Dairy Farmer January 2012

DAIRY FARMERForward thinking for a profitable future January 2012

TIP OF THE MONTH: What can milk fats tell you about the health status of your cows? – p16

0800 7562 787www.nwfagriculture.co.ukThe clock is ticking...

For more information call us on:

The NWF New Business Team has beencreated to help you target your input needs.

We’ve added anotherstring to our bow!

Compounds • Blends • Minerals • Molasses • Fertiliser • Supplements

Profit for life

AGRICULTURE

Inside this issue…

Breeding specialPages 12-22

Compass farmsPages 6-8

New productsPage 24

Good Evans Page 32

Milk pricesPage 26

**DF Jan Cover 6/1/12 11:59 Page 1

CONTENTS

1DAIRY FARMER JANUARY 2012

Vol 59 No 1 January 2012

News and commentNews review 2 Cowmen comment 4Compass Farm 6Potter’s View 10

Breeding specialBull proofs 12Milk fat profile 16Proof reliability 18 Top Jersey herd 20

RegularsMarketplace 24Milk prices 26Workshop tips 28Good Evans 32

NEXT MONTH

Maize special feature

In this issue…Balancing power....

Asda’s paper at arecent Reaseheathconference onsustainability withinthe dairy industry

could never be anything otherthan intriguing because theprimary yardstick can only befinancial – witness the massexodus.

Its dairy buying manager toldus the retailer had found itselfwith decreasing liquid milk salesand decided to remedy this bywhat she euphemistically called a‘price investment’, which meantthey cut the price to the custo-mer and, co-incidentally, she saidpaid the producer 4ppl more.

But there was no reference towhat the market was doinggenerally over that period, whichis vital in knowing whether theirbeneficence was outwith theimproving market.

Hard-bitten cynicism maybe,but it must be remembered the

Editor

Peter Hollinshead 01732 377 273

[email protected]

Production Editor

Gillian Dixon 01772 799 417

[email protected]

Display Advertisement Manager

Mark Jackson 01322 449 624,

07775 754 548, [email protected]

Circulation 01858 435 361

[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

Publisher Jim Jones

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.subscripition.co.uk/df/bar1

© UBM Information 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, UBM plc, Riverbank House, Angel Lane, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1SE.

Contacts

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

Editor

current big-four price war waskicked off by Asda originally andnow we are feeling the draughtof low front-end prices feedingback to the processors and,despite Meadow Foods’ and MilkLink’s paradoxical attempt toforestall any price drops, maybepassed back to the producershortly.

Intriguingly Andersons, theconsultants, make no bonesabout it and state the industry’snumber one priority in their 2012outlook is to get a bigger slice ofthe food chain margin.

But manifestly, the giantretailers hold all the cards – whenthey call the tune everyonejumps, and no one has yet beenable to devise a workablecounterbalance to this power.

Not until now. If EU proposalsgo through, it will be legal tohave producer organisationsrepresenting up to a third of themilk marketed, which should just

about cover the direct sellinggroups.

If that got off the ground, wecould really see things start tomove, and inject some of thatmuch talked about sustainabilityback into the industry!

**DF Contents p1 6/1/12 12:32 Page 1

2 DAIRY FARMER JANUARY 2012

NEWS

Mary Mead■ Well-known British Friesianenthusiast and co-founder ofthe renowned Yeo Valley dairybusiness, Mary Mead, has beenawarded an OBE in the NewYear Honours list.

A2 sires■ UK breeding companySterling Sires has beenappointed UK distributor byGenetics Australia. Under thedeal, semen from bloodlinesunavailable until now inHolstein, Jersey and Aussie Redbreeds will be marketed tooffer a new gene pool foroutcrossing or cross-breeding.Some GA bulls also carry twocopies of the a2 milk gene.

Farmgate price ■ In October, the average UKfarmgate price was 29ppl,according to Defra. This is0.91ppl higher than the Septprice, and the highest everrecorded. It is also 3.20pplhigher than last year’s price.

