Dairy Farmer articles from November 2006

Dairy Farmer archives from November 2006

COMMENT: Call for unity.
November 20, 2006... Well at long last a wee bit of good news in the form of rising returns, mostly on the back of the cream and skim prices taking a turn for the better. But at 0.2-0.3ppl this is only a (very) small step in the right direction and hardly...

DC honours supplier price until contract finishes next autumn.
November 20, 2006... Following last month's announcement of the #61.9m deal to sell its private label cheese business - which includes the Aspatria and Haverfordwest manufacturing sites as well as the packing and whey processing at Maelor, near Wrexham - Dairy...

First Milk gives DC farmers two months to decide.(plans to acquire Dairy Crest Ltd.)(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... While First Milk members voted unanimously in favour of buying the majority of Dairy Crest's retailer brand cheese operations, the co-op won't know until January how successful it has been in convincing former Dairy Crest suppliers to sign up...

Arla Foods announces new pricing mechanism.(Arla Foods Ingredients A.m.b.a and Arla Foods Milk Partnership)(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Arla Foods UK and Arla Foods Milk Partnership (AFMP) have agreed changes to milk pricing arrangements which will establish a mechanism to reflect variable returns in the commodity markets. Starting from October 2006 the price paid to...

Invoicing campaign.
November 20, 2006... Dairy farmers are being challenged by the NFU to collectively demonstrate their views on current milk pricing via an `invoicing campaign' to try and close the estimated 4ppl gap between prices and costs. Most milk producers have seen their...

Arla's parent take over approach.
November 20, 2006... Arla Foods amba - the Danish and Swedish dairy co-operative that owns 51% of Arla Foods plc in the UK - is in negotiations to purchase the remaining 49% of the shares. In a statement to the London Stock Exchange the company refused to give...

Is Sainsbury's setting out to source direct?
November 20, 2006... While Sainsbury's has recommitted its 420m litre milk supply to Wisemans and Dairy Crest for the next 18 months, it has nevertheless set up a new Dairy Development Group (SDDG) of 450 dairy farmers from the direct producer groups of the two...

Cadbury direct.(Cadbury Ltd. switches milk supply contract)(Selkley Vale Group )(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Cadburys has moved away from an exclusive milk supply deal with the UK's co-ops and has opted to source a large proportion of its milk direct from farmers. The Selkley Vale Group - a group of around 70 producers around the Severnside area -...

Price increase.
November 20, 2006... Dairy Crest announced it is increasing its direct supply price on liquid contracts by 0.2ppl from November 1, 2006. Wiseman are coming in with 0.4p, with the two co-ops First Milk and Milk Link (liquid) at 0.2pp. Copyright: CMP...

Cowmen comment: Silage face turns mouldy after early season opening.
November 20, 2006... After a costly summer drought, Tim Gibson is awash with a late autumn flush of grass which means he can now reseal the clamp... but unfortunately, as he finds out, once exposed to the air mould tends to set in. I have more grass now than I...

Argentinian beef better because grass is sweeter - what cobblers!(Column)
November 20, 2006... This month Sally Leaney has been dining out only to find her beef steak had travelled a few more miles than even she was banking on - all the way from South America in fact. Returning home from a meeting last week, Duncan and I were looking...

When our lorry driver ended up with a wheel in the ditch!(niche marketing for dairies)
November 20, 2006... Asked to pull the lorry driver out of the ditch at some unearthly time of the night, our Midlands correspondent Paul Higgins thought a small claim might be in order for his after-hour services? Read on. Well, well, well. #1bn in six months,...

Interview: Is there a lucrative future for co-ops making cheese?(a conversation with Neil Kennedy of The Cheese Company)(Interview)
November 20, 2006... First Milk's recent acquisition in the cheese sector could well have implications for the businesses already working in that market. David Matthews talks to Neil Kennedy, managing director of Milk Link's The Cheese Company, about how he sees...

Potter's View: Can FM win hearts of Aspatria directs?
November 20, 2006... First Milk's bold move to acquire part of the DC cheese business is being carefully watched, not least by those Cumbrian producers who currently supply the Aspatria plant and who are wondering just where their future lies. So welcome,...

