Dairy Farmer articles from June 2008

Dairy Farmer archives from June 2008

Wisemans' sales up but profits down.(Financial report)
June 6, 2008... Wisemans sold more milk than ever before last year, according to its latest annual results, but unadjusted profits were down. Volumes were up 4.1% from 1.46bn litres to a record 1.52bn litres, with turnover increasing 19.3% from #605m to...

COMMENT: Mr King's crystal ball.
June 6, 2008... According to the Governor of the Bank of England we have had the `nice' (non-inflationary consistent expansion) decade and everyone is holding their breath as to what the next one will bring. None more so than milk producers who find it...

Survey shows milk supplies are likely to remain short.
June 6, 2008... Despite the rise in prices, milk supplies will continue to drop as the associated rise in input costs has tempered any optimism. That's the finding of the latest DairyCo intentions survey that concludes although fewer farmers than before...

Milk Link's #4m payout.
June 6, 2008... Milk Link's members are sharing out a #4 million Processing Interest Payment from the 2007/08 financial year, equivalent to a 10.6% return on investment and worth around #2000 for an average member. The payment to members results from the...

Scandinavian and British dairy farmers united in joint venture.
June 6, 2008... Arla Foods Milk Partnership members have bought a 7% stake in Arla Foods UK plc via their investment company, Milk Partnership Ltd (MPL), in a joint venture partnership with Arla Foods amba. The move "will help fund further investment in...

Two-tier production.(Brief article)
June 6, 2008... Producers should expect higher price volatility and a segmented two- tier industry in the future. That was the stark warning from Tim Brigstocke when he delivered the RAC/Dairy Crest annual fellowship report in London last week. "For...

Wrangle hots up over who can use `Jersey'.
June 6, 2008... A deep-seated row has broken out over whether the name Jersey is restricted to dairy products from the island itself or denotes products from Jersey cows in general. Products produced outside the Channel Island could be forced to remove...

Future of Westbury Dairies is secured.
June 6, 2008... Despite continued low production and no spring flush, the future of Westbury Dairies - built almost entirely with the flush in mind - seems safe. That's due to the co-operative spirit that seemingly still exists between Milk Link and First...

Big plans for Tesco's localchoice milk range.
June 6, 2008... Sales of Tesco's localchoice milk are set to rise if the retailer's latest projections for the brand, supplied by DFB, materialise. "We hope to make localchoice milk the nation's first choice wherever they are in the country," it says in...

Cowmen comment: Barn conversions all around but nobody to cut the grass.
June 6, 2008... Apart from his ongoing battle with the athletic rabbit population, John Trunch gives us his insight into the fast-changing scene in many of the surrounding south-west villages. Here I am on the first dry day for some time sitting in the...

The sooner we can all get our animals vaccinated the better.
June 6, 2008... In addition to getting her holiday cottage up and running for the season, Pat Bird is anxious about the spread of bluetongue and the increasingly contentious issue of the accuracy of TB testing. Just as we get into the May bank holiday heat...

I can assure you that cracked ribs aren't a laughing matter!
June 6, 2008... An all-too close encounter with a gate has given Donald McColm a little more time to ponder the state of the industry and the food panic scenario we seem suddenly to have found ourselves in. We now have an abundance of grass at the...

Will the latest price offerings be enough to retain producers?
June 6, 2008... Despite expectations of continuing price rises having been dashed by the latest meagre offerings, Ian Potter pores over the accounts in search of some bright spots. We're supposed to be in a golden age of dairying. Well, if we are, then...

Roadmap: Roadmap will give strategy for the future.
June 6, 2008... The publication this week of the so-called roadmap highlights definable goals which the industry will be working towards as part of its responsibility in facing up to the environmental challenges of the future. Last autumn Defra's idea for...

EU News: Commission stands back as milk market faces volatile future.
June 6, 2008... Although markets have weakened somewhat since last autumn's meteoric price hike, demand is still strong and set to grow. Richard Wright looks at the confusion this has created for European Commission dairy policy. When it comes to markets...

Breeding: Friesian herd showing way.(Statistical table)
June 6, 2008... Sustainable cows for a sustainable system was how British Friesian breeder Mary Mead described the policy at Holt Farms in Blagdon, North Somerset. She illustrated the point to a large group of British Cattle Breeders Club members who had...

Is breeding for higher index doing anything to bolster margins?
June 6, 2008... Most producers probably have a blind faith that breeding on PLI is actually improving the profitability of their herd. Ann Hardy takes a peep behind the scenes to see if the #4.50 benefit per point stands up to scrutiny. Recent news that...

How tight teamwork can help keep firm grip on herd fertility.
June 6, 2008... The combined efforts of the farm owner, herd manager, veterinary surgeon and ruminant nutritionist at Balmangan Farm in south-west Scotland have resulted in increased milk volumes as a result of improvements in cow fertility. The...

Seeing heat detection signs when you're not even looking.
June 6, 2008... Last autumn we highlighted the HEATIME system with an early case study on a farm in North Somerset and this month Geoff Pagotto catches up on the progress of the system after its first full year on the unit. Since installing an electronic...

Breeding: Principal sets up world record.(Brief article)
June 6, 2008... The Holstein bull, Crichel Principal, is celebrating his 13th birthday and has entered the record books by producing more sexed semen than any other bull in the world. Principal has notched up an incredible 116,000 straws of sexed semen in...

Breeding: Top milk bull for Genus.
June 6, 2008... With 896kg of milk in his proof, Genus ABS has added a new high production sire to its stud who now takes over as their number one milk bull, just one place ahead of Zimmerview Diehard Deano. Mr Million Mega-Man is a son of Comestar...

Breeding: Type merit is set to impress.(Brief article)
June 6, 2008... Dairy Daughters are claiming to have strengthened their value-for-money credentials by offering two of the highest type bulls on the market for #15.95 a straw. The two bulls, Ocean-View Zinfandel and ALH Dancer, both have Type Merits of over...

Milk prices: Big three to move in line with Tesco.
June 6, 2008... Following the Tesco 0.5ppl increase from Apr'08, the big three liquid milk processors - Arla Foods, Dairy Crest and Robert Wiseman - have confirmed milk price increases. Robert Wiseman was the first to declare with 0.5ppl from May'08 on...

Milk prices: Arla Foods offers 5p trough incentive.
June 6, 2008... Arla Foods has confirmed a financial incentive to its supplying producers to produce additional milk volume for September, October and November 2008, offering an additional 5ppl on its standard litre price for every litre supplied over and...

Bale stacking can help keep bottom layer out of puddle.
June 6, 2008... Big bale silage quality results partly from good fortune but mostly from good management. Here we look at one attempt to reduce deterioration during storage. When I saw this idea, shown to me as an afterthought on a farm walk in Devon, it...

When your pride is at stake you've just got to deal dirty.(Column)
June 6, 2008... In the close-knit Welsh borderlands getting your parlour lights on before your neighbour is essential for self esteem and respect in the community. Roger Evans reveals his long held secret as to how he's been top dog. If a white cow gives...