Ltd.)(Brief article)
June 26, 2006... A number of new prices make their first appearance in the league this month. These include Dairy Crest (Haver-fordwest) who are paying their Welsh suppliers 19.06ppl for our new standard litre. The price has been 0.25ppl behind that of Aspatria...

Milk prices: Glanbia Cheese reduces bf rate.(markets)(Brief article)
June 26, 2006... Mozzarella manufacturer, Glanbia Cheese, Llangefni, Anglesey, North Wales - the joint venture with US giant Leprino Foods - has confirmed it is to cut its direct supply milk price by 0.5ppl from May'06. This is the first time the company has...

Milk prices: United's May'06 auction down 2ppl.(Brief article)
June 26, 2006... United Dairy Farmers milk auction last month sold a total of 52mltrs (all contracts starting this month) for an average price of 17.37ppl, 2.09ppl down on last year's average of 19.46ppl. Of the total volume sold, 45mltrs on three month...

Milk prices: Butterfat payment under fire again.(Watson's Dairies)(Brief article)
June 26, 2006... Watson's Dairies, Hamps - part of the Medina Group - is the latest liquid milk processor to reduce the amount paid for b/f. From Oct'06 the company is to reduce the level of payment for additional b/f above its 3.5% base from 1.7p to 1.5p per...

Workshop tips: Home built bale squeeze can handle two at a time.(agriculture)
June 26, 2006... If you're into baled silage, there are some pretty attractive features about this handler made by Brecon farmer Wyn Lewis. For a start, it carries two wrapped bales, reducing the time and work involved in stacking. You'll also see that it...

Workshop tips: Trailer safety tip.(Brief article)
June 26, 2006... It's that time of year again when trailers and tractors are let loose in large numbers on rural roads. There's a lot depending on the maintenance and condition of the tractor pick-up hitch, which is increasingly used to attach every kind of...

Good Evans: Why gym membership is not necessary with our Leyland!(Roger Evans' dairy farm management)
June 26, 2006... At long last head scraperman Roger Evans has found that long-awaited excuse to press his best buy Leyland into action and finds his evenings spent building up strength in his right arm have not in any way been wasted. Having a herringbone...