EU News: EC decision on the future of quotas is expected in 2008.(European Union European Commission)(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... EU farm commissioner, Mariann Fischer Boel, has continued to insist that the 2008 health check of the CAP will not turn into a full round of CAP reform. But despite those assurances she has all but confirmed that a decision will be taken...

EU News: Irish not keen on more quota.(milk quota prices)(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Ireland has a new milk quota exchange to help free up what has been a closely controlled market since quotas were introduced - but it seems farmers are not enthusiastic about acquiring additional quota. In a survey, falling milk prices and...

EU News: Poland fails to meet standards.(facing superlevy bill)(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Polish farmers are facing the second biggest superlevy bill in Europe for 2005/2006, but a leading industry commentator has claimed quotas will help make the industry more efficient. According to Dr Agata Pieniadz, from the Leibniz...

EU News: UK vision is flawed.(Mariann Fischer Boel criticises agricultural policy)(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Farm commissioner, Mariann Fischer Boel, has criticised British policy on the CAP as `incoherent'. She dismissed demands that all subsidies should be scrapped by 2020. She said such a policy would see farmers forced out of business, with the...

EU News: French producers forecast to decline.
November 20, 2006... A French economist has forecast a dramatic change in the shape of the industry over the next few years. According to Jean-Pierre Carlier of the French Milk Processors Association, the number of farmers will fall to around 75,000 by 2012. This...

Dairy Show: Cornish Jersey breeder takes top dairy award.(Eric Murley and Mary Murley wins South West Dairy Farmer of the Year Award)(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Cornish producers Eric and Mary Murley have won this year's South West Dairy Farmer of the Year Award. The pedigree Jersey breeders from Higher Bojewyan Farm, in Pendeen, near Penzance, were awarded the prestigious trophy and #1000 cash...

Dairy Show: Champion.(Chalkfarm Jed Oranje)(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Dairy Show interbreed champion Chalkfarm Jed Oranje 20 EX92 is probably as well known for her grandmother as in her own right. For Foxhole Oranje Red graced the show circuit in the 1980s, her diminutive red and white form attracting attention,...

Dairy Show: South-west dairy vet collects coveted Dairy Industry Award.(veteran Dick Sibley wins award)(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Dairy vet Dick Sibley - widely known in the industry and through the columns of Dairy Farmer - has won this year's coveted Dairy Industry Award. He was presented with the title - awarded in recognition of his contribution to the dairy...

Dairy Show: New silage inoculant launched.
November 20, 2006... Powerstart Instant, a new silage inoculant developed at IGER and patented by Genus, is to be marketed exclusively by Mole Valley Farmers throughout the south of England. The strategic alliance between Mole Valley and Genus was announced at...

Dairy Show: Czech view of British dairying.(Czech Republic's dairy farmers visits United Kingdom's Dairy Show)(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... A group of Czech farmers who travelled to the Dairy Show as part of a three day trip to the UK were said to be surprised by the low price of milk and the high cost of labour. They also expressed particular interested in dairy genetics and means...

Letter: Pony paddocks?(Letter to the editor)
November 20, 2006... From: George Paton MRICS FAAV, WebbPaton Rural and Commercial Valuers, The Dairy, Hook, Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire SN4 8EF. Regarding the NAO Report on the RPA's handling of the Single Payment Scheme. Having been very critical in the past...

Letter: Of course the MDC does not want to see any contraction.(Letter to the editor)
November 20, 2006... From: Mr Miles Browne, West Mains, Gordon, Berwickshire TD3 6JL. There is nothing like a pronouncement from the MDC to make me reach for my pen. Yes, I truly believe they are an evil parasite removing profit from my milk cheque! Of...

Letter: Fair trading - don't we already have an office just for that?(Letter to the editor)
November 20, 2006... From: Phil Christopher, Red Rock Publicity Ltd, Shrewsbury SY1 1HN. Dairy farmers are not alone in feeling the squeeze from powerful retailers. On September 25, a business news story in The Times carried the headline "Debenhams demands 2%...