Milk production ■ Milk volumes in Novemberwere similar to last year at1032m litres. This is 4.3m litresmore than the same monthlast year. To the end ofNovember in the 2011/12quota year, we produced justover 9bn litres. This is 51.2mmore than last year, and nearly400m litres more than two andthree years ago.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Despite persistentmurmurings that someliquid milk processorsare warming up farmersfor a milk price drop

early in the year to try and clawback savaged margins, the markethas been strengthened recentlythrough the actions of MeadowFoods, Milk Link, and generally‘neutral’ price movements in theglobal market.

In early December, MeadowFoods bolstered the market bylifting its price by 0.5ppl, andthen Milk Link stated it willmaintain its member milk price

until at least April 1, 2012. “As you may have read, there

has been growing speculationfrom within some areas of themarket that the New Year will seea cut in farmgate milk prices,”said the co-op’s bullish boss NeilKennedy. “However, we do notbelieve such negative market talkis justified.”

In early December, the GlobalDairy Trade auction concludedwith its overall basket price up2.6%, with whole milk powderup 2% to $3637/tonne (£2336/t),and skimmed milk powder up2.6% to $3424/t (2200/t).

In the week before Christmas –always a difficult period to read –the overall index was down 1.6%,with WMP down marginally at1.5% and SMP down 3.2%.

Overhanging the EU and UKmarket to some degree is theprospect that the New Zealanderswill be sending cheap butter tothe EU in early 2012.

There is very little informationavailable on this, and the degreeto which it will have a majorimpact on prices is as yetunknown, but nevertheless itremains as a psychological markerin the sand.

Buyers make bid tosteady milk market

AFTER decades of procrastination,Defra has finally announced plansto test whether culling badgerswould help to reduce the spreadof TB across the countryside.

Two pilot areas will begin thecull in early autumn – after theOlympics as Ministers say policewould be unable to cope with thesecurity issues from the antis untilthe Games have finished.

The cull will be for six weeks,and ‘will be closely managed andmonitored to examine how safe,effective and humane a methodthis (shooting) is’.

An independent panel ofexperts will evaluate the pilots

and report to Ministers before adecision is made on whether toroll out the policy more widely.

In addition, Defra will invest afurther £20m over the next fiveyears on the development ofusable badger and cattle vaccines.

Defra’s scientists believe cullingcould reduce TB in cattle over a150sq km area, plus a 2kmsurrounding ring, by an averageof 16% over nine years.

However, there are considerableobstacles to be overcome beforefarmers might begin to cullbadgers, assuming the cull worksand permission for wider cullareas gets the go-ahead.

Pilot badger cull announced Bigger share of margin

FIRST Milk will pay a 3% return onmembers’ capital in January,thanks to improved businessperformance in the six months tothe end of September 2011. It willbe the third time in 18 months ithas paid out a return to members,giving an average member £1800.

But there is a fair way to go toclose the gap on its fellow co-op.For the 2010/11 financial year,Milk Link paid out a 9.25% return,equivalent to £4000 for a 1m litreproducer. This was the fifth yearin a row the co-op has made apayment to its members, takingthe total to more than £17m.

THE UK dairy industry could finditself trapped in a currencysqueeze this year after our PMDavid Cameron’s determinedstance against the EU26, resultingin pressure on farmgate milkprices.

That’s the warning from theDairy Group, which says sterlingcould strengthen against the euroas the powers that be searchdesperately to restore stabilitywithin the eurozone.

“Despite the insulation of a verydomestically-focussed industry, theEuropean dairy market drives the

general level of market returnsthrough competitive imports,”says the company’s report.

Effectively, a strengtheningpound will make imports seemless expensive.

InputsAgainst this, farm inputs arewidely linked to commoditymarkets traded in dollars and thatis remaining relatively stable,meaning there will be littlerespite from the relatively highinput costs being felt by herdowners.

FM pays dividend Currency squeeze warning

WHILE milk prices have improved,producers will continue to strug-gle in the coming year, accordingto consultants Andersons.

