Dairy Farmer Digital Edition August 2012

DAIRY FARMERForward thinking for a profitable future August 2012

TIP OF THE MONTH: Looking for soya alternatives to cut ration costs – p18 & 20

Further information please contact: Pfizer Animal Health, Walton Oaks, Dorking Road, Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey KT20 7NSFor full details – see data sheet. Cydectin 0.5% Pour-On for Cattle contains: moxidectin. Speak to your medicine prescriber about the use of this or alternative products. Use medicines responsibly: www.noah.co.uk/responsible/ ® Registered trademark Date of preparation: 1.12

Your new choice for worming dairy cows is clear

*The longest persistency of any wormer licensed for use in lactating dairy cows: 35 days against stomach worm (Ostertagia), 42 days against lungworm (Dictyocaulus)

moxidectin

Pour-On for Dairy

Short milk withdrawal and Longest worm persistencyCYDECTIN Pour-On for Cattle now has a claim for use in dairy cows. With a 6-day milk withdrawal it can be used routinely in the last stage of the dry period, with no loss of milk. It provides the longest persistency against the key worms that affect dairy performance.*

Ask your animal health supplier for more information.

DAIRYDAIRY

NEWNEW

Pour-On for

POM-VPSAH153/12

Inside this issue…

On farm featurePages 6-7

Heifer rearingPages 16-17

Nutrition specialPages 18-26

Good EvansPage 32

Milk pricesPages 28-29

**DF Aug Cover_Layout 1 20/07/2012 09:09 Page 1

SCRATCH BRUSH

Contact us todayUK Sales - Simon 07525 419162NI Sales - Trevor 07803 124235Office - 028 276 69000

[email protected]

VENTILATION SYSTEMS

SLURRY SCRAPERS

PARLOUR BACKING GATE

FOOT-TRIMMING CRUSH AUTOMATED JETWASH FOOTBATH

AGRILIGHT

Make her wish come true

Cowcare - on every cows wish list

Cowcare WP DF_Cowcare WP DF 20/07/2012 10:03 Page 1

CONTENTS

1DAIRY FARMER AUGUST 2012

Vol 59 No 8 August 2012

News and commentNews review 2 Cowmen comment 4On farm 6Potter’s View 8 Breeding 10Youngstock 14Conference 16

Nutrition specialProtein feeds 18Microbial protein 20Mixer wagons 22

RegularsMilk prices 28Good Evans 32

NEXT MONTH

Livestock 2012 preview

In this issue…Who pays, Mr Kelly?

It was probably nothing morethan co-incidence that DairyCrest’s announcement toreduce its post-cut noticeperiod for farmers to three

months and ASDA’s to reinstateArla’s proposed 2ppl milk price cutto its dedicated farmers came onthe morning that they bothappeared before the EFRA SelectCommittee.

Sop or not, perhaps the mostfundamental EFRA question wasthat put to ASDA’s Paul Kelly thatthey were the architects of theretailer cost cutting frenzy bykicking off a couple of years agowith their four pints for a £1 offer.

MP Neil Parish stormed thatASDA’s loss leaders were all verywell but they shouldn’t expect therest of the industry to fund them.

Questioned on Radio 4, MrKelly squirmingly said ASDA hada responsibility to both theconsumer as well as the farmer,especially in times of austerity.

Editor

Peter Hollinshead 0207 332 2949

[email protected]

Production Editor

Gillian Dixon 01772 799 417

[email protected]

Display Advertisement Manager

Mark Jackson 01322 449 624,

07775 754 548,

[email protected]

Classified Advertisements

Ben Lea and Susan Rains

01772 799 454

Advertising Production

Justine Sumner 01772 799 437

Fax: 01772 796 747

[email protected]

Subscriptions 01858 438 893

www.subscription.co.uk/df/0024

Circulation 01858 435 361

[email protected]

Single copy: £3.75

Subscription rates: UK £45 a year

Europe: £55 World: £65

To subscribe, call our hotline on 01858 438 893.Alternatively visit www.subscription.co.uk/df/bar1

© Briefing Media Ltd 2012All rights reserved. No part of this publication maybe reproduced or transmitted in any form or byany means, electronic or mechanical includingphotocopying, recording, or any informationstorage or retrieval system without the expressprior written consent of the publisher. The contentsof Dairy Farmer are subject to reproduction ininformation storage and retrieval systems.

Dairy Farmer, Briefing Media Ltd, Unit 4, Fulwood Business Park, Caxton Road, Preston, Lancashire PR2 9NZ.

Contacts

Origination by Farmers Guardian, Briefing Media Ltd, Unit 4, Fulwood Business Park, Caxton Road, Preston, Lancashire PR2 9NZ. Printed by Headley Brothers,Invicta Press, Queen’s Road, Ashford, Kent TN24 8HH. No responsibility can be accepted by Dairy Farmer for the opinions expressed by contributors.

Editor

Which illustrates why it’s so vitalfor producers to keep consumerson side to remove this ever-convenient cost-cutting prop, andthat we continue to name andshame the worst offenders.

Not surprisingly, DairyCo’s latestfigures show the average retailmilk price in 2011/12 dropped toits lowest level in seven years.

But the real crunch comes with:“In the past, increases in processorcosts have been matched withrising retail prices, but a signifi-cant factor in the liquid milkmarket in 2011/12 was the lack ofsuch an increase.”

In fact it says prices weredown to 55.5ppl, 4.6% lowerthan 2010/11, and therein liesthe root cause of the trouble.And just to rub salt in thewound, ASDA is right nowresurrecting its four pints for a£1 offer.

With potential farm price cutsapproaching 4ppl and a feed bill

rise of 1.5ppl on the horizon, MrKelly and his counterparts mightwell reflect that their ever-commendable consumer concernover a couple of pence mightmean they could easily findthemselves without any milk atall in due course!

**DF Aug p1 Contents_Layout 1 20/07/2012 11:47 Page 1

2 DAIRY FARMER AUGUST 2012

NEWS

St Hubert sold� Dairy Crest has sold its StHubert spreads business for£344m to a venture capitalcompany. DC will now use theincome to reduce debt andmake strategic acquisitions inthe UK. St Hubert waspurchased in January 2007 for£248m and contributedsignificantly to group profits. However Dairy Crest was‘unable to make additionalsynergistic acquisitions inEurope as it envisaged at thetime of the acquisition, and itbelieves that greater valuemay be generated forshareholders through theproposed disposal of StHubert’.

Notice periods� Dairy Crest is cutting itsnotice period for farmers tothree months following a milkprice reduction. The move, andone from Asda to reinstateArla’s latest 2ppl milk price cutfor August to its dedicatedfarmers, came on the morningboth Asda and Dairy Crestappeared before an EFRASelect Committee meeting.

NEWS IN BRIEF Paice sends farmersaway empty handed

Despite the staggering3000 dairy farmerturnout toWestminster, FarmingMinister Jim Paice

disappointingly had no solutionto offer producers in the shortterm. The goals for those who

rallied in London were simple –to demonstrate their anger overthe cuts, to garner publicity forthe farmers’ plight, and mostimportantly to get theimmediate reversal of milk pricecuts imposed since April 1. For the first and second of the

three objectives the meetingsucceeded admirably. Dairying’splight was plastered all over theTV channels and in the media.The ‘non-paying’ principle

retailers – Asda, Morrisons, theCo-operative and discounters (iethose that do not pay a Cost ofProduction price) were thetarget and have ended up on thereceiving end of some image-damaging publicity. There wereeven unconfirmed reportssupermarkets had been forced toclose their Facebook sitesbecause of the huge amount ofnegative sentiment received.

ReinstatementHowever that leaves the latterobjective – the reinstatement ofall milk price cuts – still to beachieved. That’s a tall order giventhat commodity markets (whichthe processors blame for the pricecuts) have not rallied and have, ifanything, slipped further.

Nevertheless radical plansare being discussed for actionvarying from milk blockades, totipping milk away, to organisinga voluntary cull of dairy cattleto crash milk production. The NFU, which has been

reluctant in the past to condonedirect action, will ‘back any plansto demonstrate peacefullyoutside processors and retailersinvolved in the latest round ofcuts’. And because Jim Paice had

nothing to offer in terms of ashort-term solution, the NFU dugits heels in. “Before long we (may) have

to ramp up our lobbying ofParliament to introducestatutory powers,” said aspokesman.

Scotland’smilk solution

Dairy protest in Europe over ‘mismanagement’

NORTH of the Border, the ScottishGovernment has come up with afive-point plan to rescue theindustry. The suggestions are:� Having a ministerial summit todiscuss the current situation andestablish a timetable for consultingon legislation.� Asking Farming Minister JimPaice to appoint an independentobjective facilitator to assist withthe current negotiations betweenproducers and processors in aneffort to agree a voluntary code ofpractice.� Writing to retailers demandingclarity for consumers about howmuch producers receive for theirmilk.� Commissioning a long-termstrategic review to establish wherethe dairy industry wants to be in10 years and how to get there.� Ensuring the Scottish AgriculturalOrganisation Society (SAOS) hassufficient resources to acceleratetheir existing work on producerorganisations and co-operatives.

DAIRY farmers in Europe are alsosuffering milk price falls – and of agreater magnitude than UKfarmers. A day before the London

protest, hundreds of dairy farmersattached to the European MilkBoard demonstrated in front ofthe European Parliament against‘the mismanagement of theEuropean dairy market’. Anoverflowing ‘milk lake’ was setup on Place du Luxembourg tosymbolise the current over-production.

“In reaction to the currentreform of the agricultural marketorganisation in the EU, EMB dairyfarmers demand the implement-ation of concrete measures,including a voluntary supplyconstraint… as a means ofrestoring the balance betweensupply and demand,” it demanded.Romuald Schaber, president of

the EMB, said: "Members of theEuropean Parliament have to becareful in the light of the CAPreform and take the steps that areright for the milk market.

Otherwise, the European Commis-sion's ‘soft landing’ leads us toanother crash landing in onlythree years (when quotasdisappear). Virtually the only wayto alleviate the situation is toreduce production, preferably by avoluntary supply constraint in theshort term.”The European Milk Board (EMB)

is the umbrella organisation ofdairy farmers' associations inEurope, and around 75% of themilk in Europe is produced in EMBmember countries.

Ruddy faced farmers succinctly make their point at the Westminster summit meeting.

**DF Aug p2 3 News_Layout 1 20/07/2012 11:41 Page 1

NEWS


��

Clean and Dry...soothes and clears Concentrated formulation

• Fast and effective

• Improve teat condition

• Cost effective

•Soothes, softens & clears•Use at calving time and on

hard udders (esp heifers)•Tested for non-taint of milk

®UDDERMINT HOOFCARETEISEN TEAT WIPES•With chelated copper

and zinc, forprolonged action

•Gel, spray-on, and footbath

Its effect on a heifer ’s udder is phenomenal ! I’m convincedthat using UDDERMINT on all our heifers for the first 2-3 days

after calving has increased milk yield by up to 10%.

UDDERMINT used worldwideover 5 million times per year!

VEGELYTE®

• Electrolytes, dextrose and fibre

•Gel powder/digestive aid

• Very economicalA name you can trust

Redditch. B96 6RP. Tel: 01527 821488 www.uddermint.com

WAITING for the market to turnwill come too late for manyfarmers trying to get through thiswinter.The latest Rabobank outlook

predicts a recovery in dairy priceswill not come until late 2012 orearly 2013 ‘after global supply haslost momentum’. As 2012 progresses there will

be ‘stable pricing’ in Q3, a ‘slowsqueeze’ in Q4, and ‘pricerecovery gaining legs’ in early2013, fore-casts the report.

EuropeProduction growth in the EU willslow to 1% in the second half ofthe year as a result of the weatherand lower prices, but this will stillbe more than domestic marketscan soak up. In the US, herds are being

culled, and the weather hasturned against the sector, butthere too growth will only be 1%in the second half of the yearcompared to 3.2% in the firsthalf. In New Zealand, production is

expected to be slightly higherthan this time last year, butvolumes might increase inneighbouring Australia by 3% inthe second half of the year.In South America, Argentina’s

milk volumes are expected togrow by 5%. Overall, among the big seven

exporters, Rabobank predictssupplies will be 1.2% above thenorm in the second half of theyear compared to 3.2% for thefirst half.

Waiting forthe market to turn

Sainsbury’scost trackerfirst reviewT

he first quarterly reviewof Sainsbury’s CostTracker model since itwas introduced inMay’12 has resulted in

0.26ppl being added to theSDDG milk price from July 1,taking its standard price to30.56ppl. According to milkprices.com,

each quarter the model tracksthe price movement of the threekey dairy cost elements, namelyfeed, fuel and fertiliser. This firstreview using data from DairyCoDatum up to Apr’12 comparesmovements against the originalmodel which uses the same data

source up to Jan’12. The quarter highlighted an

increase of £5.03/t in feed costs,fuel up by 3.63ppl and fertiliseractually down by £3/t. The modelwill be fully updated from Oct’12when it will use the actual costdata collected by Kite Consultingfrom all SDDG members thissummer.

Cost dataThe provision of this cost data isa key requirement of being amember of the SDDG, whereaswith Tesco producers can opt outof supplying data but with theloss of a 0.5ppl bonus.

Marketsdip again AFTER a month of relativelypositive news and market trends,there has been a correction inmany markets over the last fewweeks. Cream prices have weakened

slightly to between £1.00 and£1.03, and are being pegged backby international prices andexchange rates. The butter market has fallen

back too, with the impact ofPrivate Storage now starting tokick-in with just six weeks or so togo before product can be, or hasto be, withdrawn. With 100,000tin store, buyers can afford to bepatient. The UK price is around£2230 to £2300, for example,compared to an equivalent priceof £2130 on the continent.Cheese is much the same as it

has been for the last few months,and there should be no immed-iate worries on prices – hencebuyers keeping their cheesecontract prices largely unchanged.The recent dramatic fall in milkvolumes both here and in Ireland(with worse to come) will alsotighten up supplies.

