Dairy Farmer articles from September 2003

Dairy Farmer archives from September 2003

COMMENT: Finding way forward.(dairy surplus and marketing)(Brief Article)
September 12, 2003... With the spring surplus now well and truly behind us, perhaps the news from Westbury shouldn't have come as the shock it did. But it is ironic that the very people who invested in the venture to try to improve our pathetic milk marketing...

Battle rages over cheese.(supermarket chain accused of depressing prices with cheap imports)(Brief Article)
September 12, 2003... Major retailer ASDA has been accused by Farmers for Action leader David Handley of paying lip service to the liquid milk price initiative while attempting to hold down cheese prices with cheap imports. FFA members have blockaded ASDA...

Base year date could put pressure on quota supply.(The industry is gearing up for 31 March 2005 to be the key date for determing quota)
September 12, 2003... Farmers remain in limbo over the detailed regulations for bringing in CAP reform as the final implementing regulations will not emerge from the Commission before September 20, and will not be available until they are approved by farm ministers....

Westbury gets extra time for rescue deal.(consortium pursuades Price Waterhouse to keep factory open for a further week)
September 12, 2003... Negotiations to save United Milk's Westbury plant went into extra time this week as the dairy consortium persuaded receivers Price Waterhouse Coopers to keep the factory open for a further week following assurances that it would cover any...

OFT takes another look at Wiseman.(investigation into market practises)(Office of Fair Trading, Wiseman Dairies)(Brief Article)
September 12, 2003... The Office of Fair Trading has once again re-opened its investigations into Wiseman Dairies and its influence on the middle ground market in Scotland. The OFT has claimed that this most recent investigation has not this time been instigated by...

Scottish launch finds spoiler attack waiting.(People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals goes head to head with Scottish Dairy Marketing campaign)
September 12, 2003... The Scottish Dairy Marketing Company has dismissed as `pure co- incidence' the launch of a rival `White Stuff' campaign by the controversial anti-milk group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Intended as a challenge to the White...

Co-op results lacking lustre.(Dairy co-ops Dairy Farmers of Britain and Milk Link are finding profits in processing are hard earned)(Brief Article)
September 12, 2003... Dairy co-ops Dairy Farmers of Britain and Milk Link are finding profits in processing are hard earned. Both co-ops have recently released their annual results and neither has found rich pickings in the processing sector. DFB has recorded a...

COWMEN COMMENT: Hopping mad over dismal milk returns.(cowman Tim Gibson rightly feels it's time that the milk price went up)
September 12, 2003... Our Yorkshire cowman Tim Gibson rightly feels it's high time that the milk price went up, and can't understand why the buyers aren't now starting to offer a better price. I'm writing this in a bit of a bad mood this month, as things don't...

COWMEN COMMENT: David Archer: first step to thinking the unthinkable?
September 12, 2003... Now that David (the badger) Archer has gone and done it, what will the public reaction be to this most draconian of all measures, and will the DEFRA team be tuning in? Read on... It's hot, very hot and the corn is ready to cut. Perfect...

COWMEN COMMENT: Dread as letter thuds onto mat.(personal account of life on a dairy farm)
September 12, 2003... You know the stomach-churning feeling when that envelope that you've been waiting weeks for and which could well determine your immediate future, finally clatters onto the mat. What do you do? Ignore it or leave it to the kids? The letter...

INTERVIEW - Milk Link: happy with processing despite the cost.
September 12, 2003... Milk Link may feel somewhat isolated in the south-west and missing out on transport savings recently seized by others, but chief executive Barry Nicholls has pretty firm ideas on the way his co-op will progress, as he explains to David...

EU News: WTO puts pressure on for trade reform.(impact of WTO negotiations on UK dairy farmers)
September 12, 2003... The World Trade Organisation talks have been grabbing the headlines as efforts continue to hammer out a new deal on agriculture. But what do these high stake political talks mean for British dairy farmers, and what impact will they have on...

MILKING: Small herd benefits for large-scale unit.(Automatic milking systems definitely work but require a needed change in cow management)
September 12, 2003... Automatic milking systems have received bad press in the UK but it seems poor system design can have as much effect as mechanical reliability. Angela Rhodes visited one of the country's largest automatic milking set-ups to see how they designed...

SURVEY: Pride in growing quality grass crop.(survey of dairy farmers to rate their grassland management and productivity)
September 12, 2003... According to the 300 respondents to a recent Dairy Farmer/United Phosphorus survey, some 74% rated their grassland management either on a par with, or above, an average arable farmer's crop management and nearly half reckon their current...

POTTER'S VIEW: Westbury - where do we go from here?(opinion of the restructuring of United Milk's Westbury plant)
September 12, 2003... There has only been one issue dominating the news agenda in recent days, and that is United Milk's Westbury plant. Ian Potter gives us his thoughts on how he sees things going forward. At the time of writing a tri co-op consortium is...

BREEDING: Italy knocks UK bulls from top place listing.(genetic traits and breeding abilities of milk bulls)
September 12, 2003... High milk bulls may dominate the top of the latest Holstein sire #PLI rankings but leading second crop sires continue to hold their own with the new bulls on the block. Angela Rhodes reports. After storming into the Top 10 in May, the high...

Gibson holds off challenge.(Silky Gibson holds on to his place as the No 1 type sire)
September 12, 2003... Canadian sire Silky Gibson has fought off the challenge of the chasing pack to hold on to his place as the No 1 type sire and has broken through the +4.00 Type Merit barrier in the process. The highest new bull this time is Ladino Park...

Crossbreds designed to harvest grass.
September 12, 2003... A radical rethink of the farm business has seen one Shropshire producer swop high input Holsteins for grass-based crossbreds. But has the switch in policy paid off? When Gareth Hotchkiss took over the management of the herd at Hall Farm,...

FERTILITY: Progesterone role in early embryonic loss.(15% of cows are failing to hold to service because of low progesterone levels in early pregnancy)
September 12, 2003... Herd fertility problems come in may different forms but at least 15% of cows are repeatedly failing to hold to service because of low progesterone levels in early pregnancy. The question is can we do anything about it? Angela Rhodes reports....

DIET FEEDING French show way ahead on feed efficiency front.(French dairy units are streets ahead when it comes to feed efficiency and production from home-grown feeds)
September 12, 2003... The average French dairy unit cannot match the UK for size or overall output but they are streets ahead when it comes to feed efficiency and production from home-grown feeds. Angela Rhodes finds out what we can learn from the French approach to...

DIET FEEDING: Top herd clocks up huge 1.65FCE.(example of milk production that can be achieved with home-grown feeds and close monitoring of performance. )
September 12, 2003... French dairy farmer and self-confessed cow enthusiast Murielle Poutrain provides a good example of what can be done with home-grown feeds and close monitoring of performance. Six years ago she was filling her 640,000 litre quota at GAEC des...

California - what can we learn from US?(California is one of the five main dairying states in the US, with the largest average herd size and the highest average yields)
September 12, 2003... It is one thing to breed high genetic merit dairy cows, but it can be quite another to manage them to fully exploit their potential. One place renowned for getting milk from high merit cows is California, where they manage cows in a totally...

GOOD EVANS: Matbro: now available with fitted snorkel!
September 12, 2003... In his endlessly resourceful way, our super hero, hearing of the nation's plight, in no time at all knocked up an Olympic diving platform. Which is strange, really, considering he only intended cleaning out the farm pond! A couple of weeks...