Dairy Farmer articles from October 2005

Dairy Farmer archives from October 2005

COMMENT: Rome burns while.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... Despite deceptively placid waters there was a seething undercurrent at this year's Dairy Event with producers livid at Arla's retaliatory move to drop its price. And understandably so. Playing fast and loose with producer prices is a game...

Milk Link goes to bank for its cash.
October 11, 2005... Six months after it declared that it was facing "a hard two years" tackling its debt repayment, and five months after announcing plans to raise another #15m from members, Milk Link has announced it strategy to refinance the business without the...

Survey shows intention to quit industry.
October 11, 2005... Ten percent of milk producers claim they have made definite plans to leave the industry if prices don't improve, according to the latest survey results. The figures stem from a poll by UK feed company BOCM Pauls which underlines an even...

Dairy UK performance needs to go up a gear.
October 11, 2005... Dairy UK came in for strong criticism at the Dairy Event exactly one year after its launch. Echoing the views of many on the farming side of the industry, RABDF chairman Tim Brigstocke called on the organisation to "really work and to better...

In brief: Shortly back on our screens.
October 11, 2005... Heralded as the UK's number one cheddar, Dairy Crest's Cathedral City will shortly be back on our screens in its second TV promotion following a 35% growth last year. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

Better protection in dry period.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... Producers now have an extra weapon in their mastitis armoury with teat sealant Orbeseal being authorised for use in conjunction with antibiotic therapy. "The combination has only been used off licence hitherto but now it allows vets to...

Arla parcels come to end.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... Arla Foods is to terminate its letter and parcel doorstep delivery service from the end of November. Express Dairies started the service in 2001 in the hope that fuller utilisation of its milk float fleet to deliver small parcels, magazines...

DCD attacks others for price cutting.(Dairy Crest Direct)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... Confirming milk prices for both liquid and manufacturing milk will remain unchanged for Oct'05, Dairy Crest Direct has strongly criticised the recent announcements by the other major liquid milk processors. Referring to their success...

Cowman comment: Why we will have to stick closer together.
October 11, 2005... As producers get involuntarily sucked into the crippling downward price spiral, John Trunch calls for greater unity and a tightening of supplies to bring processors up short. The picture of vast hangers full of bras, situated on isolated...

Cowmen comment: How mycotoxins certainly had us fooled last winter!
October 11, 2005... Toxins produced by fungi on feedstuffs or silage being used this winter could have devastating results, as our south-west correspondent Pat Bird found out to her cost. Writing this in a September Indian summer, the last thing on my mind...

Cowman comment: What can we do to stop milk price rot?
October 11, 2005... While our Scottish correspondent Donald McColm wrestles with some giant fodder beet and discovers muscles he'd forgotten he had, he turns his mind to milk pricing and what needs to be done to get a fair return. It is very rare for us to...

Dairy Event roundup: Tenants are urged to apply for rent review.
October 11, 2005... "I don't think I have spoken to anybody who does not agree that dairy rents need to fall," declared George Dunn, chief executive of the Tenant Farmers Association. He says he is currently being inundated with questions on the subject from...

Dairy Event roundup: Liners pushed to their limit.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... Improving hygiene reaps positive benefits - both to herd health and to profitability, says Alison Cox, technical manager for Deosan. A survey of dairy farmers conducted by the company showed that 66% had no written routine for staff to...

Dairy Event roundup: Zero grazer takes Gold to Gloucestershire.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... Zero grazing is working wonders for RABDF Gold Cup winner John Round at Elmore Back Farm, Elmore, Gloucestershire. He uses the system because moving the 270 cows around the 135ha farm - which adjoins the River Severn - would otherwise be...

Dairy Event roundup: Contracts are problem says Lord Bach.
October 11, 2005... A new style of milk production contract may be required to help restore the balance between farmers, processors and the retailers, Lord Bach told an audience at the event. While striking a consistently optimistic tone during his talk, he...

Dairy Event roundup: Mobile mixers set to be farm assured.
October 11, 2005... The National Association of Agricultural Contractors (NAAC) is launching a new scheme which is designed to achieve greater traceability for feed processed by mobile mixers. The Assured Land-Based Contractor (Mobile Feed Mixing and...

Dairy Event roundup: Buyers already eyeing up SFP.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... Get ready to resist industry attempts to cut milk prices, says Francis Mordaunt from Andersons. "We are getting clear signals from the processing and buying side that as soon as farmers get their Single Farm Payments they think they...

Dairy Event roundup: Attacking from both sides.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... Dairy farmers need to achieve an elusive combination of high technical performance and excellent cost control if they want to earn sustainable profits, and they will not achieve that while still doing their calculations on the `back of a fag...