DEFRA has won the JudicialReview on badger cullingbrought by the Badger Trust.The Trust had sought to get the

cull overturned on three counts.These were that the policy failedto meet the conditions laid downby the 1992 Badger Protection Actregarding the definition ofspreading disease; that the costimpact assessment of the cull was

flawed; and that the department’sguidance to Natural England wasinvalid.But all three of these were

thrown out by the court. Defrasaid it would work to ensure thepilot culls can begin ‘as soon as ispractical’, but the Badger Trust isnot taking the decision lyingdown and is considering anappeal.

English badger cullgets the green light Rising costs

ON farm milk production costshave increased, and feed prices areset to rise again by 1 to 2ppl overthe winter as commodity pricessoar. The Sainsbury's cost trackermodel shows feed prices over thelast six months increased by£5.03/tonne, fuel (three-monthaverage) increased by 3.63ppl, butfertiliser decreased by £3/t overlast year.

****DF Aug p2 3 News_Layout 1 20/07/2012 13:07 Page 2


COWMEN COMMENT

Rosemary CollingbornRosemary Collingborn and her husbandJoe farm a closed herd of 100 pedigreeFriesian type cows, 60 young stock andbreed bulls for sale. She has served on theMDC Council, Veterinary ProductsCommittee and RSPCA Council.

Milk prices must quicklystart to go up not down

� FARM: Family run 185 acres dairyfarm in North Wiltshire� HERD: Closed herd of 100Friesian type pedigree cows� YIELD: 7874 litres� SOIL TYPE: Heavy – Oxford clay� RAINFALL: 749mm� MILK BUYER: First Milk.

Farm facts

There’s an old Chinesesaying ‘may you live ininteresting times’. Well wecertainly do! Milkproducers are being hit

from every side – desperateweather, rising input prices andtotally unjustified cuts in the milkprice. A sure sign the market isn’tworking. Prices need to go up,not down.Last year cream rose

spectacularly to be worth nearly6ppl extra to the milk processor.Rather than passing this increaseonto farmers, said processors fellover themselves to offer cheapmilk to the supermarkets. Nowthe cream price has fallen back,they are hell bent on regainingfinancial stability by creamingmoney back from the milkproducer. This needs to end.The OFT cited collusion when

supermarkets voluntarily put their

milk prices up after huge farmerprotests at low prices. Where isthe OFT now when all theprocessors are acting in concert toput prices down?It’s certainly easier looking after

a dairy herd when weatherconditions are stable or at leastpredicable. In retrospect we weremuch too proud of our earlyspring grazing and I probablyshouldn’t have mentioned it inDairy Farmer. Nevertheless whenthe floods came in April, the cowsstayed out on the higher fieldsand have only been in at night sofar for three times in June! Reallythe cows themselves should becongratulated. However, thingshave gone very badly wrong asregards silage making.We were laid back at first when

the weather eventually improvedin May, as we’d grazed all thefarm, so our silage grass wasn’t

too forward. We were less laidback when our silage contractorleft the village to make silagefifteen miles away and didn’tshow any sign of coming backuntil the weather broke andremained broke for the next fourweeks. During this time wemanaged to make a few balesfrom our paddocks, but that wasall. This led to one of myhusband’s irritated breakfastcomments: “If you mention notfeeding those big bales again, I’llopen the clamp!”This time I was able to retort:

“Go ahead then.” This wasbecause the clamp was already inpristine condition, entirely openand still waiting for weather andcontractor. And our vet nearlyended up in the dirty waterlagoon when he started ourmonthly session with thecomment: “Have you put down alot of new concrete lately? It looksvery clean over there.”It has also been a year for

missing deadlines. The firstdeadline I unfortunately missedwas the 90-day notice period onour electricity contract. This hascost us, but not as much as thecompany’s first communicationwhich informed me the ratewould be going up from 8.5p to14.6p. Negotiation becameimperative.It then occurred to me that

farming has turned into asuccession of deadlines, all easy tomiss. There is a tremendous reliefwhen one deadline is negotiatedand over for another month orbetter still another year, but whydoes another immediately have totake its place? What adds to theproblem is that I like to doeverything myself, so there’s no-

one reliable to remind me.Reviewing progress over the

past year, I have to report ourancient kitchen has beenmodernised and there’s a platemetre balanced on the best chair.The car is coming up to MOT, andis rusty enough to be replaced.However, my husband hasmanaged to mend the leak on thesump, so we’re going to give theMOT a go. It used to be veryembarrassing visiting mum inCardiff and not being able to parkin the drive as there would be alarge pool of oil in the morning! Iput it to the two easternEuropeans waving chammys inSainsbury’s car park that theymight like to clean it. Theydisappeared for a while, and thensuggested I would have to pay£20 rather than the usual fiver.But some things are looking up.

We passed our Farm Assurancestraight off first time this year, buta neighbour rang up in a conund-rum about his. He was in adilemma about whether heshould move the swallow’s nest inhis dairy (which would destroy thefledglings but probably stop himfailing his Farm Assurance), orgamble that he could persuadethe assessor that the swallowswere his very own up-to-dateorganic fly control?

**DF Aug p4 Cowmen_Layout 1 20/07/2012 11:30 Page 1

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter

Pfi zer Animal Health has parasites covered

For further information please contact your veterinary surgeon or Pfizer Animal Health, Walton Oaks, Dorking Road, Walton-on-the-Hill, Tadworth, Surrey KT20 7NSPfi zer Spot On contains deltamethrin 1% w/v. Covexin 8 contains Lamb Dysentery vaccine BP (vet), Struck vaccine BP (vet), Pulpy Kidney vaccine (vet), Braxy vaccine BP (vet), Blackleg vaccine BP (vet), Tetanus Toxid (veterinary) BP (vet), Black Disease vaccine (vet) and Clostridium haemolyticum (oedematiens Type D) vaccine. All Cydectin products contain moxidectin. POM-VPS

Use medicines responsibly (www.noah.co.uk/responsible) Date of preparation 03/12 AH319/12

Worms, fl ies, lice – they don’t stand a chance when your clients’ cattle and sheep are protected by Pfi zer’s extensive VPS range of parasite control treatments.

Pfizer VPS WP DF_Pfizer VPS WP DF 20/07/2012 11:25 Page 1


ON FARM

Velcourt’s radical approachreturns farm back to profit As rescue operations go, they rarely come more successful than this. Ann Hardy visited the Radstock Co-op’sSomerset farm to find out how it was transformed from deep financial losses to healthy profits in little over a year.

� Founded in 1868 on co-operative principles� Owns one farm and 12 shops

� Carries the nationallyrecognised Co-op brand andgoods.

THE RADSTOCK CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY

Robbie Taylor, farmsdirector for VelcourtFarms, is the first toadmit things hadreached rock bottom

when Velcourt took on themanagement of Radstock Co-op’sSomerset farm. Milk yields wererunning at around 5000 litres,herd health and fertility werepoor, diversification schemes forthe farm had come and gone,staff morale had hit the floor andfinancial losses were standing ataround £60,000 per annum.It was clear some level of

improvement at the 410-ha (1000-acre) Manor Farm in Hardingtonnear Frome would not be difficultto achieve. But transforming theherd production to 9500 litres andelevating operating profits to£68,000 a year within little morethan a 12-month period wouldsurely impress the most demand-ing of business bosses.The business boss Velcourt

sought to impress was Don

Robbie Taylor says having the rightteam is imperative.

Herd production at Manor Farm has gone from 5000 litres under the organic regime to 9500 litres now.

Morris, who was newly appointedas the Radstock Co-operativeSociety’s chief executive in 2009,and – as an accountant byprofession – could see the gravityof the financial situation andknew the expertise required toremedy the ills was absent fromthe equation.“We put in a tender to manage

Manor Farm with a three yearplan, and were lucky enough tobe picked to run the business,”says Robbie.“Our first task was to put in

place a management structureand that’s when Stewart McCall-um was established as farmmanager.”Admitting this was a baptism of

fire, Stewart had only joinedVelcourt as a management traineein summer 2010, and was estab-lished in this job in October of thesame year.“Velcourt takes on six trainee

farm managers every year,”explains Robbie, referring to the

56,000ha (138,000 acres) thecompany manages across the UK.“Usually they train for 12 months,but sometimes one has to step inslightly earlier than planned.”Stewart, by then in his early

30s, was eager to rise to thechallenge, and as a farmer’s son,fresh from SAC, was wellequipped for the role. And hiscareer to date in commerce andretail would prove particularlybeneficial when it came tokeeping on top of the farm’shitherto capricious finances.

PlanEstablishing the right team offarm employees would be key tothe success, and although someredundancies had to be made, thenewly formed team – comprisingherdsman and assistant, youngstock rearer and someone to dealwith operations and maintenance– was largely already employed bythe farm.“The whole job is about peo-

ple,” says Robbie, who explainsthat a change of mindset to ‘thecows come first’ was a toppriority, while new motivation hascome through investment in staffhousing (£40,000 in the first yearof the Velcourt plan and more to

follow), training, and simplythrough seeing results.“Cows coming first means

things like milking at 4am and3.30pm – rather than 5.15am and2.30pm – and Stewart puttingtheir feed out at 3.30 in themorning,” says Robbie.

Farm equipmentAn early decision was made to selloff surplus equipment, and amachinery dispersal was held atthe start of the process.“We sold all the equipment

we didn’t need – which wasmost of it,” says Stewart. “Thisraised £127,000.”Contract hire would be used

for tractors and a telehandler,while field work would becarried out by contractors atpre-negotiated rates.“Velcourt contract hires all

machinery for all of the farms,so the rates are both favourableand completely predictable, andcan be confidently built intobudgets,” he says.“We are dairy farmers and we

specialise in milking. We don’twant the herdsman jumping on asilage tractor when he should bespending time looking after cows.“I reckon most farmers would

**DF Aug p6 7 On Farm_Layout 1 20/07/2012 09:11 Page 1

ON FARM


� 350 milkers and 320followers� 410 hectares (1000 acres)� 70ha maize (170 acres)� 80ha wheat (200 acres).

MANOR FARM FACTS

� Specialise in dairy� Put the cows first� Keep overheads anddepreciation low� Fix forward costs� Contract out field work

� Recruit, train and care for theright staff� Produce what the processorwants� Watch costs and output everyweek.

VELCOURT PRINCIPLES AT MANOR FARM

Manager Stewart McCallum heads up the on-farm team but only joinedVelcourt two years ago.

Under the new regime, calf mortality has declined from 10% to 2%.

struggle to justify having theirown cultivation and forageharvesting equipment,” addsRobbie. “Many people think theyare making more than they arebecause they are not building truedepreciation of machinery intotheir accounts.”

BudgetsThe annual budget itselfprovides a framework on whichall operations hang, and asmany costs as possible are fixedbefore they are committed tothis document.“We do this, for instance, by

forward buying all feed for theyear ahead, which I’d say we buyat around £20-£30/tonne belowthe market rate,” says Robbie. “I watch the soya and rape

markets daily and I take theopportunity to buy on a downday, so when you’re buying30,000 tonnes/year, that makesan appreciable difference.”Commenting on the manage-

ment fee that Velcourt is paidfor its services, he says: “We arepaid according to cow numbersand land area, and because ofour central buying we alwayssay we can save that fee oninput costs alone.”Sticking as rigidly as possible

to the budget and reportingmonthly to the Radstock Co-op,Robbie says he keeps on track bywatching the ‘total variance’

figure on a weekly basis.“This is the difference between

the value of the milk sold and thecost of the concentrates fed thatweek and how it compares totarget, so by watching it veryclosely, you can also react on aweekly basis.“The variance has been running

at plus £1500 to £2000 per weekat Radstock, due to the cowsperforming well, but this week it’sdown at plus £684 because of badweather and the 2ppl cut in milkprice.”

Bottom lineRemarking that bottom lineprofits are all which will bejudged at the end of the year,Robbie says: “In October 2010the farm was losing £60,000 perannum. By February 2011 profitsper annum were up to £28,000 –despite the absorption ofredundancy costs – and byFebruary 2012 we were up to£68,000, despite a large fee tobe paid to Natural England.”With a forecast net profit

(before tax) of £125,000 by

February 2013, Robbie saysimproved herd performanceshould ensure this is achieved,despite the unbudgeted fall inmilk price.

HusbandryThe husbandry practices which areat the heart of the improvedperformance began with betterfeeding of cows, which have beenmoved from a low input to amore traditional system feeding ofthree tonnes of concentrates percow per year.“The herd had gone organic 10

years earlier and had moved to alow input system a year beforeour arrival,” says Stewart. “They’dstarted crossing the Holsteins withBrown Swiss and Swedish Red, sowe had to decide what breedingwould fit into the business planfor the next three years.”Opting to return to the Holstein

for her high performance, a sub-sequent decision was made to quitorganic production.“There were all manner of

reasons,” says Robbie, “rangingfrom the market, the costs ofproduction, health issues in thecows and the farm full of weeds,and we had to swallow a £43,000pay-back to Natural England inour first year, under the OrganicEntry Level Stewardship.”Within two weeks of taking

on the farm, performance hadrisen from 16 to 20 litres/daypredominantly through betterfeeding, with oats, vetches andwhole crop beans graduallyreplaced with grass and maizesilage and the ‘Velcourt blend’ in

a TMR. With precision mixingand a Bluetooth connectionfrom the wagon to Stewart’scomputer, every member of theteam closely adheres to feedingprotocols.Further protocols in place for

the different aspects of husbandryhave seen improvements in everyarea beginning to filter through.Mastitis rates are now down at 21cases per 100 cows per year, calfmortality has declined from 10 to2%, and far more heifers areentering the system than areneeded to satisfy the 21%replacement rate.Average daily production

peaked last November at 35litres at 180 days in milk, whileannual performance now standsat 9515kg at 4.01% fat and3.28% protein on twice-a-daymilking.Reflecting on the herd’s

improved performance, Stewartsays: “The easy part is what wehave achieved to date. The harderpart will be driving the businessforward and making improve-ments year-on-year.“We may have a three-year

contract, but we have to farm asthough we’re here for the long-term.“A thousand acres give us huge

scope for expansion, but we willhold off any capital projects untilthe autumn when we’ll see justhow much the milk price drop hasaffected our budget.“But if production is well up

on budget, we will still have roomto make the improvements wewould really like to see,” he adds.