Breeding: Looking for bulls to give you higher type and production.(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Last month we took a look at best buy bulls for those working to a tight budget. This month, with the help of Holstein UK's online bull selector programme, we take a look at what is available at the higher type and production end of the market....

German Jocko Besne son is withdrawn from listings.(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... One of the largest AI co-ops in Germany has been forced to withdraw eight proven sires from sale following routine progeny test data checks carried out by the German genetic evaluation centre in Verden. The checks flagged up an unusually...

Dairy Daughters adds three sires.(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Dairy Daughters has been strengthening both the type and production sectors of its proven stud with the launch of three more new US proven bulls for the autumn/winter season. Heather Holme Velvet has a Canadian pedigree being sired by Silky...

Animal Health: Getting ourselves fit to secure slice of export market.
November 20, 2006... Farmers who choose to ignore production diseases within their herds are compromising their profits and jeopardising the potentially lucrative export market which is beginning to open up. Ann Hardy reports on the latest on BVD. Failure to...

Urea can be useful guide but take care interpreting figures.
November 20, 2006... Urea testing has traditionally been carried out on bulk milk samples by milk buyers but the launch by both major milk recording organisations of individual milk sample testing could lead to improvements in nutrition, health and fertility. Ann...

Do trace elements have role in helping fight off mastitis?
November 20, 2006... The assumption at drying off seems to be that if you've `tubed' a cow correctly all will be well until she calves down again, whatever the management in the intervening period - but a recent study seems to be showing that trace elements may...

Are we storing up trouble by breeding even bigger cows?
November 20, 2006... New research from Edinburgh University and SAC suggests that breeding larger and larger cows could end up affecting their health. Ann Hardy reports. The old chestnut of including size in the national breeding index (Profitable Life index)...

Beware acute toxic mastitis striking just after drying off.
November 20, 2006... The dry period is a critical time for controlling existing mastitis and preventing new infection. Somerset vet Jon Reader from the Kingfisher Veterinary Practice looks at the devastating effect that Pseudomonas mastitis can have on cows,...

Milk prices: Cadbury signs Selkley Vale as means to secure supplies.
November 20, 2006... Milk price analyst Stephen Bradley comments on the latest milk industry developments. Cadbury Schweppes has signed individual direct supply agreements with the Selkley Vale Group that will see over 60 members with over 70mltrs/yr (quota...

Milk prices: Dairy Crest puts 0.2ppl on liquid.(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... After taking the lead this summer as the first liquid processor to put a floor in its milk price, followed with the promise to increase prices if markets allowed, Dairy Crest has also become the first to announce a milk price increase based on...

Wyke Farms cut 0.39p from October.(Wyke Farmhouse Cheese Co.)(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Wyke Farms has cut its milk price by 0.39ppl from Oct'06. The company says the CAP reduction in Intervention support prices as well as export subsidies have encouraged some manufacturers to speculatively produce more product for the premium and...

Milk prices: Milk price changes for this month.
November 20, 2006... Sept'06 was a quiet month in our milk price table with only two buyers changing headline prices. United Dairy Farmers, N Ireland, increased its base price by 0.5ppl to 17.5ppl taking our flagship standard (4% b/f & 3.3% prot, Bactoscans of...

Milk prices: Defra average farm gate price down 1.04p.(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... The Aug'06 Defra UK farm gate milk price (including retrospective bonuses) of 17.61ppl was 1.04ppl down on the same month last year. The previous month's average of 17.17ppl has been revised up 0.01ppl to 17.18ppl. Average protein for Aug'06 of...

Workshop tips: Giving next year's grass a boost now.(grass aerator)(Viewpoint essay)
November 20, 2006... Nobody wants to appear too keen or do things too differently from their neighbours, but ideas a bit out of the ordinary are sometimes worth a second glance. Show visitors are sure to have noticed the grass aerator on the Glenside stand....

Good Evans: How I am putting my Welsh to good use.(musings of a dairy farmer)
November 20, 2006... Determined to be able to understand his neighbours across the border, Roger Evans has decided it is high time to learn some Welsh so that he'll be reassured he isn't missing anything. I was going to write about issues at the Dairy Event but...