Dairy Farmer articles from March 2007

Dairy Farmer archives from March 2007

COMMENT: Change of mind set.(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... On Valentine's day all our collective red rose consciences were well appeased by Hilary Benn. According to our International Development Secretary it's ok to purchase Kenyan roses as it is environmentally less damaging to grow them in the...

Future of Cumbrian cheese plant depends on securing supplies.
March 6, 2007... The proposed new Partners in Cheese factory in Cumbria is now "almost certain" to be built unless milk supply negotiations with the co-op Dairy Farmers of Britain fall through at the last minute, it is believed. Ronald Akkerman, managing...

Stilton amasses record sales.(Financial report)(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... Record amounts of Stilton - the UK's favourite blue cheese - were sold in 2006, according to the Stilton Cheese Makers' Association. Overall domestic sales were 5% higher than in 2005, accounting for 55% of all blue cheese sales in the UK. The...

Call for milk price rise to cover farm cost increases.
March 6, 2007... Efforts to increase milk prices are coming to a head with all of the main retailers reportedly having bought into the need for prices to rise to reflect increases in on-farm costs. These have risen by between 1.5 and 2ppl over the last two...

Survey shows public behind culling policy.
March 6, 2007... A majority of the public would support a cull of TB infected badgers, according to research commissioned by the NFU. To remove any bias, the work was carried out by independent consultants England Marketing among four focus groups drawn from...

Genus launches sexed semen.(Genus Breeding)(heifer pregnancy system)(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... Having steered clear of the sexed semen market in the past, Genus ABS is now dipping a toe in the water with the launch of a `heifer pregnancy system'. Sexed semen has had a mixed press in the UK mainly because of the variability of...

Torch winners.
March 6, 2007... A great response! A big thank you to all those who completed our calf pneumonia survey and very shortly the lucky 50 winners of our windable torches should have them dropping on the doormat. Full survey results on p22. If you want to check...

German dairy farmers threaten autumn strike.
March 6, 2007... Dairy farmers in Germany have threatened to strike this autumn if processors do not increase milk prices. The Federal Association of Dairy Producers has set a target milk price of 40 cents - around 26 pence - a litre. It says that if this is...

Cowman comment: Why we'd be wise to keep production costs to ourselves.
March 6, 2007... Giving too much information away and continuing to produce milk just for the sake of it is detrimental to serious producers. Tim Gibson gives us his take on things. Last time some of you may remember I was talking about heifer rearing....

Cowman comment: We're not getting the best of press in school textbooks.
March 6, 2007... Like any good parent anxious to help with the revision, Sally Leaney does her bit and finds today's textbooks paint a somewhat jaundiced picture of farmers. Good news. Milkmen have become trendy and it is `cool' to have your milk delivered...

Cowman comment: Tractor doors have always been a bit of a bugbear.
March 6, 2007... Cab doors are great when you have a draughty 10-acre field to plough, but as Paul Higgins finds they can be a bit of a pain when bedding up livestock. The beginning of the year started with a certain amount of optimism with plenty of talk...

Interview: Is the MDC delivering value for hard earned money?
March 6, 2007... The new chief executive at the MDC is Ken Boyns, who takes up his post just as the organisation is to prepare itself to come under the over- riding levy board umbrella. David Matthews talks to him about what the MDC actually delivers to farmers...

Potter's View: DFB shows interest as cheese plant plan moves forward.
March 6, 2007... Fresh back from the Cumbrian cheese meeting, Ian Potter takes a look at the players in this seeming increasingly complex field. Welcome to the flying Dutchman! Allow me to be the first to congratulate Partners in Cheese's Ronald Akkerman on...

EU News: Fischer Boel to use health check to ensure end of quotas.(Marian Fischer Boel against milk quotas)(Conference news)(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... EU farm commissioner Marian Fischer Boel has confirmed that she will be putting her full weight behind the drive to end milk quotas in 2015, when the present regulation ends. She told a meeting of the European Dairy Association that quotas "do...

EU News: CAP budget underspend.(European Union)(common agricultural policy )(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... The CAP budget was under spent in 2006, thanks mainly to strong global markets for major commodities. Both market support and rural development spending were below budget by around #1bn. These funds have now been diverted to other areas of EU...

EU News: Danish Board wants lift in quota.(Danish Dairy Board)(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... The Danish dairy industry has called for a 1% increase in milk quotas each year to help farmers prepare for their demise in 2015. It says this would be more practical than allowing cross border trading and more logical than reducing superlevy...

EU News: Booming market - if you can believe it.
March 6, 2007... It might be difficult for farmers in Britain to believe - but we are living in a booming global milk market. Prices have rocketed as demand has increased in the face of reduced supplies from Australia, because of another year of drought. This...

EU News: Policy based on priorities.(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... The review of the EU budget, to set spending plans for after 2014, should not concentrate only on cutting what goes to agriculture, claims farm commissioner Marian Fischer Boel. In a policy speech to Dutch farmers she said the needs of...

EU News: Farmers are back in WTO firing line.
March 6, 2007... The World Trade Organisation negotiations are back on the move, and agriculture is in the firing line. In Brussels EU trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson, has admitted he is ready to make further concessions on agriculture, while in Washington...

Breeding: Have we been breeding the wrong type of cow to date?
March 6, 2007... Improving fertility and herdlife were key topics of discussion at this year's Cattle Breeders' Conference with speakers offering both genetic and nutritional solutions to the problem. Angela Rhodes reports. Setting minimum standards for...