**DF Aug p6 7 On Farm_Layout 1 20/07/2012 09:12 Page 2


POTTER’S VIEW

This month Ian Potter is buoyed by the recent producer cohesion and looks tofind more permanent ways out of the present predicament. Ian Potter

Ian is a specialist milk quotaand entitlement broker.Comments please to [email protected]

Deals to makemy eyes water

The solidarity shown by thevery large number of dairyfarmers in July has beenfantastic. Well done to alland sundry – you know

who you are.The August 1 price cuts by our

three big dairies were described tome as a milk tornado whichquickly sucked in every liquid milkpurchaser/processor which got inits way. Hence the reason whymost believe if we can sort out thebig three, and their big liquidcustomers, the rest will auto-matically fall into line. Not that you’ll need much

reminding, but here are the bigthree liquid non-aligned pricesfrom August 1 – Arla 24.27ppl(and this does not allow for the0.5ppl levy), Wisemans 24.48ppl,and Dairy Crest 24.58ppl. Yes, theDanes and the Germans arepaying the lowest prices. Bothhave invaded Britain and it’s notjust the Danes who, with an awfullot of help from the retailers, aredoing the pillaging.

ProminentI still hear stories of prominentaligned farmers who are sittingback smugly thinking that they’reOK. Surely they realise the biggertheir price differential to ‘normal’farmers the less sustainable theirprice becomes.Some so-called farmer

representatives are leaving allnegotiations with retailers andliquid customers to theirprocessors, while others areactively working with theirprocessor to extract more cashfrom customers. Look at the facts.Arla dropped their August 1 milkprice by way more than DC andWiseman. Does this indicate theother two had more success inobtaining extra money from theircustomers, particularly those in themiddle ground? Maybe, maybenot. But it’s high time some so-

called representatives got off theirbacksides and started to deliverresults and soon. There is an awful lot wrong and

immoral with this supply chain.There’s the obvious to start with –the obscenely unfair share of themargins. But there are otherunseen, shady activities too. Howmany ‘back door’ payments doretailers ‘force’ processors to makewhich muddy the waters? Theones I am told about make myeyes water, let alone theirs. Thebottom line is dairy farmers andprocessors are paying for thischeap milk and for this immoralactivity and wanton greed. And ifrecent drops are not quicklyreversed the cows themselves willpay the price – more, inevitably,will be culled.Meanwhile, the formation of

British Producer Organisations(PO’s) toddles along. FarmingMinister Jim Paice recentlyannounced £5m funding to helpthe industry on this. But who willrun them? Well I believe oneoutfit which could do so is FirstMilk, which could potentially doso alongside its other activities –assuming its members buy into theidea. Remember that co-ops, inthemselves, cannot be PO’s.A PO is not a silver bullet,

however if one is set-up correctlywith the right people running it, it

will certainly help put dairyfarmers on a more equal footingwith processors and retailers whenit comes to negotiating. I alsoenvisage a PO which is involved inhedging mechanisms and futurescontracts to smooth out the peaksand troughs of prices. Let’s face it, this volatility isn’t

going to go away. It could getworse. I am stunned at thenumber of farmers, experts andso-called leaders who still trot outthe utter rubbish that the end ofmilk quotas in March 2015 will notaffect GB farmers and the markethere because we are, and willremain, well under quota. Theyare clearly taking an islandmentality and have failed tounderstand the likely effects ofquota removal on EU milk supply.

Big problemJust look across the water toSouthern Ireland where, if theirdairy industry only half succeeds intheir eye-watering target toincrease milk production by 50%post the end of milk quotas in2015, then we have a big problem.Any increase in milk productionwill not be consumed domesticallyand will increase their exportedpowder and cheese output. Theywill certainly be involved infutures markets and if we want tomove away from our belovedliquid market we should belooking down the road to seewhat is coming our way in 2015.We need to plan now and explorefair and transparent formulaebetween markets, commoditiesand the ex-farm gate price, andhave contracts to match them.First Milk have almost got there

with their Eilers and Wheelers milkcontract – hence why I am leggingthem in for the PO job withoutprior warning. Yes such contractswill be more volatile – but you’llget more of the ups as well as thedowns.

The current uproar in the liquidmarket is partly because we arefanatically obsessed with whatsome still call the ‘premium liquidmarket’. Post-2015 we need to beambitious and think beyond it.Most, if not all, member states

are already producing significantlymore milk each year as their quotaincreases – with the exception ofthe UK, which, given the currentturmoil, is now in decline.Back in April the Polish Minister

of Agriculture, Marek Sawicki,advocated keeping milk quotasuntil 2020 to give time for theCommission to come up with newsolutions. At the same time theLatvian official and milk producerDace Pastare stated: “Whenquotas are abolished in 2015, thedairy market will collapse with abig bang.” She drove more than1000km with the chairman of aLatvian Dairy Co-operative todeliver her one line message toofficials.The very active European Milk

Board have recently stated thatthe EC’s ‘soft landing’ by 2015 willindeed be a crash landing andhave stated there is an urgentneed for action.I am not suggesting the EU will

do a U-turn on quota abolition.However, there is clearly pressureand all, apart from most of the GBdairy industry, are gearing up forthe end of it. I admit it will be aslow burn but someone has totake the lead and we have to dothings differently. As I have stated in this article

before, the British dairy industryneeds a Mr or Mrs Fix-It – notanother maintenance and bodgeman.And it needs them fast!

They are clearlytaking an islandmentality andhave failed tounderstand thelikely effects ofquota removal onEU milk supply.

**DF Aug p8 Potter_Layout 1 20/07/2012 11:23 Page 1

BOCM Pauls WP DF_BOCM Pauls WP DF 20/07/2012 11:15 Page 1


BREEDING

DUAL CHAMBER WATERBEDS;* Dual chamber waterbeds offer the best cow comfort.* Cows pressure point are floating and therefore no abrasions on joints.* Prevents hock and knee injuries.* Improved blood circulation in joints.* Dry and clean surface area.* Liquids run off quicker than on ordinary mattresses.* Needs very little bedding.* Virtually no maintenance.* Lowest lifetime cost per bed.* 15-20 year life expectancy with 10 year limited manufacturers guarantee.

We offer:ADVICE-DESIGN-SUPPLY-INSTALLATIONBringing you advanced technology and barn equipment from around the world,meeting expectations of comfort and welfare for tomorrows dairymanDe Boer Housing Systems Ltd your partner in excellence.

Enquiries; call head office 01208 816773

Fitness trait uptake markssea-change in buying habitBuying habits are changing in all walks of life, and dairy farmers selecting genetics are no exception to thistrend. Ann Hardy reports.

There’s been a sea-changein farmers’ buying habitswhich is starting to have aprofound impact on thetype of cows being milked

in the UK.DairyCo Breeding+ has revealed

the extent of the changes, havinginvestigated semen usage on UKfarms in the years running up tosummer 2012. Their findingsreveal such a dramatic uptake ofhealth, fertility and welfareindexes when breeding choicesare made that even the expertshave been taken by surprise.The RSPCA has spoken out in

support of dairy farmers’ choices,stating: “Industry commentatorscan be quick to criticise when

things go wrong, and one wouldhope that they’ll be equally quickto offer support when positivethings are happening which couldimprove cow welfare.”Marco Winters, head of genetics

with DairyCo, has undertaken thestudy and said: “I am very pleasedhow rapid the uptake has been,and this demonstrates a positiveresponse to the fitness indexes byboth breeding companies andfarmers.“It is also encouraging to see no

immediate prospect of reducedmilk production, as this parameterhas currently levelled off ratherthan declined.“In fact, at the same time as

choosing fitness indexes farmers

have also tended to breed forbetter milk components, so thegenetic trend for both percentageand weight of fat and protein hasactually gone up in recent years.“In other words, the good

news is we are improving all thefitness traits without sacrificingproduction,” he declares.

FitnessMost of the fitness indexes arecomponents of the nationalbreeding index, ProfitableLifetime Index (PLI). He said PLIitself had also been on a strongupward trajectory. (See graph 1).“This is very encouraging

news,” said Mr Winters. “It doesnot mean that overnight we havesolved our problems, but we arecertainly addressing them.”John Avizienius, deputy head

of farm animals for the RSPCA,concurred. This follows a meetingof DairyCo’s Genetics AdvisoryForum, which regularly reviewsgenetic trends and of which he isa member.Likening the changes to ‘the

emergence of green shoots’, hesaid: “The industry has beenfocused on milk production for solong that PLI was expected to takea long time to move the super-tanker of genetics. X

Graph 1

Graph 2

**DF Aug p10 12 Breeding_Layout 1 20/07/2012 09:16 Page 1

However you do it, AI has to be right – for the future of your farm. And that’s where John Elder comes in.

As well as providing our most advanced Reproductive Management Systems (RMS), he’s part of the teamthat trains Genus ABS technicians to the highest standard.

They know that proper semen handling and following correct procedures contributes to better conceptionrates. What’s more, they carry out over one million inseminations a year and arecontinuously assessed.

Everyone at Genus ABS is dedicated to maximising herd fertility. To see howwe can help you, call 0870 162 2000 or visit www.genusbreeding.co.uk/john

Genus ABS, Alpha Building, London Road, Nantwich CW5 7JW.

G E N U S . LO N G L I F E C OW S .

Our people make certain your AI is done professionally.Every time.

Genus WP DF_Genus WP DF 20/07/2012 10:32 Page 1


BREEDING

Is summer mastitis anissue on your farm?WHILEwe may not be able to predict what the Britishweather will do, we can be in little doubt summer mas-titis cases will follow the arrival of warmer weather. It isestimated it affects 40-45 per cent of dairy herds, withthe average case costing in excess of £270. The condition is spread by flies and affects dry cows,

heifers, calves and even bulls. Typically, cases occurfrom June to September. Affected animals are oftendull, inappetent and isolated from the rest of the group.They are likely to have a raised temperature, with anobvious swelling to one or more affected quarters.Some animals may be lame with visible swelling to thehind legs. Infected quarters are found to contain a foul smelling

yellow secretion, clots may be present and a bloodtinged appearance is not uncommon. Left untreated,abortion and even death may follow. Treatment centres round the use of antibiotics to com-

bat infection, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories toreduce swelling and temperature. Regular stripping ofthe affected quarter is helpful, but strippings should bediscarded carefully as they are a source of infection.Unfortunately, many quarters fail to recover following

infection. Many of you will be familiar with the frustrationexperienced when a heifer calves down with a light orindeed dead quarter. A significant proportion of theseheifers are likely to have suffered from a degree of sum-mer mastitis at some time. Dry cow antibiotics play an important role in preven-

tion. While this is common practice at drying off, in-calfand maiden heifers are rarely treated. Ensure any drycow tube therapy is active for sufficient time. Re-infusionis an option. If this is practised it is important it is done hygienically, to avoid further mastitis incidents. You mustensure the correct milk withdrawal periods are observed. Good fly control can reduce the incidence of sum-

mer mastitis. Long acting pour-ons or impregnated eartags should be used. Pastures with sandy soils, treecover and water should be avoided. At times it may benecessary to house animals. Any animals with visible teat lesions should be treat-

ed and covered with fly protection. It may be neces-sary to isolate these animals from the rest of the group.To reduce the risk of skin lesions, areas of rough graz-ing (thistles and long grasses) should be avoided. The use of silicone teat sealants can help control

summer mastitis, and is preferential to alternatives suchas Stockholm tar and taping.

If preventative measuresfail to control it on your farm,consider altering your calv-ing pattern to avoid the highrisk period. For some, this isthe only way of breaking thecycle.

By Neil Eastham, Bishopton Veterinary Group

W“But credit goes to farmers andbreeding companies for embracing thisindex, which can only be a positive stepfor dairy cow welfare.“This is good news on a second front as

farmers have to make a profit, and PLI isdoing a job from that perspective too.”Commenting on some of the individual

fitness components, Mr Winters said it wasparticularly gratifying to witness theuptake of daughter Fertility Index. (Seegraph 2).“We all know dairy cow fertility had

been seriously compromised by breedingdecisions made in the past,” he said. “Soto see this index on such a steep upwardtrend is very encouraging news.“Although DairyCo had to push

extremely hard to get the daughterFertility Index into widespread use, we arenow told AI companies find it almostimpossible to market bulls that transmitpoor daughter fertility.“As a result, bulls that were in popular

usage just a few years ago, wouldn’t seethe light of day in today’s genetics market.“The average Fertility Index of bulls

being used is now +0.6,” he said, “which isthe first time this index has been this highfor over 15 years.“But even more encouraging is the

Predicted Transmitting Ability for milk ofthese +0.6 Fertility Index bulls, which nowaverages +363kg compared with -115kgback in 1996. This provides clear evidencemilk production and dairy cow fertility canimprove together,” he claimed.