In their recently publishedOutlook 2012 report, they say theDefra farmgate price hasincreased from 25.3ppl to 28.0pplfrom September 2010 toSeptember 2011, but with theAMPE price at 32.8ppl for October‘there remains an enormous gulfbetween the prices received by UKdairy farmers and the real value ofthe milk they produce’.

The average milk price inEurope (EU-27) is 31ppl, some3.5ppl higher than in the UK and

‘extracting a greater proportion ofthe food chain margin mustremain the key priority for the UKdairy industry’, the report says.

It highlights the polarity anddiffering cost of productionbetween those on a high outputand level supply contract againstblock calvers basing production ona high forage utilisation.

The grazing systems have a cost,pre-rent and finance, of 21-25ppl,while the level supply producershave a cost of between 26-31ppl.

They believe the popularity ofgrazing sytems is likely to grow,resulting in further dairy migra-tion to the west of the country.

**DF Jan p2 3 News 6/1/12 12:00 Page 1

NEWS


Last month’s EU FarmCouncil meeting saw theEuropean Parliament andCouncil reach ‘an informalagreement’ on its Dairy

Package, designed to give dairyfarmers a stronger hand innegotiations with processors byhaving better contracts, while alsomoving the sector towards a moremarket-orientated and sustainablefuture.

The informal agreement givesmember states the option toimpose mandatory writtencontracts between farmers andprocessors on issues such as priceand volume, and allows farmers toform producer organisations thatcould represent up to a third ofnational milk production.

However, the UK Governmenthas ruled out the introduction offormal legislation on contracts.

“The European Commission’sdairy package proposals weremeant to safeguard the long-termfuture of the dairy sector but, withthe exception of new powers forproducer organisations, today’sagreement does little more thanmaintain the status quo for UKfarmers,” said the NFU’s dairyadviser Rob Newbery.

“We have been in intensediscussions with the European

Commission, the EuropeanParliament and the EuropeanCouncil throughout the dairypackage negotiations, but it seemsfarmers will not be protected bycommon contract rules across theEuropean single market.”

The agreement must still beformally accepted by theAgriculture Council and theEuropean Parliament, with likelyadoption in 2012.

EU package gives go ahead to groups

PLANS to make substantialchanges to the Nitrate VulnerableZone action programme arepremature and unnecessary, theNFU has said after Defra issued aconsultation on the subject.

It is proposing several changesto the rules regarding silage,slurry and fuel oil, furtherextensions to the closed periodsfor slurry spreading on heaviersoils, and the re-consideration of

cover crops for sandy soils. Theconsultation is open for sub-missions until March 2012, withany decisions implemented fromJanuary 2013.

“The consultation states thatnitrate levels have generally fallenin many surface waters since thelast review,” said NFU head ofpolicy services Andrew Clark.

“This reflects the impact ofchanging farming practice, the

industry’s ‘Tried and Tested’initiative, as well as previous NVZaction programmes.

“The reducing pressure fromagricultural nitrate is reflected ina small but important reduction inNVZ designations for the firsttime.

“We believe this makes Defra’scase for ‘whole territory’ design-ation all the more unnecessary,”he declared.

YOU couldn’t make it up. Justbefore Christmas, Britain’s firstdairy cow ‘choir’ issued a collec-tion of ‘mootunes’ courtesy ofDairyCo.

The objective was to try to getthe public to engage with dairyfarming, and Andrew Gilman(Tamworth) and John Chapman(Middlesbrough) recordedsounds from their cows, whichwere digitally enhanced usingcomputer wizardry.

The best moos were assem-bled by a sound technician intoditties which are available onwww.mootunes.org.

To DairyCo’s credit, this gotpicked up in the The Sun andDaily Star with interviews withthe farmers on BBC FarmingToday and local radio coverage.

NFU scrutinises NVZ rule changes Cow choir hitsthe high notes

DESPITE Nocton’s demise, effortsto keep cows in fields and not insheds are continuing in earnest,with Compassion in WorldFarming mounting a campaign totry to get dairy cows includedmore on the EU’s animal welfareagenda.