Breeding: Energy type affects fertility.
March 6, 2007... Research suggests that high genetic merit cows not only need high energy density diets but may also need different sources of energy depending on their reproductive state. Reporting on results from a four year LINK funded fertility trial...

Survey: Survey results show the way forward in looking after calves.
March 6, 2007... Big thanks to all those who responded to our survey showing how you viewed calf rearing fitting in with the rest of the farm enterprises. Here is an analysis of the results. As dairy herds get bigger and the workforce smaller, it would be...

Forage: Winter grass can be curse.
March 6, 2007... In many parts of the country grass has hardly stopped growing all winter. Derek Gardner, National Dairy Consultant with Promar International, warns us that this can bring its own problems. We have just experienced one on the mildest winters...

Forage: Are you challenging your cows to make more of grazed grass?
March 6, 2007... It has always been a dilemma in high yielding herds about what you can expect from grazed grass as quality and intake can be so unpredictable. However Wiltshire producer David Homer has started to challenge the system. It is a commonly...

Forage: Getting the right balance of protein to energy in grazing.
March 6, 2007... While significant improvements in the yield and quality of modern ryegrasses are headlined as the main benefits of recent breeding progress, little has as yet been made of the corresponding advantages of a better balance of protein and energy....

Forage: Discovering the secrets for making prize-winning silage.
March 6, 2007... Darren Callan's silage making skills earned him top place in last year's All Wales Silage Competition. Debbie James discovers some of the secrets. Overall attention to detail is more important than any single factor when it comes to making...

Forage: Winning silage analysis.(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... Darren's silage management skills earned him top place in the 2006 All- Wales Silage Competition. The winning clamp silage had a DM of 33, ME of 11.7, crude protein of 20 and an ammonia nitrogen level of 6.9. It had an intake potential...

Forage: What lessons have we learnt for the coming grazing season?
March 6, 2007... The starting point for the coming grazing season is the conditionthe cows are in following the end of this winter. Duncan Rose, chief technical officer at Carrs Billington Agriculture, gives us some advice on getting the most from the coming...

Forage: Practical pointers for the 2007 grazing season.(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... 1) Consider pitting alternative feeds, either on their own or under silage in spring or early summer. Prices are usually the lowest at this time of year. 2) Sample your grass regularly and get an accurate estimate of grazing value. 3)...

Forage: Spring sown protein forage crops that are easy to grow.
March 6, 2007... Two new cropping options are now available to UK livestock farmers in the form of spring triticale and spring lupins. Seed merchant David McNaughton highlights some of the benefits. In the main north and west livestock areas, triticale has...

Forage: Barley still has advantages when it comes to wholecrop.
March 6, 2007... When it comes to spring sown wholecrop the choice is wide and wonderful, but Francis Dunne, consultant and seed merchant at Field Options Ltd, maintains barley can still hold its own. The market for spring sown crops for wholecrop has...

Who will be best to placed exploit China's demand for dairy produce?
March 6, 2007... In China the demand for dairy products is growing and growing fast, but the question is who will be there to plug this yawning gap? Plus how do you get started in dairying and will once-a-day milking work with your herd? All questions at this...

Higher solids on once a day milking.(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... Switching to once a day milking (OAD) cut annual working time by 17% from 1800 to 1490 hours. But 27% more cows were needed to fill quota because milk yields fell by 24%. Reporting these trial results, Valerie Brocard from the Institut de...

From nothing to 8300 cow business in 12 years.
March 6, 2007... From nought to 8300 cows in less than 12 years! Dean and Kristen Nikora are a shining example of the New Zealand path to building up a dairy farm business. The couple have worked their way through the sharemilking system and used equity...

Milk prices: Dairy Crest lifts price for suppliers on M&S contract.
March 6, 2007... Dairy Crest direct suppliers on M&S liquid contracts have had their milk price increased by 0.77ppl from February 1, and that will hold for the six months to the end of Jul'07. The increase is the outcome of the six-monthly pricing formula...

Milk prices: Wyke Farms brand breaks new ground.
March 6, 2007... Wyke Farms, Somerset, has confirmed it is to increase its direct supply milk price by 0.2ppl from Mar'07. This is based on increases in constituent payments, and takes our flagship standard litre price up 0.19ppl to 17.57ppl from Mar'07. ...

Milk prices: RWD holds milk price.
March 6, 2007... Robert Wiseman Dairies has confirmed that it is to hold the cream price element of its milk price standard litre until May'07, by absorbing a small 0.05ppl reduction in milk price from slightly lower cream returns at the end of the last quarter...

ML announces first processing payment.
March 6, 2007... Milk Link has announced that it is to make its first processing payment of at least #2m in total to its members, in addition to the #1.5m of interest payable on all Member Capital Account balances for 2006/07. The payment will not go on...

Joseph Heler celebrates 50 years.(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... Joseph Heler is also to increase its direct supply milk price by 0.2ppl from Mar'07 taking our price for them to 17.54ppl. The company says the price increase is the result of the implementation of successful cost reductions throughout the...

Workshop tips: Make sure silage trailers don't part with tractor.
March 6, 2007... Silage, hay, grain and straw all get hauled with a hook and ring and while the pick-up hitch reigns supreme, it does occasionally demand some attention. The first farm I worked on, 40 years ago, though 700 acres, didn't know about pick-up...

Good Evans: It's close but I think the citrus has it!(Column)
March 6, 2007... Sometimes it helps in retaining life's balance to break out of the introspection of worrying over the many problems of dairying and consider the weighty aspects of car screen washes+ and why not? When I talk to dairy farmers, as I do all...