Dairy Farmer articles from October 2007

Dairy Farmer archives from October 2007

COMMENT: Bit of a hot potato.
October 19, 2007... For the OFT to come out with such strong allegations that there had been collusion between retailers and processors to fix the price of milk means they must have a pretty strong case. But take note that is fix as in raise not lower. ...

OFT: shock allegation of retailer collusion to bolster milk prices.
October 19, 2007... It is looking that an industry whistleblower may be involved in providing evidence allowing the OFT to make such firm allegations against the retailers and processors. There are certainly candidates who fit that bill, and who would have...

Wider borders.
October 19, 2007... For years the OFT has argued that the British milk market should be viewed as being independent from Europe - a view that becomes especially vital when it comes to mergers and acquisitions and market size appraisals. Now a report...

Price rises swallowed up.
October 19, 2007... Milk producers need 26.00ppl for the rest of this milk year if they are to stand still even on last year's poor returns, according to a leading financial consultant. Andy Thompson of Promar International said that producers would need...

Defra's view would mean lot more UHT.
October 19, 2007... Sceptics in high places are convinced that Defra "has it in" for dairying because of its environmental footprint. Those seeking evidence need look no further than Defra's first draft of its "roadmap" for dairying. In it Defra calls for UHT...

Book your soya well in advance.
October 19, 2007... If you have not got your soya requirements booked for next spring, summer and winter then get it covered now, extols Kite's chief nutritionist Tim Davies. Soya leapt to #200 on the spot market recently so while it is too late to buy for...

United's auction falls.
October 19, 2007... With a little steam coming out of the commodity market, easing prices back a fraction with the exception of cheese, it perhaps comes as no surprise that the average price achieved at United's September milk retreated 1.06ppl back on the...

High costs with nitrate changes.
October 19, 2007... Proposed changes to the Nitrates Directive in England could cost farmers around #115m a year, and that is just Defra's own estimate! In a consultation paper published by the NFU, livestock farmers in particular face a barrage of paperwork...

Akkerman's new factory.
October 19, 2007... After leaving its former site at Workington because of a "nuclear neighbour", Partners in Cheese has announced it will be building its new West Lakes Dairy Park at the Kingmoor Business Park on Junction 44 of the M6 at Carlisle. The site...

Meadow Foods is on look out for more milk.
October 19, 2007... Having been one of the prime movers in helping push up producer milk prices this summer, Meadow Foods now claims it is looking to expand its business further in 2008. Largely in the food ingredients market supplying blue chip names like...

Foot-and-mouth and the real questions we should be asking.
October 19, 2007... Something is well and truly riling John Trunch this month and the local South Devon Council is first in the firing line. But close on its heels is Defra and the escape of the foot-and-mouth virus. Read on. I am very, very cross. At one of...

Cowman comment: If it wasn't happening you just couldn't make it up.(foot-and-mouth fiasco)
October 19, 2007... What with the foot-and-mouth fiasco and the long awaited badger report, our south-west correspondent Pat Bird has plenty to get her teeth into and, as usual, she takes no prisoners. Two reports have raised my blood pressure this week - and...

Milk buyers finding they have to bid up to turn tap on again.
October 19, 2007... Encouraged by the latest milk price hike, our Scottish correspondent Donald McColm has invested in a few more heifers to make best use of the extra land he now rents. As we move through September our planning for the winter feeding regime...

Will we eventually find that three into two does go afterall?(Ian Potter)(Interview)
October 19, 2007... Despite the fact that, following last month's article, Ian Potter has been subject to just a little more flack than could reasonably be described as friendly fire, he's not deterred as he dons the hard hat, pulls the pin and goes over the top....

EC officials get ready to set stall out for proposed health check.
October 19, 2007... European Commission officials are finalising plans for the `health check' of the Fischler CAP reforms. Richard Wright reports on what this may mean for the dairy industry. Farm commissioner Marian Fischer Boel has stressed that the health...

EU News: Poland wants more quota.(Brief article)
October 19, 2007... Poland says it will formally apply to the EC for a 5% annual increase in its milk quota. It claims that since quotas were introduced prices have risen dramatically because its domestic production has been restricted. However the Commission has...