Dairy Event roundup: Milkminder trophy goes to 7500-litre organic team.(Promar Milkminder Manager of the Year )(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... A simple but highly profitable organic dairy business earned the Surman family from Upton on Severn, Worcestershire, the Promar Milkminder Manager of the Year title. The family's 167-cow herd calves all year round so it offers a consistent...

EU News: Latest figures show producer margins are going elsewhere.
October 11, 2005... A Milk Development Council report on retail margins has confirmed that these are increasing across the EU as supermarkets exert their power, and that in the UK the import of value added product is making matters even worse while we continue...

EU NEWS: Netherlands.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... The Dutch Agricultural Institute says the decline in the number of dairy farmers in the Netherlands is accelerating. It says this reflects pressure on milk prices which fell by 3% in 2004, although this was partly compensated by the new dairy...

EU NEWS: Ireland.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... Irish dairy processors and farmers have reacted angrily to a decision by the Irish Dairy Board to cut the price they pay for butter. While the cut was expected processors believed it would be delayed until at least October. It will put...

EU NEWS: Germany.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... The farming lobby in Germany is pressing for higher milk prices, claiming present levels no longer cover production costs. The main German farm union, the DBV, says the only way to improve prices is to reduce production. It is campaigning...

EU NEWS: France.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... French dairy farmers have been forced to accept a reduction in prices for the reminder of this year. The reduction is smaller than cuts being imposed by the main buyers in the UK, but it has not gone down well with farmers. Farmers only...

DFB's brand.
October 11, 2005... DFB is to launch a new `Dairy Farmers of Britain' dairy brand on a full range of products across the dairy market. Banking on the new-look brand appealing to consumers looking for great tasting, natural dairy products, DFB is also hoping that a...

POTTER'S VIEW: Co-op accounts make for interesting reading.
October 11, 2005... As well as picking his way through the NFU's `vision' document and keeping a watchful eye on co-op accounting, Ian Potter is also mindful of the progress of the young Dairy UK which reaches its first birthday without so far setting the world...

BREEDING/FERTILITY: How fat-based supplements can lift pregnancy rates.
October 11, 2005... Feeding fats to lactating cows seems to have a beneficial effect on not only follicle size and quality but also on the all-important hormone levels which help maintain pregnancy. Jonathan Wheeler reports. Supplementing the rations of...

BREEDING/FERTILITY: Holstein will benefit from injection of fresh blood.
October 11, 2005... Crossbreeding as a means of combating declining performance in the Holstein has caught breeder interest. Prof Les Hansen of the University of Minnesota presented the results of the California cross-breeding trials at the International Red Cow...

BREEDING/FERTILITY: Hidden factors as to why fertility declines.
October 11, 2005... Fertility in the modern dairy herd is declining leading to increased calving intervals and culling rates. Chris Watson of the Wood Veterinary Group, Gloucester, takes a look at what we can do to stem this growing trend. The basis of the...

BREEDING/FERTILITY: How routine vet visits can boost fertility figures.
October 11, 2005... There's a timeless adage in livestock farming - look after your stock and your stock will look after you. When it comes to fertility Leicestershire vet Peter Orpin probably has a better idea than most of what that means. Peter Orpin has...

MILK: Tit for tat cuts could end up jeopardising liquid premium levels.
October 11, 2005... The tit for tat milk price cuts this summer have not only thrown the liquid retail cost initiative money into complete disarray but if allowed to continue into next year could jeopardise the existing level of premium seen in liquid milk prices...

Milk prices: Small liquid players cut their prices.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... Paynes Farm Dairies, Yorks, has confirmed it has cut its direct supply milk price by 0.35ppl from Aug'05. The decrease takes our standard price for them down from 20.05ppl to 19.70ppl. Hampshire-based liquid milk processor, Watson's...

Milk prices: Haulage up.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... Golden Vale, Bridgend, South Wales, has confirmed it is to cut 0.3ppl from Sept'05. New constituent values of 2.258p per % b/f and 2.327p per % prot takes our standard price down by just over 0.4ppl. At the same time it has increased the bonus...

Milk prices: DEFRA price down 0.3ppl.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... The provisional DEFRA average UK farm gate milk price (including retrospective bonuses) for Jul'05 was 0.29ppl down on last year to 17.99ppl. The Jun'05 average price reported last month has been amended up a fraction to 17.31ppl. Average...

Milk prices: United auction up 0.86p.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... Tighter milk supply look as if it may have played a part in last month's United milk auction. The average price of 21.98ppl for the 34mltrs of supply (starting Oct 1) was up 0.86ppl on the 35mltrs sold in September last year, as well as 0.45ppl...

Milk prices: Wyke Farms to increase 0.2ppl.(Wyke Farmhouse Cheese Co.)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... Following the company's 0.35ppl increase from Aug'05, Wyke Farms has confirmed a further 0.2ppl from this month, taking our price paid by the Somerset cheesemaker to 19.21ppl. The company has stressed that while some major customers have shown...