Legs and feet Other notable improvements have beenwell documented and include cell counttrends and functional type traits such asfeet and legs and udder conformation. Lucy Andrews from Holstein UK, which

collects and disseminates all conformationdata, drew equal encouragement fromthe trends.“Over the past decade farmers have

broadened their breeding objectives toinclude many important functional traitslike locomotion and feet and legs, with aclear appreciation that building a cow tosuit their own system is key to both goodwelfare and profitability,” she said.Calving ease has also improved along-

side the other fitness indexes, which Mr

Winters said was very encouraging,considering this trait is not a componentof PLI.“There were no improvements in the

calving ease of sires used by UK breedersuntil around 2010,” he said. “And this wasa reflection of the confusing assortment ofcalving ease indexes that were used bydifferent countries and on different scales.“Now that we have a UK index

expressed on a scale of around -4 to +4with a breed average of zero, it is fareasier to select for easy calving sires. It alsohighlights the importance of using UKgenetic indexes and likewise the dangersof looking at foreign figures whichunfortunately are still being used by someAI companies for a variety of traits.”Noting that all trends quoted are for

the genetic indexes of dairy sires in use tothe present day, he said: “We are talkingabout cows that will be milking in threeyears’ time so we still have to wait to seethe full effects of these latest trends.”Asked whether there was still scope for

the positive trends to continue, he said:“We have not seen a plateau for any ofthe health and fitness indexes or for PLI,and since such high index sires are stillavailable there is still plenty of improve-ment to be made by selecting for theseindexes.”He thanked farmers for keeping the

records required to produce these indexesand the milk recording organisations fortheir work in collecting them.

Marco Winters: improving health and fitnesswithout sacrificing production.

Bull selection tool relaunchedHOLSTEIN UK has relaunched its onlineBull Selector tool which allows users toidentify AI sires which meet their specifiedcriteria.The service has a new-look interface

and includes the option of selecting forthe usual type, production and fitnesstraits as well as PLI (Profitable LifetimeIndex) and several additional functions.These allow users to select red carrier or

red-and-white bulls only; to either includeor exclude young genomic sires; toidentify those available as sexed semen;and to screen against genetic defects.You can also save input criteria for

regular use and search for Holstein, BritishFriesian, Ayrshire, Guernsey and Jerseybreeds. The service is independent of anysemen company and free of charge.� Visit www.holstein-uk.org.

**DF Aug p10 12 Breeding_Layout 1 20/07/2012 09:16 Page 2

Cogent WP DF_Cogent WP DF 20/07/2012 10:28 Page 1


YOUNGSTOCK

Take more care over whichmilk is fed to young calvesProducers were warned this week to be more careful in the choice of milk they feed to their young calves.Ann Hardy reports.

AS QMMS threw open thedoors of its new laboratories,offices and training facilities, itsaid it was the first facility ofits kind to bring clinicalresearch and milk testingunder one roof.

Emphasising the veterinaryexpertise of director AndrewBradley, QMMS was describedas a ‘small business to smallbusiness’ service with a focuson speed of turnaround andquality of results. Alongside itsregular milk recording services,it would offer bacteriologicalservices, data interpretation,software provision and clinicalresearch led by specialist vets.

“It’s about the back up oftechnical advice to supportthe farmer and the vet toget the most from milkrecording,” said Dr Bradley.“And we have installed theequipment that will identify abroader range of pathogens

than is possible in other labs.”He refers in particular

to the mass spectrometer,which backs up conventionalbacteriology to identify morethan 2000 species of bacteria –said to be far more thancould be identified by othertechnologies.

“This equipment identifiesbacteria by its ‘protein finger-print’,” he said. “And we arecurrently using it to look atwhich strains of Strep uberiscause the most persistentlyhigh cell counts.”

The building will allowthe services offered to thedairy industry to be expanded,while also supporting researchwork from the pharmaceuticalindustry as well as organis-ations such as DairyCo, theTechnology Strategy Board(TSB) and the Biotechnologyand Biosciences ResearchCouncil (BBSRC).

QMMS moves to new premises

Dairy farmers need to getsmarter in their use ofantibiotics in order toboth reduce, and beseen to reduce, the

opportunities for bacteria todevelop antibiotic resistance.

This means they should notfeed waste milk to calves wherethe cow has been treated withlactating cow antibiotics, andwould be better advised todiscard it altogether.

Andrew Bradley, vet anddirector of Quality Milk Manage-ment Services, explained thescience behind this recommend-ation at the opening of thecompany’s new research and milktesting facility near Wells inSomerset.

He said antibiotics whichentered the gut environmentwere far more likely to lead to thedevelopment of resistant speciesthan the same antibiotic used inthe cow’s udder.

“The strong message is wastemilk containing antibiotics shouldnot be fed to calves, whether theyare dairy replacements or beef,”said Dr Bradley.

However, he said the pictureconcerning antibiotic resistancewas not as simple as oftenpainted and that different formsof antibiotic use carried verydifferent levels of risk.

He said a higher risk resultedwhen antibiotics were usedsystemically – circulating throughan animal’s body – than whenthey were contained in the udder.

Antibiotics used systemicallywould find their way to theanimal’s gut, where there was awide range of bacterial speciespresent which were susceptible tothe development of resistance.

By contrast the udderenvironment was effectivelyclosed, it contained a far moresimple range of micro-organisms,and was a far less fertile breedingground for antibiotic resistance.

“In fact, arguably, the number

of micro-organisms which aresensitive to penicillin is actuallyincreasing,” said Dr Bradley. “Wehave not seen any increase inpenicillin-resistant Staph aureusdespite the fact we have usedpenicillin in the mammary glandfor years.

“This supports the evidencethat the mammary gland is not aplace for the development ofresistance and that the use ofintra-mammary tubes does notpresent a significant risk.”

Asked about dry cow therapyand feeding colostrum to calves,he said it was very important toadhere to withdrawal periods,which ranged from 28 to 54 days.

“Particular thought should begiven to feeding colostrum fromcows which have calved early, aslevels of antibiotic in colostrumare likely to be higher,” he said,adding that most bulk tankfailures resulted from mistakesmade with dry cow therapy.

Resistance“However, the risk of develop-ment of antibiotic resistance invery early life before a complexgut flora has developed is likely tobe very small,” he said. “Andensuring adequate colostrumintake has to take precedence inthe newly born calf.”

He said pasteurisation –although important in diseasecontrol – did not help thesituation and could, in fact, selectin favour of heat-resistant‘thermoduric’ bacteria such as theEnterococci which are known toplay an import role in the transferof genes for antibiotic resistance.

Despite the safety of intra-mammary antibiotics, he saidthere was no room for compla-cency and prevention of mastitiswas by far the best means ofcontrol.

He said there was increasingbacterial resistance to antibioticsused in the human populationand a variety of links between the

human and animal populationsmeant farming as whole wasbeing targeted in the campaign toreduce this trend.

The fact cattle accounted for atiny proportion of agricultural use,he said was seen as irrelevant as itwas regarded by the authorities as

just a part of agriculture.“Antibiotics should be used

appropriately in whatever speciesthey are used, and the keymessage is don’t feed waste milkto calves as that’s a real potentialhotbed for the development ofresistance,” he said.

Dr Andrew Bradley.

**DF Aug p14 Youngstock_Layout 1 20/07/2012 09:17 Page 1

Fabdec Ltd, Grange Road, Ellesmere, Shropshire, SY12 9DGFax: +44 (0) 1691 627222 Email: [email protected] www.fabdec.com

Cow Management Systems

The worlds best selling heat detection system is now available with long distance capabilities.• Accurate heat detection rate - up to 95%• Easy to use touch-screen interface• Real-time transmission of data• Built-in herd management reports• SMS alerts available• Modular system - allows future expansion

Long Distance Heat Detection

Heatime® Horizon

500 Metre Range

For more information call Fabdec on: +44 (0)1691 627200 or visit www.fabdec.com

User Profile

tsiDgnoL

eteDtaeHecnat

noitce

orPresU

:eziS

ahCreteP:remraF

elfio

nampa

RMTimeSgnimraF

081Cfo.oN

bselddiMnotnrohTnoitacoL

ercA024

R:epyTTy

:swo

hguoro, :n

s

ahIsrrsaeyyettsrrsfifirehTThyniineddeam

emtsevniinebehts’’stI““I

®emitaeHscedbaF

uolraP-nIRMTimeS

neebevaruoffoniinemiimt

.srrsaeyyeevveahItne

tsenoziroH®

:metsys

gnideefr, R

mrrmoffoniinerreomroFFo

noceddebaFFallllacnoiiottiam

0027722662196691)00)((044+:

0

ekkerrkamehttehdevlacesotellebaahIsrrsaeyye

”.te

tasrrseffeifehserreffrlllleneebeva


Fax: +44 (0) 1691 627222 Email: [email protected] wwwGrange Road, EllesmerFabdec Ltd,

baffa.ww.wwtiitsiisvviro


Fax: +44 (0) 1691 627222 Email: [email protected] wwwopshire, ShrGrange Road, Ellesmer

moc.ceddeb


.fabdec.comFax: +44 (0) 1691 627222 Email: [email protected] wwwe, SY12 9DGopshir

Fabdec WP DF_Fabdec WP DF 20/07/2012 10:33 Page 1


CONFERENCE

Precision heifer rearingwill bring benefits laterSome age-old heifer rearing misconceptions were laid to rest at the 2012 Large Herds Seminar. Ann Hardyreports from Gloucestershire.

� Mortality: less than 1%� Respiratory disease: less than15%� Weight at weaning (at 56 days):more than 85kg � Weight at 250 days: 315kg� Age at breeding: around 400 daysat an ‘adequate’ weight (around400kg)� Age at calving: 23 months (weigh-ing 680kg).

Key calf and heiferrearing goals

Rearing dairy heifersshould be a precisionoperation based onwell-researched facts,regular measurements

and the appropriate feed for theage and stage of growth.It should not be based on

intuition as ‘you cannot trustyour feelings’. This was part ofthe message delivered at theLarge Herds Seminar by AlexBach, who heads the depart-ment of ruminant production,IRTA, in Barcelona, Spain. In it he said heifers would

benefit from six to eightdifferent rations between 10days and two years of age, inorder to ‘capture the economicsand biology of the animal’; thatcalves should be grouped beforeweaning; and that heifersshould be grown quickly up tothe point of breeding. The key target should be to

calve at 23 months, the benefitsof which (compared with 28months) were worth around€15,000 (£12,000) per 100 heifersin reduced feed costs alone.Remarking that good heifer

rearing could therefore make asignificant impact on a farm’sbottom line he said: “I challengeyou to make that much moneyjust by producing more milk.” But the benefits of good

heifer rearing extended beyond

Trials showed calves grow better if they are grouped before weaning.

just savings in feed and wereseen in better health, longerlifespans and more milk duringthe first lactation.The milk advantage equated

to an additional 1000kg in thefirst lactation for 70kg extrabody weight which led ProfessorBach to recommend a weightjust before calving of 680kgrather than the more common650kg target.Commenting on the speed of

growth to best reach this goal,he said the pre-ruminant was themost efficient converter and thatit was far more economic toachieve 1kg of gain before 180days of age.“As the animal gets older her

feed efficiency goes down,” hesaid. “At 180 days it goes down,and it goes down again once sheis pregnant.”This meant it was much more

expensive to put on a kg laterthan earlier, in spite of thehigher cost per tonne for theyounger animal’s feed.The best feeding regime for

the calf had been studied byProf Bach, who said 1kg/day wasthe ideal growth rate and thatunder-nutrition at an early agewas unlikely to be recovered.He said raw milk or a high

quality milk replacer should beused comprising 20% fat, 22-24% protein, while vegetableprotein sources should beavoided because they were lesscost effective when growth rateswere considered.Dilution rates should be no

more than 12.5-15%, and warmwater (45-55C) should be usedfor mixing as long-chain fatsneeded plenty of heat toproperly dissolve.

Water accessOffering water was alsoimportant but often forgotten,and the two week old calf waslikely to consume more than alitre a day depending on its feedintake.“Ensure a minimum of 4.5

litres of water per kg of starter,and by six weeks they will bedrinking 5l of water per day,” hesaid.Starter feed should be

palatable, no more than 18%crude protein and less than 4%fat, and ingredients which calvespreferred included soya, wheat,sorghum, maize and barley.Although there was a commonperception that they liked oats, inreality calves avoided them, alongwith peas and rapeseed meal.

The physical form of thestarter also affected feedefficiency, and although coarsemixes were thought of aspalatable, pellets were moreefficient.

Forage“A common recommendation isto offer a starter and no foragebefore weaning, but recentevidence shows that offeringpoor quality grass hay or strawchopped at 2-2.5cm increasestotal intake,” continued ProfBach.The presence of oat or wheat

straw had led to huge increasesin starter intake (althoughlucerne straw should beavoided), and the currentrecommendation was to offerchopped straw separately.“We’re now going to need

calf hutches designed with threeholes: water, starter andchopped forage,” he claimed.Pre-weaning feed intakes

were important as there was astrong correlation between howmuch an animal ate beforeweaning and how much it grewafter weaning.He said weaning when calves

were consuming 850g/day sawgrowth of 600g/day afterweaning, while weaning whendry matter intakes were1.5kg/day would see growth of1kg/day afterwards.Management could help

objectives to be met and feedintakes had been found to bestrongly influenced by groupingbefore weaning.Citing his own trial which

compared grouping one weekbefore weaning (on day 49) withgrouping at weaning (on day56) he said: “Those grouped at49 days had increased intakes.”Suggesting the earlier

grouped animals followed andencouraged each other to feed,he said they also suffered less

**DF Aug p16 17 Large Herds _Layout 1 20/07/2012 09:19 Page 1

CONFERENCE


Prof Bach said bodyweight, feedintake and health should be close-ly monitored in heifer rearing.

respiratory problems and hadhigher daily gains.However, he said records should

be used to minimise the spread ofrespiratory disease, and animalsthat had experienced it beforeshould be grouped separatelyfrom those which had not.“Once an animal has had

respiratory disease there is atendency for it to have a secondcase,” he said, so this was a verysimple and effective solutionand led to better weight gainsin the calves overall.Towards puberty, farmers

should not be afraid to continue

to grow heifers quickly,according to Prof Bach, who saidearlier perceptions this wouldcompromise udder developmentwere misplaced.Trials which had shown less

secretory tissue in faster grownanimals reflected their age (theywere younger at 400kg) ratherthan their speed of develop-ment, he said.