“Right now, the EuropeanCommission is developing itsAnimal Welfare Strategy for theperiod to 2015. As it currentlystands, dairy cows are at risk ofbeing left out – we must not let

this happen,” stated a letter putout by the high profile anti-farming organisation.

“We are alarmed by theincreasing industrialisation of dairyfarming in Europe.

“More and more cows arebeing kept in zero-grazed farms,with little or no access to pasture.This has serious implications fortheir health, and specific legis-lation on dairy cow welfare is longoverdue.”

It is calling for a Dairy Directive

‘to protect over 23 million ofEurope’s dairy cows frominhumane treatment’ and iswanting concerned consumers toemail the EU Directorate in chargeof the Animal Welfare Strategy.

Meanwhile, the World Societyfor the Protection of Animals –one of the most vociferousorganisations to attack moderndairy farming – is continuing to upthe ante on proposals in Wales tobuild what it calls a ‘super dairy’of around 1000 cows.

Campaign for non-industrial cows in Europe

THE Market Drayton-based dairybusiness Muller has justannounced a price drop of 0.5ppleffective from February 1.

Muller drops price

**DF Jan p2 3 News 6/1/12 13:06 Page 2


COWMEN COMMENT

Christopher Murley farms in partnershipwith his parents and brothers at HigherBojewyan Farm on the north coast ofCornwall. They run 300 pedigree Jerseysaveraging 5900 litres at 5.9% fat and3.87% protein.

We’re learning how to getthe most from our forages

Christopher MurleyThe silage season finallyended here on November25, with a very late fourthcut of bales. Luckily wemanaged to find three

good days in a row and, as abonus, managed to ted the grassprior to baling and wrapping.

All cows came in by night onOctober 19, and by day onNovember 2. Cows are milkingvery well at the moment mainlydue to an excellent first cut grasssilage. They are currently doing19 litres at more than 6% fat and4% protein. (See panel for diet).

Unfortunately we do not haveenough of this first cut to make itall the way until turnout so wehave started using some roundbales of red clover to help stretchit out. The downside is that ittakes longer to process in thewagon using more diesel at70p/litre, and we reckon runningthe wagon costs us £10/hour infuel alone without including thecost of running the loader.

Now the cows are in 24/7 itgives us a chance to review thislast grazing season and we feelwe have made much better use ofgrazed grass than we have in therecent past, mostly made possibleby the use of our plate meter andelectric fencing. The result of thisis our milk from forage hasincreased by 500 litres per cowmaking for better margins and alot less wastage of grass.

We have only cut seven acres

calve 300 cows without feedingsome silage and this will defeatthe object somewhat. If we cancalve in the autumn, by the timecows go out in March most cowsshould be in-calf so feed intakeswill be lower.

Also by block calving allreplacements will be reared in atight block cutting the time spentdaily rearing calves on milk fromover 9-10 months back to 5-6months. These calves will also beable to go out to grass full-timefrom early spring and do most ofthere growing from good qualitypasture. Once off milk our calvesare reared on our other farm amile from here and usually theycome home four weeks prior tocalving.

This year for the first time inthe quest to cut costs from thesystem we are out wintering mostof the youngstock. Normally wecan keep them out on grass untilthe end of the year unless it getsvery wet. This year we have sownsome stubble turnips on off-landafter spring barley and are stripgrazing this and supplementingwith some nice ryegrass haylagebales. We did think about a woodchip coral but then you are tied toone place and it is more perm-anent. Time will tell if we havemade the right choice or not!

■ SIZE: 144ha (355 acres)■ CROP: 22ha (55 acres) spring barley■ HERD: 300 pedigree Jerseys +replacements■ YIELD: 5900 litres, 5.9% F &3.87% P ■ BACTOSCAN: 11■ CELL COUNT: 127■ MILK BUYER: Milk Link.