Milk prices: First Milk to cut 0.2p from Oct'05.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... First Milk, the only major milk buyer in the country not to cut its milk price to members, has had to relent due to increasing fuel costs and the intensive downward price pressure in the liquid milk sector. Having not cut the milk price for 18...

Milk prices: Milk Link wins more listings.
October 11, 2005... Milk Link has secured further listings for its Moo product range with Waitrose. From next month both Moo Organic and mini Moo flavoured milks (launched this summer) will be available in 150 stores nationwide which will be in addition to the Moo...

Milk prices: Milk Link set to refinance without call on producers.
October 11, 2005... Milk Link farmers could well be looking at more cash in their milk statements from Apr'06 after the company confirmed it should be able to refinance the business without having to raise #15m of new funding from members, as previously announced...

Milk prices: DFB appeal to younger members.(Dairy Farmers of Britain )(Evolution)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2005... Dairy Farmers of Britain's innovative organisation for its younger members called `Evolution' launched at the Dairy Event at Stoneleigh has seen more than 250 registered to date. Its primary aims, via educational, sporting and social...

Good Evans: Down the escalator the wrong way.
October 11, 2005... At last Roger Evans has been allowed into the new parlour only to pick a fight with an innocuous milk pipe, but that pales into insignificance compared to threatened expulsion from M&S Llandudno. What's got into the man? The last month has...

Interview: Is it worth looking to eurozone for cheaper borrowings?(Euryn Jones opinion )(Interview)
October 27, 2005... Recognising they may have to modernise their set-ups, some producers are approaching their banks for advice on the best sort of loan to be had. David Matthews talks to Euryn Jones, head of agricultural banking at Barclays Bank, about the idea...

Cowmen comment: Going flat out with autumn calving.
October 27, 2005... Stuart Bacon runs 250 cows in partnership with his parents near Crewkerne, Somerset, and is involved in a joint venture on a second unit near Taunton. Stuart recently grabbed the headlines as runner-up in the Dairy Farmer of the Future...

Cowmen comment: It's back to reality after celebrations.
October 27, 2005... John Round runs the 135ha family farm just south of Gloucester on the banks of the Severn with 270 milkers and followers. In fact John's management of the unit, with cows doing 11,750 litres on two-times milking, has been sufficiently...

Milking: Automatic dipping and rinsing are now part of milking cycle.
October 27, 2005... Automatic Dipping and Flushing (ADF) is destined to make an impact even bigger than automatic cluster removal did when it was first launched. Just as ACR leapt into our everyday vocabulary, ADF looks set to do the same according to its...

MUCK AND SLURRY: Duport.(Brief Article)
October 27, 2005... This Dutch-made Liquiliser 8500 was one of the most striking machines at the event. Made by Duport and initially developed for working with liquid fertiliser, the manufacturer took the opportunity to show that it is also capable of working with...

MUCK AND SLURRY: Joskin and Slootsmid and Kaweco.(Brief Article)
October 27, 2005... Trailed slurry tanker manufacturers confirm that an increasing number of European farms are looking to do their own slurry injection work amidst concerns that contractors' big machines are causing too much damage to their land. What's...

MUCK AND SLURRY: Vredo.(Brief Article)
October 27, 2005... New Dutch legislation means that the country's farmers are no longer allowed to plough in old grassland in the autumn for fear of nutrient leaching during the winter. Vredo appears to have come up with a solution where farms are looking to...

MUCK AND SLURRY: Dutch research.(Brief Article)
October 27, 2005... As most dairy farms also grow a small amount of cereal crops then you might like to know that Dutch work shows that it is possible to use slurry in growing crops to substitute for artificial fertiliser. What's more, although the crop on...

MUCK AND SLURRY: Slootsmid.(Brief Article)
October 27, 2005... Slurry and forage maize can be applied at the same time. That is the message from Dutch firm Slootsmid, which unveiled the commercial version of its long-awaited system at the demonstration. Available in 4, 6 or 8 row versions, the maize is...

MUCK AND SLURRY: Andre Capelle.(Brief Article)
October 27, 2005... Dairy units working with an area of potatoes can now apply slurry to the crop immediately after planting and save on artificial fertilisers. The technique is the result of development work by contractor Andre Capelle. Fitted to a...

MUCK AND SLURRY: Kuhn Knight.(Brief Article)
October 27, 2005... Kuhn will premiere a machine at this year's German Agritechnica machinery show that is not only capable of spreading solid muck but will also chop straw and blow it out for bedding cattle yards! Called the Pro Twin, it is actually made in...

Good Evans.
October 27, 2005... When Roger Evans went in to buy some new bungs for his milk meters, as you do, he reached in his pocket for the usual small change to pay for them. But he was in for a shock. Read on... By the time you read this we'll be well into autumn,...