Target weightsHowever, standard targets forweight at breeding had rangedfrom 55 to 85% of mature bodyweight but Prof Bach said hepreferred a different approach.“Not all animals are equal so

they should not all be bredaccording to their average bodyweight,” he said, suggestingthat their weight gain shouldhave been monitored and anindividual growth curveprojected to estimate maturebody weight. “If, for example, a small heifer

was bred at 62% of mature bodyweight you may be compromisingher production, or if a heavyheifer was bred at 55% you willbe losing milk,” he said.Challenged on the practicality

of this approach, he said it was

particularly easy in a large herdwhere you just needed to bemethodical.Citing a Spanish unit which

reared 8000 heifers a year, hesaid each animal was weighedfive times before it was 250 daysold and individual growth curveswere projected to optimise ageand weight at breeding.However, in the absence of

this option, he said breeding at400kg and 400 days was analternative but was ‘not ideal’and uniformity of geneticshelped with this approach.Reiterating the importance of

monitoring just three types ofinformation – bodyweight, feedintake and health – he declared“stop managing by feeling andlook at the data.”

IBR vaccinating protocol A NEW IBR vaccinating protocolmeans the task can be now doneon a 12-monthly basis rather thanevery six months which should saveproducers on outlay of both timeand medicine costs.A change to Pfizer’s product

licence means the initial intra-muscular injection for cattle over 3months of age (Rispoval IBRMarket Live vaccine) can now befollowed six months later witheither a similar injection of the livevaccine or a dose of Rispoval IBRMarker Inactivated vaccine.The benefit of using the

inactivated vaccine means prot-ection for 12 months rather thanthe six months with the livevaccine, and since the vaccine costs

are about the same at around £2,then both time and money can besaved. South Wales vet Rob Davies has

been finding over three quarters ofherds in his area are IBR positive,and in one herd yields increased bytwo litres/cow/day followingadoption of the IBR programmeagainst what was previously used.Ideally he says in naive animals

the live vaccine fools them intothinking they have been infectedand creates protection againstsubsequent infection, while theinactivated vaccine is moreeffective at stimulatingprotection in the face of thevirus re-emerging fromdormancy in host animals.

**DF Aug p16 17 Large Herds _Layout 1 20/07/2012 09:19 Page 2


NUTRITION

Time to take fresh look at alternatives for soyaHigh protein feed prices continue to put milk margins under pressure. KW’s Chris Davidson and Trident’sDr Michael Marsden tell us how we can tackle the problem head on.

Protein feed prices haveremained strong sincethe start of the yearand this has had asignificant impact on

milk production margins.The challenge is that the

fundamental factors keepingprices high look set to remain inplay for some time, so thesolution is to find feed strategieswhich will reduce ration proteinfeed costs significantly. “On the supply side, there’s

been a gradual decline inpredicted global soyabean yieldsin recent months, and it’sbecome the biggest single factorsupporting the proteinmarkets,” explains KW feedspecialist Chris Davidson. The cost of soyabeans is the

major driver for most proteinprices, with feeds such asrapemeal typically tracking anyrise or fall in the soyabean mealmarket. And with global

Table 1: Best value sources of crude protein (CP)Price CP content CP value (£/t) (g/kg FW) (p/100g CP)

Dry feeds:Rapemeal £217 335 6.5p US maize distillers’ feed £215 250 8.7pLiquid feeds:Spey Syrup £65 134 4.9pBio-ethanol wheat distillery syrup £35 72 4.9pMoist feeds:Vitagold £70 126 5.6pBio-ethanol wheat distillers’ moist feed £60 102 5.9pBrewers’ grains £40 58 6.9p

Prices quoted correct at time of going to press – 29t bulk deliveries Nov-Apr on-farm within 50 miles of source. Prices will vary with load sizes and distance from source.

demand from the world’s singlebiggest importer of soyabeans,China, still looking strong forthe coming year, there’s little tosuggest the pressure is going toease soon.But according to Trident

technical manager Dr Michael

Marsden, there are several otherways to provide the quantityand quality of protein needed tosupport high milk yields withoutbeing fully reliant on expensiveprotein meals.“The UK currently imports

around 80% of its protein feedrequirements, and that makesour livestock industries hugelyvulnerable to fluctuations inboth price and availability. Butthere are some great value, highquality protein feeds producedin the UK which can substant-ially reduce our reliance onthese imports,” he says.Dr Marsden’s advice is to

think about protein require-ments using a ‘bottom up’approach to the ration,choosing the best value proteinfeeds at each stage. Those that

are best value for supplyingcrude protein (CP), for example,are not necessarily the rightchoice for the high qualityrumen-bypass protein –otherwise known as digestibleundegraded protein (DUP) –needed to support high yields.The forage base of a typical

winter ration supplies around 9-14% CP, depending on thecombination of forage typesused, yet the target for a typicaltotal mixed ration (TMR) orpartial TMR is 17-18% CP (DMbasis). Dr Marsden suggestsstarting with the addition of aliquid feed such as the highprotein distillery syrups, whichare an extremely cost-effectivesource of protein.“We want to include a liquid

feed anyway to increase rationpalatability, drive intakes, reducesorting and supply low-costenergy, so choosing one high inprotein – particularly when thatprotein is better value than thealternatives – makes a lot ofsense,” he explains.

Bio-ethanol “For example, we can easily add1.6-1.8 percentage units of CP toour forage base by feeding 3kgfreshweight (FW) of Spey Syrupor 5kg FW of bio-ethanol wheatdistillery syrup as part of atypical 22kg DM/cow/day ration.“These high protein syrups

can also supply DUP – oftenmore than the ration formul-ation packages suggest – andcontain residual yeast fragments

There are somegreat value, highquality proteinfeeds produced inthe UK which cansubstantiallyreduce our reli-ance on imports.

Michael Marsden Michael Marsden: with the Hullplant set to produce 500,000t ofwheat distillers feed, it’s a greatopportunity for milk producers.

NEXT MONTH’S ISSUENext month we will be featuring an extensive preview of what to look

out for at this year’s Livestock 2012, NEC, Sept 4-5. Don’t miss it!

**DF Aug p18 19 Nutrition Tucker_Layout 1 20/07/2012 09:24 Page 1

NUTRITION


Levels of DUPALTHOUGH soya has reached the dizzyheights of £400/t, there are very fewalternatives which can supply good levelsof DUP (digestible, undegradable protein)and energy, particularly when balancingcow diets based on grass or grass silage.One option being increasingly turned to

by feed compounder Carrs Billington is theprotected rape AminoMax R where 1.2kgper cow provides the same energy and DUPas 1kg soya.The big advantage is at current prices,

1.2kg AminoMax is claimed to costbetween 15% and 20% less than 1kg soya,depending on location and haulage costs.AminoMax R treatment increases the

rumen by-pass protein content of extractedrapeseed, whilst ensuring the proteinremains digestible to the cow. “It is important to be aware there are big

differences between so called similarproducts, both in the degree of rumenprotection and the digestibility of the by-passprotein,” says Carrs Billington’s Duncan Rose.“A product could have 100% protein by-

passing the rumen but if it was indigestible,it would be useless. We know AminoMax Rperforms consistently well and latest trialsconfirm its protein digestibility is over90%.”

Table 2: Comparative costs of rumen-bypass protein (DUP)Price DUP content DUP value (£/t) (g/kg FW) (p/100g DUP)

SoyPass (rumen-protected soyabean meal) £422 315 13.1pProtoTec (heat-treated rapemeal) £254 150 16.9pBio-ethanol wheat distillers’ pellets £215 108 19.9pHi-pro soyabean meal £374 183 20.5pRapemeal £217 100 21.7p

Prices quoted correct at time of going to press -– 29t bulk deliveries Nov-Apr on-farm within 50 miles of source. Prices will vary with load sizes and distance from source.

that have been shown to increase theproportion of propionic acid produced in therumen at the expense of lactic acid. Thisreduces the risk of sub-acute ruminal acidosis(SARA), so as well as reducing ration cost,we’re also improving rumen function.”

Cost comparisonTable 1 shows a cost comparison whichhighlights the better value CP supplyoffered by distillery syrups compared torapemeal. Although rapemeal can be usedto add the next ‘layer’ of protein supply, itis the moist feeds such as Vitagold and bio-ethanol wheat distillers’ moist feed whichare better value. “Based on typical feed rates, using a mid-

protein moist feed can add another 3.5-4.0percentage units of CP to the ration, with theadded bonus of yet more palatability andnone of the anti-nutritive factors found inrapemeal,” says Dr Marsden. “We then need to consider the most cost-

effective way to provide the extra ‘top up’rumen-bypass protein needed to meet thecow’s overall protein requirements.”Table 2 compares sources of this high

quality rumen-bypass protein (DUP) on thebasis of cost per unit, rather than cost pertonne. What is clear is that the specialistrumen-bypass protein supplements such asSoyPass may cost more per tonne than thetraditional protein meals, but are actuallybetter value per unit of DUP. “Another option is to use bio-ethanol

wheat distillers’ pellets, feeding 3kgFW/cow/day in place of approximately3kg FW of a 55:45 mix of soyabean mealand wheat, with a top-up of DUP fromSoyPass for the higher yielders,” says DrMarsden. “This will supply a similar level of

energy, CP and DUP, but with a saving ofaround £66/t for the soyabean meal:wheatcombination, equivalent to 10p/cow/day in

the final ration. “And with the Vivergo Fuels bio-ethanol

plant on the outskirts of Hull due to producemore than 500,000t of wheat distillers’ feedswhen it comes on-stream this year, it’s a greatopportunity for milk producers to rethinkprotein feed strategies. “The result could be lower feed costs,

better margins and less reliance on importedfeeds,” he claims.

**DF Aug p18 19 Nutrition Tucker_Layout 1 20/07/2012 09:24 Page 2


NUTRITION

Leweston Farm, Dorset, is the first in the UK to trial a new microbial protein produced from yeast. Ann Hardy reports.

UK microbial protein trialshows promising results

Paul Roper’s herd is the first in the UK to have DEMP added to its feed.

Table 1: Key changes to the feed (grass andmaize silage based ration) at Leweston FarmIngredients out (per head) Extra ingredients in (per head)450g straw 100g Optigen700g soya 300g DEMP1,600g molasses/urea liquid feed 1,000g grass silage

200g molassed sugar beet

With soya pricesrising, farmmanager PaulRoper wanted tostop further

erosion of his margins andconsequently had no hesitationin putting his herd forward totest out a new product. “It was the idea I could reduce

the amount of protein we fed inthe ration and get better perfor-mance from the cows that wasthe real attraction,” he says.“After all, who wouldn’t want

to cut their soya use at currentprices and if you can improvehealth and performance at thesame time, it’s a win winsituation.”The product Mr Roper propos-

ed to try was one he had heardabout at last December’s Global500 conference run by Alltech inKentucky, USA.Called DEMP (Dietary Escape

Microbial Protein), the product issaid to provide the amino acidcomplement needed by the cowmore precisely than any otherfeed ingredient.So that these amino acids are

not fermented by microbes in therumen, DEMP has been designedwith the physical characteristicswhich allows much of it to passthrough the rumen undegraded.“This not only reduces the need

to overfeed dietary crude protein,but it also means the correctamino acids are available to thecow for milk production,” saysGraeme Smith, ruminant managerwith Alltech. “In fact, the aminoacids in DEMP almost exactlymirror those in milk.”Reducing dietary protein is a

key attraction of this product, butthe impact of it is said to be farmore than just economic.“Because you feed less protein

nitrogen, you also need lessenergy as the cow requires less tobreak the excess nitrogen down,”says Mr Smith, which leaves moreenergy available to the cowherself for her own maintenance

and milk production. “Excess nitrogen is also known

to increase milk urea nitrogen(MUN), and this parameter hasbeen shown to be associated withreduced cow fertility,” he adds.It is logical too that the better

balance of amino acids in the dietresults in less nitrogen wastagethrough excretion, and trialsundertaken by Alltech have bornethis out.“In fact dairy cows secrete two

to three times more nitrogen inmanure than in milk, so how canthat possibly be efficient,” asks MrSmith. Mr Roper decided to start using

DEMP on Leweston Farm, nearSherborne, Dorset, in late January2012. “We phased in the productin a stepped process,” he explains.“On day one, we put in

50g/head of Optigen (anotherAlltech nitrogen-based productwhich is highly rumen degradableand designed to improve fibredigestion) and 150g/head ofDEMP.

Soya removal“On day four we took out350g/head of soya and 800g/headof a proprietary high sugar andnitrogen liquid feed based onmolasses and urea.“On day seven we added

another 50g of Optigen and 150gof DEMP, also adding an extra1kg/head of grass silage and200g/head of molassed sugarbeet. At the same time weremoved 450g/head of straw tocompensate for the extra grasssilage.“And on day 10 we took out

another 350g/head of soya and afurther 800g/head of the prop-rietary liquid feed.”The overall effect was to

remove 700g/head of soya, 1.6kgof the high sugar and urea liquidfeed, and 0.45kg straw.In its place went 300g/head of

DEMP, 100g/head of Optigen,1kg/head of grass silage and200g/head of molassed sugar

beet. (See Table 1). The overall crude protein of the

ration (including up to 4kg permilking of parlour concentrates)was reduced to around 15%,compared with 17% CP for theprevious ration. This is despite thefact DEMP itself has a crudeprotein level of around 40%, butis more a reflection of the smallquantities (300g) which are fed.And the cost of the new rationwas almost identical to that ofprevious use.

Extra milkMr Roper then observed anychanges with interest and says bymid-February milk production wasup by 1kg/day in the all-yearcalving herd, whose annualaverage is 9500 litres at 4.04% fatand 3.12% protein.The next thing he says he

noticed was healthier cows. “Wewere getting more forage intothem with the extra grass silage,and that’s always a step towards ahealthier rumen and achievingbetter health overall,” he says.

