Dairy Farmer articles from May 2003

Dairy Farmer archives from May 2003

Battle lines drawn in genetics debacle.
May 21, 2003... Holstein UK chief executive David Hewitt has thrown his hat into the ring in a bid for the MDC's genetic evaluations contract by proposing the setting up of a Centre for Dairy Information. "This independent, non-profit making organisation...

COMMENT: A case of unrequited love.(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... The Milk Development Council's surprise announcement to put its genetic evaluation work out to tender has put the proverbial cat among the pigeons. In a concerted drive to rid itself of this budget-busting business, it is looking for...

NZ stores sell A2 milk.(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... After a legal rumpus, the controversial A2 Corporation is finally taking on dairy giant Fonterra on home territory with the launch of A2 milk in New Zealand. A2 milk has been promoted as being free of the health risks associated with...

Strong euro looks set to boost prices.(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... The strengthening of the euro should start to have an effect and bring some measure of better prices for the rest of the year, predicts a leading banker. According to Tim Fox, a currency strategist with the National Australia Bank - owners...

Grassland UK.(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... Grassland UK, the only grassland event in the country this year, drew the crowds on May 7 at the Royal Bath and West Showground at Shepton Mallet, Somerset. The event featured 40 acres of grass trials and working demonstrations plus...

ASDA goes for clearer labelling.(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... Customers prefer to buy British produce but many have lost touch with rural Britain, according to supermarket chain ASDA. To attempt to put the record straight, ASDA has launched a `Buy British' campaign. One of the initiatives is a...

Farmer co-op deal.(Torridge Vale and ACC Milk)(Definitely Devon Ltd)(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... Devon farmer co-op Torridge Vale has announced it is to join forces with ACC Milk in a 50/50 joint venture. Torridge Vale decided it needed to increase sales. The new venture will be called Definitely Devon Ltd after TV's brand name products...

Shockwaves over test day model claim.(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... The failure of the Canadian Dairy Network to appeal against the patent on the Test Day Model has sent shockwaves through the international cattle breeding industry which fears costly royalties may now have to be met. The controversy arises...

Let's have more on robotics and less about my love life!(Column)
May 21, 2003... With growing confidence in automatic milking Bedale's very own pioneering Tim Gibson is taking a risk this year and allowing his cows free access to the fields overnight. The big question for bovine psychologists is: will the cows ever come...

It's one big guessing game as Common Agricultural Policy proposals start to unfold.(Column)
May 21, 2003... What with getting her head round the decoupling proposals, coping with lost loads of fertiliser and rounding up a wild Limousin, Sally Leaney has had her work cut out over the last month. And that's before she tackles the Brazilian chicken......

Is it on? aaah! I'll take that as a yes, then.(Column)
May 21, 2003... Just to take the edge off the joy of an early turnout, Paul Higgins has been hit with yet another TB inconclusive to prolong the seeming never- ending agony. In the meantime he believes he has discovered the secret of the perfect electric fence...

INTERVIEW: In at the DFB deep end?(Malcolm Smith)(Dairy Farmers of Britain )(Interview)
May 21, 2003... Former poultry man Malcolm Smith has been specifically brought into Dairy Farmers of Britain as chief executive to shape the farmer owned co-op for a profitable future. David Matthews asks just what plans he has up his sleeve. You've been...

Sub-clinical mastitis.(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... Sub-clinical mastitis can be one of the most frustrating problems to deal with on the dairy farm. Cows that appear to be healthy can suddenly start to push up the SCC in the bulk tank and run the risk of developing full-blown mastitis and...

BREEDING: Milk Development Council opens tender to put lid on costs.
May 21, 2003... MDC believes it is not getting value for money for its genetic evaluations, and has decided to put the work out to tender. Angela Rhodes investigates. Milk Development Council's plan to put the work of its subsidiary, MDC Evaluations Ltd,...

BREEDING: First embryos to Canada.(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... Following the lifting of the export ban the first embryos for over eight years have been exported - this time to Canada. Hexham-based ET company Eggsport has exported the embryos, all sired by elite US bull Stouder Morty and collected from...

BREEDING: Straight talking on walking.
May 21, 2003... 2 LOCOMOTION In the second of our series of articles assessing the role of management traits in herd improvement, Holstein UK Animal Breeding & Research Analyst Lucy Andrews works with MDC Evaluations to investigate locomotion and the...