Farm facts

for bales from the grazing areato take out surplus growth andmaintain quality. This may notbe a surprise to most of us buthaving spent the last 16 yearstaking advice from numerousnutritionists we seem to havelost the knowledge and confid-ence in grazing cows properly,and in the potential of goodforage.

Tighter calvingA year ago we decided weneeded to make better use of allfeed and as part of this we aretrying to calve cows in a tighterblock. At the moment we havetwo blocks, one between Augustand December and one Februaryto mid-March. Now we arebringing the groups together toget them to calve in one block inSeptember to November in twoyears time. The thinking is we canmake most use of any concentrateused in winter and park thewagon for the summer, and conc-entrate on grazing and rationinggrass.

This last season we separatedcows into two groups, the bestcows were fed with the wagon atmilking times and the rest onlyhad grass and a small amount ofnuts in the parlour. These cowshad an amazing appetite for grassand would graze really well in anyweather and also milked verywell. There is no doubt calvingcows in the spring to make thebest use of grazed grass is thecheapest way to produce milk inthis area of west Cornwall, as wecan grow grass as well as any-where, but to do this you wouldneed lots of acres.

At this time we do not haveenough grazing land to spring

■ 1kg rolled barley ■ 3kg blend ■ 0.125 mins ■ 4kg alkalage ■ 27kg grass silage/red clover.

Current diet

**DF Jan p4 Cowmen 5/1/12 15:17 Page 1

Ambition� Maximises energy yield

on every hectare ofmaize grown.

� Exceptionally high starchand ME yield.

� Superb early vigour tomaximise crop yield.

� Very early maturing(Maturity Class 9).

Activate� For maximum

energy density per kgin your ration.

� Superior starch content.� Improved fibre digestibility.� Delivers top ME content.� Very early maturing

(Maturity Class 12).

Only selected maize varieties thatcombine high starch content withimproved fibre digestibility are

awarded the LGAN seal ofapproval. These have the geneticpotential to deliver high silage

yields, of superior nutritional value,enhancing the performance

of your cows.

Nowyou only need twomaize varieties to improve theperformance of your cows

Limagrain UK Ltd. Rothwell, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, LN7 6DT

Tel: 01472 371471 I Email: [email protected]

Nickerson -LGAN WP DF 5/1/12 15:52 Page 1


COMPASS FARMS

Available from your local agriculturalmerchant, visit www.coxagri.com orcall Cox on 0845 600 8081 for more info.

Visit:.......www.youtube.com/coxagrito see the BRAY Cattle

Breeding calendarin action!

Step 1: The promise of higheThis is the first in a series of three articles looking at one of KW Alternative Feeds’ aptly named Compass Farms.Peter Hollinshead looks at the philosophy behind the concept and the practical ramifications of the approach.

■ On completion of the threearticle series, there will be anopen day at Crosby Grange inMarch to which readers willbe invited. Details to follow.

OPEN DAY

UK milk production fromblack-and-whites issignificantly less thanthat in many otherEuropean countries and

if we are not careful the gap mayget even wider.

That is the stark warning fromDr Michael Marsden, technicalmanager at KW Alternative Feeds(part of AB Agri), who believeshigher UK yields would lead tobetter margins.

And he should know as he

spends a lot of his time visitingand advising on overseas farmsand illustrates his belief with thefact the Swedes are doing inexcess of 9000 litres, and Hollandand Italy more than 8000 againstour 7400 litres, although he is thefirst to concede none are as grass-based as we are.

“There’s a big opportunity inthe UK to produce more milk andimprove margin per cow – thequestion is why aren’t we? Thegenetics are there, and even ifproducers have been using ‘bull ofthe day’ for the last five years,they’ve still got good potential,”he claims.

He and his colleagues at KWdecided to put their ideas intopractice on real farms to demon-strate to other dairy farmers thepotential is not only there, but isenticingly graspable.

The high TMR group – the first aim was to increase dry matter intakes.

But translating the blue yonderaspirations into reality was adifferent matter, and findingdemonstration farms, or whatthey call their Compass Farms,would be more difficult.