“Dung consistency was betterand I feel we’re having lessgeneral health issues, and I’vedefinitely noticed better fertility.“At the end of April we PD’d 63

and 51 were confirmed in-calf,”he says. “The extra production was

sustained for a couple of months,but there have been changes insilage since that time, includinghaving to move the milking herdon to last year’s third cut silage asa temporary measure,” says MrRoper.Both parties agree this is no

scientific trial, but Mr Roper isdelighted to have been the firstto use DEMP in a farm situation inthe UK.“We have definitely seen some

extra production together withbetter health and fertility, butidentifying precisely what that isworth is very difficult,” he says.“I’m certainly going to give thenew ration another couple ofmonths and I’ll monitor the cowsclosely and reassess the benefitslater in the year,” he said.

**NEW DF Aug p20 Nutrition _Layout 1 20/07/2012 09:41 Page 1

DAIRY FARMER AUGUST 2012

MUCK & SLURRY

Why one Gloucestershi

contractor snapped up

the Terragator p20-22

By William Surman

IN a dramatic U-turn, the Gov-

ernment has decided not to im-

plement a ban on the marketing

of antimicrobials to farmers.

A host of industry organisa-

tions, led by Farmers Guardian,

campaigned against the pro-

posed ban and editor Emma

Penny described the decision as

‘victory for common sense’.

Proposals from the Veterinary

Medicines Directorate (VMD)

would have seen animal health

companies banned from provid-

ing information on antimicrobial

medicines directly to farmers, in-

cluding antibiotics used to treat

common livestock diseases, such

as mastitis and pneumonia.

The proposals were to bring

the UK in line with mainland

Europe, where such marketing

is already banned at livestock

events and in the press, as farm-

ers are classed as ‘members of

the public’. A unique interpreta-

tion of the rules in the UK sees

farmers classed as ‘profession-

als keepers of animals’ and,

therefore, exempt from the ban.

The VMD proposed the

change because of concerns that

marketing encouraged farmers

to put pressure on their vet to

prescribe new products, which

could encourage antimicrobial

resistance, affecting both ani-

mal and human health.

However, the proposals were

met with fierce opposition by many

within the livestock industry.

Farmers Guardian led the fight, ar-

guing it was essential farmers

knew about different treatment

options in order to have meaning-

ful discussions with their vets.

In a Farmers Guardian survey

of more than 500 farmers, al-

most 96 per cent said they were

against the proposed ban, and

98 per cent said it was ‘essential’

or ‘very important’ they were

kept up-to-date on disease issues

and any treatments available,

highlighting the importance of

such marketing.

FG’s ‘Backing Britain’s Pro-

fessional Farmers’ campaign,

which called for those in farm-

ing to be recognised as highly

trained professionals, also re-

ceived huge backing, with more

than 1,000 people signing up to

our Facebook campaign page.

In announcing the ban would

not come into force, Farming

Minister Jim Paice said farmers

should get the professional

recognition they deserve.

“Farmers know their animals

and don’t want to do anything to

harm them or the public. They

should therefore be treated as

the experts they are,” he said.

“Antimicrobial resistance is

complex and Defra keeps this area

under close scrutiny, consulting

regularly with experts and inter-

ested parties to ensure all available

knowledge is taken into account.”

FG editor Emma Penny said: “I

am pleased Farmers Guardian’s

campaign has been able to help

farmers retain their professional

status and the right to know what is

available to treat their stock.”

BUSINESS

Levy bJust how mu

you pay nex

ARABLE

CFE bA year into

the Farme

talk to two

it works f

MACHIN

Tow In the fir

we look

behind

IN

‘M

i

64 PAGES OF

NEWS AND

CLASSIFIEDS

HEALTH & SAFETY SPECIAL WHY YOU SHOUL

MAKE THE PROMISE TO COME HOME SAFE p30AGRICULTURE’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER

THURSDAY DECEMBER 30 2010 £1.90

rAntimicrobials win

for FG campaign

r‘Farmers should be

treated as experts’

WWW.FARMERSGUARDIAN.COM

Victory for Britain’s

professional farmers

Do not miss a single issue!Pick up, or order a copy today fromyour local newsagents.

If you are having problems obtaining your Farmers Guardian from your local newsagents please contact:

Farmers Guardian Newspaper Sales Tel: 01772 799 452 www.farmersguardian.com

21

DF_08_P21_DF_08_P21 20/07/2012 13:05 Page 21

TRIOLIET Shifttronic


NUTRITION

Mixer wagons get bigger to cater for largest herds The latest batch of mixer wagons come with a whole host of new gizmos and some even double as cubiclebedders. Steven Vale takes us through the latest developments.

KUHN Farm Machinery’s SPVrange of vertical auger self-propelled silage cutting andmixing wagons is a developmentfrom its horizontal augermodels.The range, which combines a

high capacity, 2m-wide, 90hp

milling head for loading with asingle vertical auger mixing anddistribution unit, is available in10, 12 and 14cu m capacities. The SPV’s 142hp six-cylinder

diesel engine is situated at theback of the machine to maximiseweight onto the driving axle,

and this also helps to protect thecooling radiators from dust andreduces operator noise levels.The continuous drive hydro-

static transmission has twopositions allowing a workingspeed of 0-12.5kph and an on-road speed up to 25kph.

KUHN SPV

BOMFORD TURNER Sila-Bed

KVERNELANDPortus

BELAIR Brick

A WIRELESS hand-held controllerfor Siloking diet feedersoperates with one controller forthe loader and one for thefeeder tractor.Called the Portus, the system

replaces the display scale on thefeeder which can often be in thewrong place to be seen properly. Both devices share inform-

ation stored on the feeder’smain control box, and can beconfigured to allow operation ofthe feeder conveyors anddischarge doors.The radio system has a

working range of up to 1.5km.

A NEW design of dischargechute on the Sila-Bed trailedbale shredder and blowerincreases the maximumspreading range by 15% tonearly 21m, ensuring straw isblown to the back of thelargest of livestock buildings.

Bale Post Kit is a new optionfor fitting to the rear tailgate.This allows longer big squarebales to be safely carried, ashaving cut the strings thesecuring chain will hold the balewads safely in place for an evenfeed into the shredding rotor.

MIXER wagon specialist Trioliethas introduced a new two-speedautomatic power-shift gearbox toits range.Called Shifttronic, it always

starts in the lower gear then shiftsup, depending on load. When thewagon is being filled, itautomatically shifts back downwhen a pre-determined load isachieved or if pto revs drop, andshifts back up for a rapid mixerclean out.Adding around £3000 to the

price of a mixer, it will save wearand tear on drive lines, saysTrioliet.

AVAILABLE in sizes from 4.8 to 9cu m, the 2258/2278/2298S strawshredding and silage feedermachines all feature the sametwo shredding rotor systemsdriven via the tractor PTO.All other functions including

moving floor, discharge chutesand self-loading rear doors areelectro-hydraulically controlledfrom a console on the tractor.Complementing the existing

DE single shredding rotormodels, the new twin-rotor Sversions are aimed at farms dailyusing large quantities of balesalong with feeding out choppedclamp silage.

**DF Aug p20 22 24 26 Mixer Wagons_Layout 1 20/07/2012 09:26 Page 1


OUTSTANDING QUALITY FEEDSOUTSTANDING QUALITY FEEDS

EXTRA MAGNESIUM WILL BE INCLUDED IN ALL THESE FEEDSFOR PRICES AND DELIVERY PLEASE CALL

ROBERT WHITEOAK 07768 747665ANDREW HINMAN 01452 720589Gloucester Animal Feeds, Cocknells Farm, Standish Lane,

Moreton Valence, Gloucester GL2 7LZwww.gloucesteranimalfeeds.co.uk [email protected]

SECURE YOUR SUMMER SUPPLY -CALL US FOR CONTRACT PRICES NOW

DIAMOND 18TYPICAL FORMULA

Wheat, Rape, Palm Kernel, Biscuit,Wheat Dist, Molasses, Wheatfeed,Cereal, Hipro Soya, Soya Hulls, Pro

Rape, Pro Wheat, Vegetable Fat,Minerals & Vitamins

Oil 5.1% Protein 18%Fibre 7.9% Ash 6.5%

QUALITY DAIRY 18TYPICAL FORMULAWheat, Maize Gluten,

Wheatfeed, Palm Kernel, Rape,Molasses, Sunflower, Hipro Soya,Pro Wheat, Biscuit, Vegetable Oil,

Minerals & VitaminsOil 5.1% Protein 18%Fibre 9% Ash 7.7%

HIGH SUGAR BEET 18TYPICAL FORMULA

Sugar Beet, Corn Dist, Wheat, MaizeGluten, Rape, Palm Kernel, Sunflower,

Molasses, Maize Sugar, Wheatfeed, ProRape, Hipro Soya, Pro Wheat, Pro Fat,Vegetable Fat, Minerals & Vitamins

Oil 5.6% Protein 19%Fibre 10.7% Ash 7.6%

SUMMER HDF 16TYPICAL FORMULA

Sugar Beet, Palm Kernel,Wheatfeed, Maize Gluten,

Sunflower, Molasses, Wheat,Vegetable Fat,

Minerals & VitaminsOil 4.25% Protein 16%Fibre 13% Ash 8.5%

www.shelbourne.comT: 01359 250415

• 24 models from 9 to 25m

• 4 models from 9 to 15m• Left and right side doors for floor/trough discharge

RANGE

POWERMIX PRO POPULAR

• 9 to 15m single auger models • 16 to 25m twin auger models• Front webbing conveyor elevates upto 5’ 5” left and right

POWERMIX PRO EXPRESS

• Unique auger gives better mix quality• All models mix and chop• Unique express conveyor system

POWERMIX PRO ADVANTAGE

Powe

rmix

Pro D

iet Fe

eder

23

DF_08_P23_DF_08_P23 20/07/2012 12:14 Page 21


NUTRITION

Redrock� Designed so operators donot have to constantly changeattachment when mixingTMR, the All Round shearbucket comes in 1.8m and 2mwidths, with maximumopenings of 85cm and 100cmand capacities from 1cu m to3cu m.

Jeantil� Hydraulically drivenshredders are available forJeantil’s two and three rotorstraw shredders and silagedispensers. The flywheel isdriven directly off the PTOwhile the shredders andmoving floor are poweredhydraulically. The controlbox automatically adjuststhe speed of floor so theshredders do not becomeoverloaded.

NEWS IN BRIEF

JF-STOLL VM-2 S

LUCAS G Diet feeders

STRAUTMANN Verti-Mix

iKEENAN feedingSPREAD-A-BALESBL Mini

WITH a mixing tub height of2.47m, the new lower profileversion of this popular twin-augerdiet feeder enables it to drivethrough low buildings and to beloaded by small loaders.Available in sizes from 14 to

18cu m, it can be delivered withcross conveyor for discharge.Placing the single axle behind

the rear of the smaller VM (6.5, 8and 10cu m) allows the chassis andmixing tub to be fully lowered foraccess to very low passages.Large diet feeders from JF-Stoll

(Kongskilde UK) can also now beequipped with air brakes for40kph road transport.

THE iKeenan diet feeding systemcomprises three main parts. Thefirst is the Mech Fibre, amechanical element whichproduces the optimum physicalmix of ingredients.Auto Stop prevents over

mixing, while PACE connect is thebrains behind the concept. Usinga remote web-based managementsystem, this allows farmers andnutritionists to adjust the mix.Data can also be used to

compare milk or meat yieldsagainst previous diets. This systemis available now on all Keenanmixer wagons and it can also beretro fitted to existing machines.

LUCAS G has added two newvertical twin auger diet feedersto its range with 16cu m and18cu m capacities and threedistribution options – trap-door,conveyor or chute.To reduce work time, one

auger can be used for mixing(using six knives) and the otherfor cutting (using 11 knives), saysthe manufacturer.Knives are reversible knives for

longer life. An elevator conveyorcan also be fitted as an option.

AN add-on for the Strautmannrange of cross-conveyor mixerwagons allows them to be usedas bedding machines.According to the manufacturer,

the hydraulically-driven spreading

drum can be easily moved in andout of position, and can throwmaterial up to 8m. Advantagesinclude only one machine forfeeding and bedding, and theability to mix bedding materials.

TRIOLIET Solomix 3 – 5200 ABREY Starflow

SUPPORTED on three axles andoffering a capacity of 52cu m, theSolomix 3 – 5200 is claimed as theworld’s largest triple-auger mixerwagon.Dubbed the Triple X, the 22.5-

tonne capacity is enough to feedaround 360 animals in a single fill.Aside from its monstrous

capacity, the machine is equipped

with an intelligentdrive system whichhelps to keep tractorpower to 240hp.A rear view

camera option forthe rear of new andused Trioliet diet feeders isavailable and the 7-inch coloursplit screen allows images from up

to four cameras to be displayedsimultaneously.

THE SBL Mini, which is thesmaller of two new Spread-a-Bale straw bedding machines,will require a loader with aminimum lift capacity of 1.7tonnes in order to handle roundbales up to 1.5m in diameterand 275kg in weight.Topping out the range is the

SBL 130, which can handlesquare bales up to 1.2mx1.3mx2.5m, and round bales up to 2min diameter.Both are self-loading and

require a minimum oil flow of55 litres per minute.

THE Starflow range of Suire strawblowers and feeders can handleround bales up to 2m in diameter,or one square bale up to 2.7mlong. Mounted or trailed, the mach-

ines are fitted with a 270-degswivel chute to spread up to 16m.Control is via spool, cable or

electric connection.



email: [email protected] web: www.whitesconcrete.co.uk

TAKE THE CIRCULAR CONCRETE ROUTE TO SLURRY STORAGE

SSSSDD NNUUTTRRIITTIIOONNReducing vets bills and increasing efficient milk production byusing the periodic table (TPT) elements in a chelate form. Ourdiscerning customers tell us using and feeding seagold chelateminreals, milk production is up, and vets bills down.

TPT has 200 years of science and millions of years of evolutionfor health of all life on earth. Seagold minerals has over 70 TPTelements in a chelate form. Do you need to produce moreefficient milk production?

Unlock the genetic potential in your herd. No other mineralsare required.

SDD NUTRITION GEOFF ELLIOTT MD TELEPHONE: 01249 813034

MOBILE: 0788 1888280

MMEELLOODDYY EEXX9933 -- SSEEAAWWEEEEDD SSUUNNSSHHIINNEE IINN AA BBAAGG!!!!