EU NEWS: So where do we go from here?
May 21, 2003... Dairy reform is no longer a certainty and the term partial decoupling has now crept onto the negotiating agenda, but no-one seems to know exactly what it means. Richard Wright seeks to answer the questions dairy farmers are asking. What's...

National Holstein Show.(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... Bringing the National Holstein Show back a couple of months and moving it to its new venue at Bingley Hall seems to have breathed new life into what is the leading event in the Holstein showman's calendar. Peter Hollinshead went along to see...

NATIONAL HOLSTEIN SHOW: Moment of elation.(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... Moment of elation as four-year old Holmland Storm Flo PI EX takes supreme championship at the National Holstein Show at Bingley Hall, Stafford. Flo, who was bought as a 6-month old calf at the Holmland sale of H&H Bell & Sons, belongs to the...

NATIONAL HOLSTEIN SHOW: Genus says risk is manageable.(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... Cogent's call to rid the UK bull stud of CVM carriers brought a sharp response from leading AI company Genus. "We're not going to stop selling Lookout or Convincer - obviously if you have TV (non-carrier) bulls as great as CV (carrier)...

NATIONAL HOLSTEIN SHOW: Cogent to cull out all its CVM carrier sires.
May 21, 2003... In a surprise move, Chester-based breeding company Cogent declared that it would slaughter one third of its proven bull stud in an attempt to rid the industry of the devastating genetic disorder Complex Vertebral Malformation. And they...

NATIONAL HOLSTEIN SHOW: Dairy bull margins to get tighter.
May 21, 2003... Despite the severity of the impact of decoupling on beef margins, the MLC still believes there would be a margin on dairy bulls provided they were managed on a large enough scale. "Around #50/head GM should be sufficient encouragement for...

NATIONAL HOLSTEIN SHOW: Ridgefield makes a clean sweep.(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... Leicestershire breeders John and Val Barker won all four Premier awards at the show with their team of cattle from the Ridgefield Holsteins. The Barkers are relative newcomers to the breeding and show scene and have invested heavily in pedigree...

NATIONAL HOLSTEIN SHOW: Roughage is key to feed efficiency.
May 21, 2003... Ration formulators will never achieve optimum feed efficiency until they take greater account of dietary roughage, claimed an independent nutritionist last week. Speaking at the Holstein Show, consultant Peter Allen said that everybody was...

NATIONAL HOLSTEIN SHOW: Speedy cell count alert.(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... Use of mobile phones means producers can be alerted to high cell counts 48 hours before they would normally get such results in the post. That is the latest claim of Cattle Information Services, HUK's recording subsidiary, where availability of...

POTTER'S VIEW: Are the question marks growing over Thomsen?(Interview)
May 21, 2003... Over the last few months Ian Potter has been racing round the country speaking on the mid-term review and the implications of the Thomsen case, where it looks as if a legal challenge may yet be brewing. Read on.... It has become very clear...

Sainsburys strikes new image for milk.(Company Profile)
May 21, 2003... Sainsbury's is introducing new labelling on its fresh and UHT milk to encourage shoppers to ponder over their purchase and not regard milk as a commodity product. "Over 90% of customers have milk in their shopping basket," says milk buyer...

Handbag.com points up calcium shortfall.(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... Young women are not eating enough calcium, according to Dairy Council research. In a recent survey on handbag.com, the Dairy Council recorded results from 1,300 women aged from 20 to 40. The majority of women said they usually ate two...

Drop in milk but cheese up.(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... Results just published by DEFRA reveal a 7% drop in milk and cream consumption in 2001/02 compared with the previous year and reduced purchases of whole and skimmed milk. DEFRA'S Expenditure and Food Survey, which replaced the National...

Quirky look not for the mass market.(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... Quirky local brand images will not help to expand organic products into the mass market, says brand consultants Flamingo International. Speaking at the Natural and Organic Products show, the company used the new Yeo Valley Organic packaging...

Letter: Seasonality - not the root of all problems.(Letter to the Editor)
May 21, 2003... From: Gordon Throup, Farm Business Specialists, 1 Stone Road, Eccleshall, Staffs ST21 6DN. The so-called `spring flush' has been very much in the news during recent months. It has been blamed by purchasers for the low prices we have...

Letter: Buzz of market!(Letter to the Editor)
May 21, 2003... From: Philip Poulsom, Wormwood Farm, Fiveways, Box, Nr Corsham, Wilts. "People in Britain don't like that type of food." That was the reply to a letter I wrote over 20 years ago to a major UK dairy processor. We had taken a family...