EU News: Better prices.
October 19, 2007... Milk prices are set to remain high across the EU for at least the rest of this year, according to latest forecasts. Analysts say that in all member states prices have been on a solid upward trend. For the first six months of the year the...

Boost to milk price will give time to think of future plans.
October 19, 2007... Despite last month's Dairy Event having to be cancelled, this didn't deter the companies with messages to convey or products to launch. So we have embarked on a `Virtual Dairy Event' report to keep readers informed of the industry's latest...

Virtual Dairy Event: When will UK meet quota again?
October 19, 2007... A record shortfall of production against milk quota is expected for the current milk year, according to Andersons. The prolonged period of low returns causing both a contraction of the dairy herd and restricted investment have pulled production...

Virtual Dairy Event: New range of micro-nutrients.
October 19, 2007... Rumenco has introduced a range of dairy vitality packs to boost levels of select key micro-nutrients for tactical use in helping increase cow health and performance. Designed to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing the modern dairy...

Survey reveals big variation in vet and med expenditure.
October 19, 2007... Many UK dairy herds incur just a third the annual veterinary and medicine costs of others, according to a newly published Kingshay study into herd health. And the big spread of costs shows there is substantial room for improvement. With...

Virtual Dairy Event: New lactating cow antibiotic launched by Intervet.
October 19, 2007... A newly launched lactating cow mastitis tube from Intervet is said to be the only tube on the market containing the antibiotic cefapirin. Called Mastiplan? LC, the tube contains 300mg of cefapirin as well as 20mg of the anti-inflammatory...

Genus to provide sexed semen from its UK stud.(Genus Breeding Ltd.)(Brief article)
October 19, 2007... High replacement costs and the strong demand for heifers have prompted Genus ABS to offer sexed semen from some of its British and other European bulls. The company has been offering sexed semen on some US bulls since January of this year,...

Virtual Dairy Event: Magnets to pick up wire in feed.
October 19, 2007... Westpoint Vets in Sussex have announced their exclusive deal to distribute a range of magnets, designed specifically to help prevent `hardware' disease which occurs when wire or metal objects - picked up during normal feeding - become lodged in...

Virtual Dairy Event: Spotting disease through milk recording.
October 19, 2007... A new facility supplied as part of the CIS milk recording package is designed to identify cows in urgent need of attention. Cows which have an imbalance in their butterfat to protein ratios will be flagged up on a `hot sheet', identifying them...

A natural approach to fly control for your herd.(Brief article)
October 19, 2007... A biological approach to fly control has been launched by the farm-only veterinary practice Lambert Leonard and May. The control is achieved through the release of parasitic flies - themselves completely harmless to cattle - which destroy the...

It's time to treat our cows like ruminants!
October 19, 2007... With growing pressure on wheat supplies, Dr Michael Marsden thinks now may be the time to radically review the diets we are feeding our cows. A sea-change in attitudes to feeding cattle is both essential and inevitable if dairy farmers are...

Virtual Dairy Event: Deciding on beef or dairy breeding.
October 19, 2007... As the dairy industry struggles to find sufficient replacement heifers for the dairy herd, EBLEX says there is an important place for strategically using beef bull semen. "If every dairy farmer focuses only on producing heifers, because...

Virtual Dairy Event: Same size but extra capacity.
October 19, 2007... A new feeder wagon from Keenan is said to have retained the overall dimensions of their compact Klassic 140 despite having gained an extra 45% mixing capacity and feeding up to 110 cows in a load. It is said to have all the manoeuvrability of a...

Virtual Dairy Event: Single dose for coccidiosis.
October 19, 2007... A newly licensed product for treatment and protection against coccidiosis in calves has been launched by Bayer Animal Health. The coccidiocide Baycox Bovis is administered in a single dose which is said to be active against all three stages...

Letter: MDC under attack as new directors move in at helm.(Letter to the editor)
October 19, 2007... From: Miles Brown, West Mains, Gordon, Berwickshire TD3 6JL. That MDC would bring tears to a glass eye: an envelope with "Milk for Strength" written on the outside, and didn't I think that porridge had been keeping me going! The least...