THE BEST ACOW CAN GET!HEALTH IS THENUMBER ONEPRIORITYCHELATED ZINC FORLOWER SCCAND MASTITIS.

SEAGOLD NATURAL CHELATE MINERALS

TURN CEREAL CROPS INTO HIGH ENERGY,HIGH PROTEIN FORAGE OR CONCENTRATE FEEDS

MAKE MORE FROM CEREALS WITH FiveF ALKASYSTEMS

Call FiveF on: 01200 445525 for more information.www.fivefllp.com

*The cost per unit of protein added in the Alkasystem is LESS than from conventional feed proteins like rapeseed and soya bean meals

Control Winter Feed Costs

“FREE*CROP

CONSERVATION SYSTEM!”

Vari-cut Mixer Feeders

All Round

No 1 Blockcutter

Twin Auger Vertical Mixer Feeders

R R R

R R R

R

Vari-cut Mixer Feeders Single & Twin Auger Vertical Mixer Feeders Data Recording

Perfectly Mixed Ration Every Time Even Discharge Low HP Requirement

Nutritional advice available www.redrockmachinery.comDesigned to perform,Built to last.Call your local dealer or 028 37552390 for more info

25

DF_08_P25_DF_08_P25 20/07/2012 10:46 Page 21


NUTRITION

Neil can be contacted by email: [email protected]

For further information call Rosebeck Services on 01642 718814

or visit www.rosebeckservices.co.uk

Selenium Support

for Dry Cows

As a matter of interest it is said that County Limerick in Ireland is the ONLY place in Europe with a risk of Se toxicity due to high soil levels! So how does Se work, what does it do? Selenium is an integral part of the enzyme Glutathione Peroxidise (GSH-Px) this catalyses the reduction of peroxides which protect animal cell tissue from oxidative damage. There is a very close link to Vitamin E which acts by preventing peroxides forming so Se and vitamin E supplementation are closely associated. The combination works well to protect animal cells. Over supplying one alongside while undersupplying the other also works but the synergy of a balanced supply of both is by far the best option. According to various advisory bodies a 700kg dairy cow requires 3.6 to 4 mg per day of Se. A typical pasture would only provide around 0.05 mg/kgDM or around 0.6 mg/day, assuming a 12 kgDM/day grass intake. Supplementation is therefore very important to protect production, health and fertility etc. The most noticeable Se deficiency is referred to as White Muscle Disease, described as such because a shortage of selenium leads to calcium retention in the muscle, giving it a creamy white appearance. Selenium can also pass through the placenta to boost calf vitality and it has been shown to improve IgG content of colostrum. Increased Se supplementation has reduced the incidence of retained placentas in dairy cows, something that can prove to be very costly as it usually leads to intra-uterine infections. Even then lengthy delays to conception will occur as a result. If the Se level in the cow is low at calving calcium retention in the muscle will be higher. Stiffer muscles mean slower and strained births, weaker calves and exhausted cows. No wonder then they pack in pushing post delivering the calf, the placenta is retained probably due to the cow running out of energy! Trials by Neolait have shown that the uptake of Se by the cow from the duodenum, measured as stored GSH-Px in the liver, almost doubles in the last few days pre and for a few days post calving. A KEY dry cow management target must be to bring the cow to calving with a good Se status. This is vital for a productive start to lactation and for a healthy calf. With a typical 6 to 8 week window in the dry period available to really boost nutrient levels in the cow, ensure your chosen method of supplementation is capable of boosting daily Se intake to around 3.6 to 4.0 mg/cow/day of Se, taking account any already being supplied by forage and mineralised feeds. Naturally, a balanced support with other nutrients completes the picture. Manage and care for the dry cow, she is a very strong asset.

TechTalk by Rosebeck HI-SPEC Tracker

RS Agrimix Evolution

TEAGLE Tomahawk 1010

McHALE ShredderTHE Digi-Star TMR Tracker electronicfeed management system features TMRTracker computer software which isused to create, cost and manage theration mix and additionally the cabcontrol system fitted to the feeder.

The software-created ration mixinformation is then transferred to thecab control unit via a memory stick orthe wireless system.

When creating the mix, the in-cabunit will display the requiredingredients. It will also record and saveloaded and fed weights.

McHale’s new bale shredder can handleany size and type of bale, and can alsomanage clamped silage. The company isselling the trailed machines as ‘top-spec’only. Features include a 360-degreehydraulically-controlled swivel chute, in-cab electric controls and exteriorcontrols for the floor and back door.

Minimum power requirement is 70hpand all the moving parts (rotor, fly-wheel and floor) can be independentlycontrolled.

BvL Dairy Turner� BvL now offers a hand-held terminaldesigned to download dietspecifications from the user’s internetaccount and to instantly andautomatically record the weighing,mixing and feeding of the ration. Acombination of mobile phone,Bluetooth and internet technology,data can be accessed at any pointduring loading, mixing or unloading,and the unit remains with the operatorin the tractor cab or around themachine.

West paddle mixer� WITH a power requirement of 80hp,and hydraulically driven feed out rotorfor independent control, Harry West’s16cu m capacity paddle mixer is aimedat farms with herd sizes from 140 to300. This model was launched tosupport the 12cu m version and alarger 20cu m machine is coming soon.

NEWS IN BRIEF

THE first of the new RS Agrimix Evolutiontriple auger mixers is out this month.

With a maximum capacity of 46cu m,the tri-axle mixer has steering axles frontand rear as standard and it can besupplied with full commercial specific-ation brakes with either oil or air loadsensing – a must have for road use.

A variety of feed out options areavailable, including door positions,conveyors and elevators.

The RS Agrimix can also be specifiedwith Digistar TMR Tracker, a sophisticatedsoftware package allowing rations to beformulated on the farm pc and uploadedto the mixer.

HOLDING 10cu m of clamp silage, fourround bales of straw, or two full sizeHesston bales, updates to the company’sTomahawk 1010 include a new side chuteversion which reduces the dischargeheight and allows it to spread materialfurther.

In addition, 2012 models are availablewith optional weigh cells to monitor howmuch material is being loaded and wherethe mix is being dispensed.

Teagle’s 2012 8080 Dual Chop featuresimprovements to the moving floor,hydraulic drive and cross beater design.



Wadland FinanceSpecialists in rural finance

Buying Dairy Cows?

We are rural finance specialistswho offer Hire Purchase Finance

for Dairy Cattle.

WADLAND FINANCE...your finance provider in all winds and weathers

Tel: 01242 890524 [email protected] to support British Farming www.wadlandfinance.co.uk

WE DO THE MONEY... YOU DO THE MILKING!

COW COMFORT, ISLE OF MAN FARM, MEADOW LANE,CROSTON, LANCS PR26 9JP. WWW.COWCOMFORT.CO.UK

Tel: 01704 821717

10 YEAR GUARANTEE

10 YEAR GUARANTEE

27

DF_08_P27_DF_08_P27 20/07/2012 10:48 Page 21


MILK PRICES

NOW in Farmers Guardian• New store and breeding stockcomparison tables

• More commercialsales coverage

• New, improved graphsand information

Subscribe for only £91.52Call 01858 438893 quoting HPS1 Milk Prices

Milk price analyst StephenBradley comments on the latest milk industry developments.

Cheese steadies� In reducing its milk price onliquid and balancing contractsfrom Aug 1 by 1.7ppl and0.9ppl respectively, First Milksays that, despite pressure inthe cheese market, it will beable to hold its member pricefor milk into cheese forAugust. The decreases take ourFirst Milk liquid price down to24.35ppl, with the balancingprice reducing to 25.20ppl. Thiscompares with its milk pricefor cheese remaining on26.25ppl and Highlands &Islands on 26.71ppl.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Second round ofprice cuts kick in

With Dairy Crest thefirst to lead on thefirst round of pricecuts with its 2ppldrop from May’12, it

was RWD that came off the blocksfirst on the second round, confirm-ing a further reduction of 1.7pplfrom Aug 1. Announcing the cut RWD said it

had hoped the need for a furtheradjustment following the June2ppl cut could have been negatedby rallying commodity prices. The decrease takes our standard

litre down to 24.73ppl for thosesupplying on the company’s stand-ard supply contract. However, following the

announcement the Co-operativedecided to increase the level of itspremium by 0.65ppl to 2ppl,negating the effect of the baseprice cut for our CDG supplier to1.05ppl, resting the price at26.73ppl. The retailer says thisinterim measure will remain inplace until the RWD base priceincreases once more to the pointwhere the levels can be re-aligned.

Dairy Crest was second of thebig three liquid processors to showits hand, taking its standard liquidprice down 1.65ppl from Aug 1. Atthe same time the company madethe commitment to its some 650-plus non-aligned suppliers therewould be no further price cut in2012. The decrease in thecompany’s Regional Liquidcontract, which is non-aligned toany retailer but does include theshare of Morrison’s pennypremium, takes our standard litreprice down to 24.96ppl. This priceincludes our current rolling 12-month profile payment of 1.21pplbased on RPA monthly productionfigures. Finally it was Arla Foods who

made the largest price cut fromAug 1 with its 2ppl decrease. Thistakes our standard price down to25.38ppl for our Asda supplierwhile our non-aligned price, whichincludes the Morrisons penny aswell as the Cravendale bonus,reduces to 24.88ppl with thecompany’s standard price endingdown at 24.63ppl.

Meadow Foods stays aheadANNOUNCING its 1.87ppl cutfrom Aug 1, Meadow Foods ismanaging to keep its nose aheadof the non-aligned liquid pricespaid by the major threeprocessors. The reduction in the company’s

flat element of the price takes our

standard litre down to 25.01ppl forits Chester milk field, while itsCumbrian price reduces to25.12ppl. This price includes our 12mth

rolling profile payment of 0.63pplbased on monthly RPA productionfigures to May’12.

**DF Aug p28 29 Milk Prices_Layout 1 20/07/2012 13:47 Page 1

MILK PRICES


Leading the market in buildings & equipment

Bobman & SL

An efficient one pass cleaner and spreader systemimproving the lying area and milk quality. Customisedfor all systems

Makes for quiet cows free from irritation, cleans massages and calms, while removing parasites and mites

COW BRUSH

ww

w.r

ebuildin

gs.

co.u

k

SCHURRGERATEBAU GMBH

LIGHT RIDGE AND CURTAIN SPECIALISTS.Bespoke agricultural steel framed livestock buildings, fully erectedor supplied in kit-form.In-house design service.

Apr'12 May'12 May'12 12mth

4.0/3.3 4.0/3.3 4.0/3.3 Ave

Before Before 1mltr Jun'11

Seas'lty Seas'lty SAPP May'12

(i) (ii) **(iii) (iv)

