Dairy Farmer articles from March 2008

Dairy Farmer archives from March 2008

COMMENT: Tipping point.(dialogue of Andy Bond of ASDA Group Ltd.)(Interview)
March 11, 2008... Today's headline screaming from the nationals of "Now water bills up 10%" highlights the tightening squeeze choking every consumer on a 2% pay rise. With consumers in such a nutcracker, ride in shining knight Andy Bond, chief executive of...

Badgers do cause TB says report but Benn plays for extra time.
March 11, 2008... If Secretary of State Hilary Benn was expecting flack at the NFU conference on TB he wasn't disappointed - cattle farmers are increasingly desperate for action to be taken "and action will be taken", he promised - but just not now. To loud...

Norwich local milk.
March 11, 2008... Liquid milk processors must be aware of the danger of relying too heavily on a few high tech "supermarket" dairies, claims Dairy Farmers of Britain chairman Rob Knight. His warning comes just at the time Tesco's local milk came under the...

NVZs could cost 1.34ppl.
March 11, 2008... UK milk supplies are set to drop significantly as dairy farmers quit the industry rather than invest to meet new environmental standards - unless retailers step in to underwrite the investments, according to the NFU. A survey of dairy farmers...

Judge slams OFT ruling on dairy companies.
March 11, 2008... When the Office of Fair Trading found several dairy companies and retailers `guilty' of price fixing in September 2006, leading to the payment of record fines, many in the industry suspected the parties had been stitched-up and effectively...

DFB members receive a cash bonus.(Dairy Farmers of Britain)(Brief article)
March 11, 2008... Some of Dairy Farmer's contributors may have painted a downbeat picture of Dairy Farmers of Britain's financial well being in recent months but now the organisation is seemingly defying its critics further by putting its money where its mouth...

Direct suppliers grow restless as the co-ops start closing price gap.
March 11, 2008... Arla may have calmed nerves by increasing milk prices to all of its non- Tesco producers by 0.5ppl this month, with Wisemans holding its price for February, but significant unrest remains among farmers supplying the "big three" liquid...

Union fury over abandoned talks but members take it more calmly.
March 11, 2008... The cancelled merger between Milk Link and First Milk sent shock waves throughout the industry and was roundly condemned by both the NFU and NFU Scotland. However members of both co-operatives, who have collectively invested getting on for...

Cereal prices power away.
March 11, 2008... The price of wheat reached record highs on the futures markets in mid February due to investors piling into commodities which would be able to withstand the global economic slowdown. "We haven't seen this sort of price action in 25-30...

New chief executive.(appointment of Greg Ward at Holstein UK)(Brief article)
March 11, 2008... Holstein UK has appointed Greg Ward as its new chief executive, taking over from David Hewitt who retires in April. Mr Ward joins from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, where he has been "a highly experienced business development...

COWMEN COMMENT: Thanks to you all for your help and advice.(Column)
March 11, 2008... Things are far from back to normal for our Yorkshire correspondent Tim Gibson who is soldiering on best he can after his herd was hit for six with a bad attack of Neospora. So where do I start - thanks Dairy Farmer for printing my phone...

Why we'll be counting out the prills this cropping year.
March 11, 2008... With nitrogen prices having rocketed to untold heights, our south-west correspondent Sally Leaney is for once thankful she bought early but is worried they may not have any crop at all unless the pesky rabbits are brought to heel. Sadly...

Just as things seem right, a cow decides to break its back leg.
March 11, 2008... If it isn't the tank washer, it's the tractor wheel bearing, and if it isn't the bearing it's the electrical supply. This month Paul Higgins is finding that as soon as he has solved one problem there is another waiting. I really should...

Who will be waiting on steps to hold on to wedding bouquet?
March 11, 2008... With the breakdown of the merger talks, Ian Potter muses as to who may shortly be stepping out with whom and on the price front will Tesco be the pacesetters? As we approach April Fools Day my focus is on a seamless transition of the...

Quota transition: will we get soft landing or drop with a thud?
March 11, 2008... The dairy regime is in the spotlight in Brussels with a debate over the future of quotas, milk prices and how to manage a soft landing into a quota free world. As Richard Wright reports, views vary on the way ahead. The Commission's...

EU NEWS: Criticism of quota plans.
March 11, 2008... Members of the farmer led pressure group, the European Milk Board, have criticised the European Commission's management of the dairy regime. The Board brought 4500 farmers to Brussels for its annual conference. They accused the Commission of...

EU NEWS: Short of cows.
March 11, 2008... A report for the European Commission says Europe will need a big increase in dairy cow numbers to maintain milk production and to take full advantage of the likely 2% increase in quotas from next April. The report says cow numbers fell as...

Time we put house in order if we're to secure our future.
March 11, 2008... Rising milk prices are all well and good but can they be sustained and are they enough to radically lift bottom line profits when production costs continue to race ahead? Farm consultants, Andersons, look at future prospects and conclude that...

Pace hotting up in race to short circuit protracted progeny tests.
March 11, 2008... Those who think genomic selection is the stuff of science fiction should think again as the technology has moved faster than ever believed possible and could soon herald the greatest revolution in breeding since the introduction of AI. Ann...

BREEDING: Seven bulls added to Semex stud.(Brief article)
March 11, 2008... Seven new bulls have been added to the Semex line-up, ranging from leaders for type to those with high scores for health and fertility. Magor Bolivia Allen (an Allen brother of Goldwyn) has a particularly high US type proof which converts...