Letter: Mr Milk: US leads the way on co-operation.(Letter to the Editor)
May 21, 2003... From: Ian Potter, Ian Potter Associates, Stanton, Ashbourne, Derbyshire. I refer to DF April and the letter from Mike Haskew of Farmers for Action under the heading "Wanted Mr Milk to give unity and clout". Mr Haskew refers to the...

Letter: New British auction record of 76,000gns.(Letter to the Editor)
May 21, 2003... A new British auction record price for a Holstein cow of 76,000gns was set when Field of Dreams Formation Erle, a four-year-old EX-90 3-year cow, sold at the first sale to disperse the Sterndale Holstein herd at Earl Sterndale, near Buxton,...

New parlour is up and running.
May 21, 2003... Many of you will have followed Donald McColm's trials and tribulations as he installed his new parlour, so we have asked him to recount his experiences in greater detail. We started milking in the new parlour on October 10, which was just...

FORAGE: New for 2003.
May 21, 2003... New herbage varieties are initially entered into the National List trials carried out by NIAB which are paid for by the breeders and DEFRA. Each year a handful of new varieties graduate from these trials to the recommended list with a...

FORAGE: Choosing your grass varieties.
May 21, 2003... Choosing the right grass varieties is crucial, yet few farmers take a close look at the components of their grass seed mixtures. Angela Rhodes reports on how a little background research can boost your grass production. To establish a good...

FORAGE: Your guide to best baler buy.
May 21, 2003... Big baler design is one of the exciting areas where ideas and innovation continue to flourish. Steven Vale takes a look at the latest developments and gives a comprehensive guide to what is available in this expanding market. Whilst many...

Baler and Baler Wrapper Suppliers Guide.
May 21, 2003... CASE IH Round Balers Variable chamber RBX 452 - Bale diameter from 0.90 to 1.50m - Bale width 1.20m - Pickup 2-2.30m - Prices from #17,220. Variable chamber RBX 462 - Bale diameter from 0.90 to 1.80m - Bale width 1.20m - Pickup...

FORAGE: In action for the first time.(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... Seen in action for the first time at last week's Grassland Event, Vicon's RV1601 Balepack differs to other integrated baler wrappers in that it is the first belt-type variable chamber machine. This allows the diameter of the bales to be altered...

FORAGE: Integrated baler wrapper.(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... McHale's Fusion is a truly integrated baler wrapper. Seen in action at last week's Grassland Event, as with the Taarup Bale in One, it forms and wraps the bale in the same chamber. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

Cutting the risk of mastitis.
May 21, 2003... Don't forget the milking machine Keeping the milking parlour scrupulously clean is obviously important in order to reduce the risk of milk supplies being contaminated by micro-organisms from the environment. But many farmers may not be...

FORAGE: Precision technology moves into grassland.
May 21, 2003... A number of British dairy farmers will know the exact weight details of grass going into the clamp for the very first time this season. What's more, these same producers could soon be provided with yield maps to highlight problem areas where...

FORAGE: Infinitely adjustable chop length.(foragers from John Deere, New Holland, Case IH and Krone)(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... Contractors continue to demand self-propelled foragers that are able to gobble up vast quantities of material, whereas milk producers seek higher quality silages and finer chop lengths. These two conflicting criteria have presented forager...

FORAGE: Largest forager gobbles up 9ha/hr.
May 21, 2003... A new breed of self-propelled harvesters is emerging following the launch of the world's largest version to date from German firm Krone. Providing an output of 780hp, and offering work rates of 9ha/hour in grass and 1.5ha/hour in maize,...

FORAGE: Forager fact file.(Brief Article)
May 21, 2003... * Did you know that in excess of 160 new self-propelled forage harvesters were sold to UK customers last year? * That's a 50% increase on the average of the past few years. * With a market share of 52% of the global market of just over...

Buffalo move into cow cubicles.
May 21, 2003... Bedfordshire farmers Nick and Janet Griffin have a reputation as innovators. Always looking for creative solutions to practical problems, they hit on the idea of keeping water buffalo as a way to stock their green-field dairy unit without...

GOOD EVANS: Jersey finally beat by guile and cunning.(farmer tells the tale of managing a Jersey bull)(Column)
May 21, 2003... Just as our celebrated toreador was learning to live on the knife edge of danger, it's time to say goodbye to the bane of his life. But the question is: how on earth do you box such a beastie? I'm writing these notes in early April. It's...