D.C – M&S ∞ 32.48 32.50 29.01 31.24

D.C – Sainsbury's 30.77 30.30 27.69 30.14

D.C – Waitrose ∞^ 31.07 31.09 27.61 30.00

RWD – Tesco Scotland 29.56 29.56 26.66 29.99

RWD – Tesco England 29.56 29.56 26.66 29.99

RWD – Sainsbury's Central Scotland 30.53 30.30 27.40 29.97

RWD – Sainsbury's England 30.53 30.30 27.40 29.97

Arla Foods – AFMP Sainsbury's •• 30.48 30.18 29.25 29.53

Arla Foods – Tesco •• 29.31 29.31 28.36 29.48

Cadbury – Selkley Vale Milk 30.04 30.04 30.04 29.08

Caledonian Cheese Co – Profile ‡ 29.70 29.47 29.34 29.06

Robert Wiseman – The Co-op Dairy Group 29.78 29.78 26.88 29.02

D.C – Davidstow ∞ 28.97 28.99 26.38 28.71

Wyke Farms 29.00 29.00 26.80 28.67

Arla Foods – Asda•• 29.38 29.38 28.45 28.54

Caledonian Cheese Co 29.07 28.84 28.84 28.46

Parkham Farms 29.00 29.00 25.02 28.32

Blackmore Vale Farm Cream 28.65 28.65 28.65 28.28

Barber A.J & R.G 28.61 28.61 26.61 28.28

Meadow Foods Lakes ± 28.96 29.01 28.98 28.18

Wensleydale Dairy Products 28.49 28.49 28.51 28.06

Meadow Foods – Level 28.88 28.88 28.88 28.03

Meadow Foods – Seasonal 28.88 28.88 26.88 28.03

Arla Foods – AFMP (Non-Aligned) •• 28.88 28.88 27.95 27.94

Milk Link – London Liquid 28.50 28.50 28.12 27.91

Milk Link – West Country Liquid 28.50 28.50 28.12 27.91

Milk Link Rodda's ¢• 28.91 28.91 27.05 27.89

Robert Wiseman – Aberdeen 28.43 28.43 25.53 27.89

Robert Wiseman – Central Scotland 28.43 28.43 25.53 27.89

Robert Wiseman – England 28.43 28.43 25.53 27.89

D.C – Liquid Regional Premium ∞ ¶ 28.59 26.61 24.00 27.84

Paynes Farms Dairies 28.45 28.45 28.45 27.83

Saputo UK – Level supply # 28.21 28.21 28.21 27.75

Grahams Dairies 28.60 28.60 25.60 27.71

Arla Foods – AFMP Standard •• 28.63 28.63 27.70 27.68

South Caernarfon 28.02 28.02 26.26 27.61

Milk Link – Manufacturing ¢• 28.51 28.51 26.67 27.54

Joseph Heler 27.99 27.99 27.99 27.54

Glanbia – Llangefni (flat) 27.85 27.85 27.68 27.50

Belton Cheese 27.80 27.80 27.80 27.47

Saputo UK – Seasonal # 27.91 27.91 24.91 27.45

Glanbia – Llangefni (Constituent) 27.78 27.78 27.51 27.39

United Dairy Farmers ≠ 25.36 21.66 21.69 27.23

First Milk – Highlands & Islands § 27.97 27.97 27.29 27.17

First Milk – Liquid § 27.90 27.90 27.29 26.99

First Milk – Cheese § 27.50 27.50 26.89 26.89

First Milk Balancing § 27.50 27.50 26.89 26.74

Average Price 28.86 28.70 27.25 28.31

Notes to tablePrices paid for 1mltr producer supplying milk of average constituents 4% butterfat and 3.3% protein, SCCs of200,000/ml and Bactoscans of 30,000/ml on EODC excluding capital retentions and MDC levies. SAPP =Seasonally Adjusted Profile Price. (i) Apr’12 prices before seasonality. (ii) May'12 prices before seasonality.(iii) Seasonally adjusted profile price for May’12 taking into account monthly seasonality payments and profilesof supply. ** Seasonal adjusted profile supply for 1mltr supplier (using monthly RPA figures) for May'12=3,150ltrs/day, flat supply=2,740ltrs/day. (iv) Table ranked on the seasonally adjusted price for the 12mths toMay’12. § SAPP reflects 12mth profile adjustment of -0.28pl. ¢ SAPP reflects 2,723ltrs (Aug to Dec’11 dailyaverage) paid as ‘A’ ltrs with the remaining ‘B’ ltrs paid @ 60% of the ‘A’ price (ie constituents plus MarketRelated Adjustment) for May'12. • 427 'B' litres/day applicable for May'12 with daily volume of 3,150ltrs/daybeing above the 'A' volume of 2,723ltrs. 0.5ppl production bonus for Milk Link & First Milk not applicable inthe seasonal price for May'12 with daily production below that of May'11 based on RPA monthly figures.•• 6.5ppl balancing charge for May'12 based on Oct'11 BADP calculates as -0.99ppl when spread across alllitres supplied. ∞ Price before seasonality includes 12mth rolling profile payment of 1.21ppl to May'12(0.02ppl up on previous month). ∞^ Price before seasonality includes 12mth rolling profile payment of0.57ppl to May'12 (0.02ppl up on previous month). ± Price before seasonality includes 12mth rolling profilepayment of 0.63ppl to May'12 (0.05ppl up on previous month). # Constituent payments priced by volume.≠ Seasonality built into monthly base price. Arla Foods – AFMP Standard reflects price before the addition of0.25ppl Non-Aligned Farm Premium. ¶ Price includes 0.4ppl Regional Premium. ‡ Non-seasonal price includes12mth average rolling profile of 0.63ppl to May'12 (unchanged on the previous month). Tesco milk pricesinclude the 0.5ppl bonus for co-operation with Promar costings. Milkprices.com cannot take any responsibilityfor losses arising. Copyright: Milkprices.com

**DF Aug p28 29 Milk Prices_Layout 1 20/07/2012 11:59 Page 2


LIVESTOCKSERVICES

LIVESTOCK SERVICESEQUIPMENT & ACCESSORIES

DAIRY FARMER CLASSIFIED

��

�� !" �#�$$%%�&'(%�)*&+$$�,��#�$$%%�&'(%�)*&$$-

.��#��/�� 0 1�� #�222 ��

�� 3��.4��

POWDER BED KEEPSCELL COUNTS DOWN. Ideal for cow mats or mattresses

. Keeps cow clean and dry. Available all year round

. Ideal for slurry systems. Improved milk quality. Stops hock rubbing

. Very fine softwood based sawdust

Call now for competitive prices 01978 [email protected] www.plattsanimalbedding.co.uk

Powder BED

Proved over 20 years to cutSCRAPING time byup to 50%.

To clean uneven surfaces andleave a cleaner finish.Saving Fuel & Labour Cost

BRITISH MADETRIED & TESTEDYARDSCRAPERSSOUTH WEST

COLIN BURNELL TEL/FAX 01769 580317 www.colinburnell.co.uk

Phone for the South West (01271) 882229The rest phone (01948) 662910/663143 or fax 663143

��

��

�� !��"��#��"��

��

$�� "��%��"��"��#��

&��"��"��"��#'&��()*)))+,+-./0��()-*11)2+3/*��43��'��'�!###'3��'��'�!

� NEW �KVK Hoof Trimming Crates

ALSO AVAILABLE• Full Range of Hoof Trimming Equipment(Selected Trim Discs, Trim Tec Discs. Standard Hoof Discs, Hoof KnivesSure-Bond Adhesive, Bovi-Bond Adhesive, Demotec Green Shoe)• Co-Flex Bandages @ £1 each • • Udder Mint (5kg for £43 + Vat) •• Animal Husbandry Equipment (hobbles/medi-Dart/clippers) •• Tru Test Weigh Equipment & Impartial Advice on Electronic Tags •

Tel/Fax 01738 842996 Mob. 07979 [email protected] www.bdsupplies.co.uk

Optimum working posture for the trimmer,minimum discomfort for the livestock.Farmers & Professional Hoof Trimmer

AT LAST – a safe, humane,captive bolt stunner ideal forcalves and all farm animals.

NO FIREARMS PERMITREQUIRED.

Economical to buy and cheap to operate.

Phone for free brochure:ENTWISTLE GUNS, Preston

01772 718048 or fax 01772 718558

SAWDUSTFor August Delivery

Call Edgar F. ShepherdTelephone:

01325 312154

DF_08_P30_DF_08_P30 20/07/2012 12:06 Page 22


LIVESTOCK

PALADINFarm Services LtdConcrete Grooving Service

For Concrete and Slats

TTeelleepphhoonnee::

01946 862059e-mail: [email protected]

• Quality Dairy Cattle In-Calf & In-Milk• Select Cattle on Farm of Origin• Fully Tested• Competitive Prices• Free Flight & Accommodation• For Quotation call• Sourced on farm of origin in IrelandDAVID CLARKE0035387 2576434or 07712815792

wwwwww..ccoowwss..iiee

On-Farm Water SystemsDesigned and Installed

Water pipe installation carried out;Fast and efficient with no messVibratory mole plough used with pipe coilsupto 3km long.Large pipe coils, troughs and fittings supplieddirect or installed.

www.terrawatersystems.co.uk

0870 8200067

Dairy EquipmentFABDEC DARI KOOL, BULK MILK TANKS (most sizes available)

Ice Builders and Plate Coolers.Parlours designed by the Farmer for the Farmer.

Replacement troughs for any parlour. Also secondhand equipment, ACRs, Vacuum Pumps, Motors, Jars,

Stainless line, Claws, Pulsators, Milkmeters, Feeders, etc, etc.Everything for the Dairy Farmer

Call Vic/Tracey Brown now on Tel: 01260 226261www.milkingequipment.com

• Dairy-Gyp cubicle conditioner

• Nationwide bulk deliveries

• Cost effective

• No burns or markings

• Reduces dermatitis & mastitis

• Does not support bacterial growth

• Compatible with all bedding products

• Now available in 20kg bags

• Improves cow welfare

NEWSUPERFINEGRADEAVAILABLENOW Craven Concrete Products

BENTHAM NR. LANCASTER• VERTICAL CRAVEN WALLS

• UNDERGROUND TANKS

• SLURRY STORES

• SLURRY CHANNELS

• DIAGONAL SLATS

• PRESTRESSED PANELS UPTO 1.5m high• PORTABLE A WALLS• FEED & WATER TROUGHS• CATTLE & PIG SLATS• CONCRETE BEAMS• COW CUBICLES

www.cravenconcrete.co.ukTEL: 015242 61145 FAX: 015242 62060

www.cravenconcrete.co.ukTEL: 015242 61145 FAX: 015242 62060

ANDY’SCONCRETE GROOVING

• Quality Grooving (wide, deepgrooves) • Rough Concrete Plained• Value for money • Nationwide

Service • Personal service everytimeOver 25yrs experience

www.andysconcretegrooving.com

01249 654683mobile 0758 5118565

LIVESTOCK SERVICES

BUILDING MATERIALS

DF_08_P31_DF_08_P31 20/07/2012 12:06 Page 22

One question I havebeen asked a lot latelyis ‘why has the price ofmilk gone down?’A reasonable enough

question and I’ve been asked it byall sorts of people. My family haveasked it because it will affectthem. My friends have asked itbecause they can’t understand it.And my bank manager has askedit because he knows my milkcheques will be down £40,000 ayear and that I don’t have a spare£40,000 a year. And he suspects Iwill ask him if I can borrow£40,000 just to keep us going aswe are. He’s right on all three counts.

And that spells out just howtough this is for all of us, with theprospect of all that work and tobe £40,000 worse off at the endof it! It brings us very close, in factvery very close, to the time whenwe won’t be able to borrow anymore money to keep going or wewill decide, some of us, thatenough is enough and do wewant all that work and worry justto be worse off? Worst of all, I am asked the

question by fellow dairy farmerswho are all bitter, angry, deeplyhurt and worried about theirfuture. So what’s the answer to the

question? There are two basicanswers and then you cansubdivide those answers further.At the moment the problem liesentirely in the liquid milk sectorbecause that is from where thecuts have come. The liquid sector has two main

markets. The first is cream, whichis taken off all milk – even milksold as ‘full fat’ has cream takenoff it as do all the other lowercategories. The value of cream hasdropped, some say by theequivalent of 4ppl of milk, but itis starting to recover. As we willsee, the income from cream wasabout all that was keeping liquid

processors going. The other obvious market is in

to the multiple retailers and in towhat is known as the middleground. This all went pear shaped a

couple of years agowhen processors hadlarge new factories tofill and the very lastthing you want ifyou’ve got a newfactory is for it to berunning undercapacity. So theprocessors went cap inhand to the retailerslooking for volumeguarantees and theygot them, but boy did they getscrewed on price. And this is themain problem today. Cream is sold on a commodity

market and those markets can bevolatile. We all have to live withthat. But the liquid processorssacrificed the value of milk inorder to get volume. They got thevolume, which is what drove allthis, but we, you and I, are havingto carry the drop in value. Theycan’t revisit the retailers to getthat value back, so they drop it allon us, because they can and theyalways have done.

Additionally, there are othercynical sub plots at work. Thereare those who would say thereare balance sheets in Denmarkand Germany which are nowmore important than what goes

on in the UKdairy industry. Iwould be one ofthem. There is now

only one largeorganisationbuying milk inthe UK which isowned by UKfarmers, whereall the money itcan earn stays in

UK farmers’ pockets and that hasa mission to make those farmerslives more profitable and secure. When I started out as a dairy

farmer, I always thought therewould be a future for someonewho produced nature’s mostbalanced food. The events overthe last weeks have made mequestion that as never before.A few years ago we had a

problem with the EnvironmentAgency over a licence for thepoultry sheds that we didn’t get.We had a huge fine. Now as ithappens every year we have a

local triathlon that includesswimming 1000 metres in thepool. You get put in lanes andyou go up and down in your laneand it’s very competitive and canbe a rough passage as you try toovertake with someone comingthe other way. I used to do it butwas better at the jostling than theswimming. My son always does itbut guess who is in the same laneat the same time? The man fromthe Environment Agency whotook us to court. Now my son is abig burly rugby player and the EAman is not. Wonder what he wasthinking about that all week.It’s late on Sunday night and

I’m in the pub. Sunday nights arethe best nights as there is a smallregular group of us who can sharethe events of the week. Any bitsof gossip that may be missing wemake up, so when we do finallygo home there is a completenessand order to it all. Suddenly the phone behind the

bar rings and we all go quiet sothat we can listen as best we canto the conversation – after all it is11.30pm and who could bephoning a pub at this time ofnight? The landlady answers thephone “Yes, he is here, don’tworry, I’ll tell him now”. It’s ournearest neighbour who lives in acottage half a mile down the roadfrom us. He’s phoned the pub totell me that there’s a cow on theroad. I don’t know what to thinkabout that. What sort ofneighbour is it that takes it forgranted that you will be in thepub late on a Sunday night? Notsure about it all. It’s not veryflattering is it? Anyhow, a couple of us go to

put the cow back in. It’s a SwedishRed cross that has got out before.She loves eating the leaves onhedges and just keeps on pushingand pushing until she’s out on theroad. She’s soon back in and wego back to finish our drinks... nowwhere were we?


GOOD EVANS

This month Roger Evans works out what the milk price cuts mean for his business and marvels at how thebank manager is suddenly starting to pose some awkward questions.

Some of us will decidethat enough is enough

Worst of all, I am askedthe question by fellowdairy farmers who areall bitter, angry, deeplyhurt and worried abouttheir future.

**DF Aug p32 Evans _Layout 1 20/07/2012 09:39 Page 1

www.farmersguardian.com/DFF2012

enteronline:

DFF 2012 Cover only_DFF 1-4 20/07/2012 10:11 Page 1

Treat everyday mastitis with Metacam.

LIVES ARE AT STAKE.

†20mg/ml *Penethamate hydriodide. Reference: 1. McDougall et al. J. Dairy Sci (2009) 92:4421-4431. 2. Bryan, M.A. BCVA 2009 presentation, Southport. Based on Dairy Co. Datum 2009.Advice on the use of Metacam or other therapies should be sought from your veterinary surgeon. Metacam contains meloxicam. Prescription only medicine. Further information available from Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 8YS, UK. Email: [email protected]. Date of preparation: Jun 2011. AHD6758. Use Medicines Responsibly (www.noah.co.uk/responsible).

www.mastitis.co.uk/metacamCattle

A large scale (n=727) landmark study clearly demonstrates that routine use of Metacam† with an antibiotic,* to treat farmer-diagnosed mastitis, significantly reduces somatic cell counts and culling rates.1 With proven financial benefits,2 can anyone afford NOT to include Metacam in their mastitis treatments now?

Long-acting treatment. Longer-life milkers.

17:59

Boehringer WP DF_Boehringer WP DF 20/07/2012 10:14 Page 1

Dairy Farmer Digital Edition August 2012

Documents

loss of milk

lactating dairy cows

dairy performance

milk pricespages

dairy farmerforward

dairyshort milk withdrawal

day milk withdrawal

longest persistency