BREEDING: Breeders to benefit with fertility index from overseas bulls.
March 11, 2008... MDC breeding+ has announced that Canadian, German and French Holstein bulls will now have a Fertility Index (FI) published as a UK equivalent figure. Until the most recent proof run, FI was not published for bulls from these countries and...

BREEDING: First bull arrives at new Scottish stud.(Brief article)
March 11, 2008... The first bull has arrived at Scotland's new AI facility in Spylaw, Kelso - the only stud now north of the border and the first to be opened since a similar unit at Scone closed in 1999. The bull is the Ayrshire Brocklehill Equerry from...

BREEDING: Dual purpose cow defended for returning better margin.
March 11, 2008... Two breeders of dual-purpose dairy cattle have made a compelling argument for their type of cow, supporting their case with industry data. Speaking at the British Cattle Conference, British Friesian and Monbeliarde breeders Mary Mead and...

BREEDING: New chairman for World Wide Sires UK.(Drew Sloan)(Brief article)
March 11, 2008... Former Semex UK chairman and managing director Drew Sloan has been appointed chairman of World Wide Sires UK and a consultant to the company. The Ayr-based businessman returns to the industry following a two-year break from the cattle breeding...

FERTILITY: Survey results show desire to shorten calving intervals.
March 11, 2008... A big thanks to those of you who took the time to complete our fertility survey at the turn of the year - this highlighted producer awareness and a drive to tighten up on herd fertility. Nine-out-of-ten dairy farmers have a target to reduce...

FORAGE: Beat that! First cut analysis registers 21% crude protein.
March 11, 2008... What producer wouldn't give his eyeteeth for a clamp full of that quality, yet according to our South Wales silage maker it is not that difficult to achieve with a little care and effort. Debbie James reports. A Welsh dairy producer...

FORAGE: Taking another look at lucerne as a home produced protein.(dialogue with the nutriionist Colin Orr)(Interview)
March 11, 2008... With prices soaring for both nitrogen fertiliser and protein feeds, legumes are likely to play an increasingly important role this season. Ann Hardy asks a farmer, his nutritionist and agronomist what makes lucerne their outstanding legume of...

FORAGE: Reducing impact of high fertiliser costs on your bottom line.
March 11, 2008... Over the last decade the price of fertiliser has risen three fold relative to that of milk. Promar's consultant Derek Gardner considers what dairy farmers can do to cope with escalating fertiliser costs. With prices for all artificial...

FORAGE: Why nitrate proposals may not be as bad as they seem.
March 11, 2008... All is not entirely as it seems in the EU Nitrates Directive due to be introduced in England this spring. Ann Hardy talked to Creedy Associates about why some producers may have less need to worry than they think. Proposed changes to the...

FORAGE: Can we make our high cost fertiliser work even harder?
March 11, 2008... According to fertiliser manufacturers, GrowHow UK, our grass isn't getting enough sulphur and that's holding back yields and proteins. So why the reluctance to use sulphur-containing fertilisers on grass? Despite extensive research, far...

FORAGE: What steps can we follow to contain our fertiliser costs?
March 11, 2008... With the rise in the cost of fertiliser being inextricably linked to the global energy crisis and shortage of supply, farmers can expect little improvement in the price of their N, P and K going forward. So what are the alternatives? ...

FORAGE: Going for high DM can help reduce your wrapping costs.
March 11, 2008... By taking a leaf out of Scandinavian books, producers could not only improve the quality of their big bale silage but also reduce the number of bales made and subsequent wrap cost by almost 20%. "The vast majority of grass silage bales made...

GERMANY: German breeding programme to produce cows built to last.
March 11, 2008... As a source of top quality Holstein genetics, Germany has been something of a sleeping giant with its committed farmer co-ops and large progeny testing capacity. As Angela Rhodes found out on a recent visit, the German AI industry is now...

Arla Foods 0.5ppl rise should go some way to underpin liquid market.
March 11, 2008... Arla Foods is increasing its producer milk price by 0.5ppl from February 2008 - taking our standard litre (4% b/f and 3.3% prot, Bactoscans of 30,000/ml and SCCs of 200,000/ml, 1mltrs/yr on EODC) to 25.5ppl and 26.5ppl on standard and Asda...

MILK PRICES: M&S go top of the table.
March 11, 2008... This month our 12-month rolling milk price league highlights prices paid for Jan'08, which also sees Dairy Crest (M&S) regain the top slot with an average price of 24.69ppl, almost two years after losing the position to Dairy Crest (Waitrose)....

Top Milk Link producers average 27.36ppl.
March 11, 2008... Who says producers are unable to receive competitive milk prices from the co-ops? Milk Link has confirmed that for Dec'07 payments to the top 20% of producers on Black & White contracts (ie excluding CI and Organic contracts) received an...

Average farm gate price of 26.61ppl.
March 11, 2008... Following the record high milk price of 27.29ppl for Nov '07 supplies, Defra's provisional UK average farm gate milk price for Dec'07 was 26.61ppl, 8.02ppl up on the same month the previous year. However, with November's price 8.28ppl up on the...

Feed barriers do not have to be built to withstand elephants.
March 11, 2008... With the growing popularity of complete diet feeding there is less need for chunky steel feed barriers which gives us an opportunity for a radical rethink on design with the potential added bonus of reducing foot problems into the bargain. ...

Good Evans - Deathly hush at the doctors when I tell them my trouble.
March 11, 2008... Waiting to see the doctor about a grease nipple for his left knee, Roger Evans couldn't resist the temptation to see if he could silence the cacophonous coughing of the waiting room choir. It is quite easy, as dairy farmers, to become...