Letter: FMD vaccination policy would kill the export trade.(Letter to the editor)
October 19, 2007... From: Rob Wills, executive manager British Livestock Genetics, Ilsington, Newton Abbot TQ13 9RD. FAO: Debby Reynolds, chief vet. Dear Mrs Reynolds: You will be aware of the British Livestock Genetics Consortium Ltd (BLG) and the huge...

Making the most of your spend with our value-for-money list.
October 19, 2007... With semen shopping under way for most autumn and winter calving herds, Angela Rhodes takes a look at some of the best buy bulls that make up our latest value-for-money list. Milk prices may be on the increase but so too are virtually all...

Can omega-3 oils help arrest on-going decline in fertility?
October 19, 2007... Supplementing dry cow rations and early lactation diets with fish oils high in omega-3 can reduce embryo loss and improve herd fertility, according to independent consultant Tony Blackburn who oversaw a trial with two large herds in Cheshire....

Synchronization - what we can learn from US approach.
October 19, 2007... Oestrus synchronization is routinely used in over a third of cows in larger US herds to improve pregnancy rates and reduce days open. Angela Rhodes examines the part it could play with cows in the UK. Over the last 10 years the number of...

Heat detection unit that goes on the nod.
October 19, 2007... A new heat detection aid which logs head movements and mounting activity is proving a big hit on a Somerset farm. Geoff Pagotto paid them a visit to see how the system is improving their figures. Farm manager Michael Jones of Wyndhurst Farm...

Boost heat detection rates by bringing in skills of trained staff.(Genus Breeding Ltd.)
October 19, 2007... Genus' Reproductive Management System effectively contracts out the task of heat detection in your herd by bringing in the experts. Geoff Pagotto visited one Wiltshire farm to see how it all works in practice. Wiltshire dairy specialist...

Planning for regular breeding.
October 19, 2007... Getting large numbers of high yielding cows back in calf is never easy. Doing it on time is harder still, which is why one 650-cow herd is using planned breeding on select groups of cows to maintain regular calvings and a level milk profile....

Milk prices: Co-ops respond to catch others.
October 19, 2007... Following on from last month's report on the co-ops, DFB increased its milk price across its Black and White contracts by a flat 2.3ppl from Sept'07, the group's fourth consecutive monthly increase. This takes our flagship standard litre...

Milk prices: Liquid price of retailers.
October 19, 2007... Having previously agreed to review the price in Sept'07 for Oct'07, Tesco has confirmed it will increase the milk price paid to its Tesco Sustainable Dairy Group (TSDG) suppliers by 5.5ppl from September 9 (in line with increasing its retail...

Milk prices: Akkerman confirms new location.
October 19, 2007... West Lakes Dairy Park (Ronald Akkerman) has confirmed both Oct'07 producer milk price as well as the new location for its #70m state-of- the-art cheese factory and pre-pack facility factory, which is to be situated on the outskirts of Carlisle....

RWD on thefront foot.
October 19, 2007... Robert Wiseman has once again established itself on the front foot with its producer milk price, confirming a 3.5ppl increase on its base price on standard supply contracts to 22.45ppl for min base constituents of 3.5%b/f and 3.3% protein. ...

Cheese prices firm.
October 19, 2007... Both AJ and RG Barber and Wyke have pushed the boat out from Oct'07. Barber has confirmed it is increasing its milk price by 4ppl taking our price up to 26.61ppl, a total increase this year to date of 8.42ppl. Wyke Farms has moved up...

Getting wired up just like you do at home.
October 19, 2007... This month Mike Donovan looks at a simple way of curing the problem of loss of electrical contact between tractor and implement. My Apple iBook is a fantastic computer. It hasn't put a foot wrong in five years. Humped from office to home,...

Mind you it's not easy stabbing round bales under full steam...
October 19, 2007... As everyone knows handling round bales on banky land is a recipe for the odd escape, but Roger Evans' latest recruit has got the job sewn up - even when they've got a fair lick of speed. It was with just a touch of reluctance that I agreed...