For a start it would demand aspecial sort of person prepared totolerate interference and beprepared to work with them. Inshort someone prepared to admitthey could improve.

“Farmers have to be preparedto bare their souls and nobodylikes to be embarrassed. Bydefinition, if you say things can beimproved it means they were notright at the start,” explains DrMarsden.

“And producers are understand-ably nervous if you start to pushcows and fearful of getting moremastitis and the like, and doubly soif you claim you can increase yieldswhile making other improvements,or at least not risking other areaslike fertility,” he says.

“We wanted farms with at least150-200 cows with reasonablebuildings and parlour, but mostimportantly a person who was

willing to learn and improve.”Are there such understanding

and eager people queuing up tobe put through this mill, onewonders? Well, they have got five– the current target so far – and,apart from their soul baring,participating farmers have toensure they keep good records sothe impact of any managementchange can be fully monitored.

Requirements“We discuss at length the require-ments from both parties at thestart – in fact there is a four pagecontract and everybody is clearwhat we expect from them andwhat they can expect from us,”says Dr Marsden.

“We have also provided theservices of independent consult-ants to collect, process andvalidate the data to give itindependence and credibility.

“Fundamentally, our approachis all about allowing the cow toexpress the milk productionpotential of feed by removingmany of the environmental,health and fertility obstacles.”

**DF Jan p6 7 8 Compass Farm 5/1/12 14:55 Page 1

COMPASS FARMS


er yields and better marginsThe Compass programme strategy at Crosby Grange

Strategy ActionsReduce calving-related problems ■ Dry cow feeding management simplified.

■ New straw-based dry cow diet introduced.■ Target dry period of 42 days implemented.

Increase dry matter intakes ■ Dry cows primed for lactation.■ Ration balance improved (palatability and structure).■ Fresh cow comfort improved and lameness reduced.

Move to pro-active veterinary input ■ Focused on prevention rather than cure.■ Started weekly fertility visits.■ Implemented new herd health protocols.

Improve labour structure ■ Unskilled labour replaced.■ New herd manager employed from LKL Services.■ Increased commitment to strict health and hygiene routines.

The milking parlour – herd daily yield has improved by 8 litres per cow.

OK, we’re getting the message,but what’s in it for KW and whatdoes it cost? They say they see it,through its high public profile, asa firmly based example to otherfarmers that their advice andproducts are sound and manifestlywork in practice. As a bonus thiscan then be used to demonstratedifferent feeding systems with theadvantage this expertise will thencascade down through their ownworkforce as a sound approach toclients.

There is no direct additionalcharge or feed discounts to theCompass farmers who have topurchase their feed products atmarket prices – and notnecessarily from KW if they canfind the same or similar productcheaper elsewhere. But whatmost producers will inevitably fearis that it will entail prising openthe cheque book to updatewhatever existing equipment isdeemed unfit for the KWpurpose.

“But no,” counters Dr Marsden,“with the exception of the oddfarm gate and on one farm amolasses tank, we haven’t askedfor any major capital expenditureon our Compass Farms – far fromit, it’s all about changing thefeeding and management andworking as a team.”

The biggest problem is com-mitting to the concept in the firstplace and two of the biggeststumbling blocks are undeniablypride and trust. “Most farmers arequite rightly proud of what theydo so it can be like walking oneggshells, and you need to besensitive even as a nutritionist,”confides Dr Marsden.

“But when we go on to farmswe always ask if they mind if wecomment on their system beforewe say anything, and they morethan often tell me, especially inforthright Yorkshire, that ‘that’swhat you’re here for’.”

One of the first brave farmersto swallow their pride and takethe plunge were the Smith Bros ofCrosby Grange, Northallerton,where John and Mark Smith lookafter the livestock and arable onthe 600-acre farm carrying a 380-strong herd of Holsteins plus 320head of youngstock.

The partnership with CrosbyGrange began in the summer of

2008 and it was recognisedchanges would be needed if theagreed targets were to be met.But what we have here, accordingto Dr Marsden, is what a lot offarms could be doing and that isto go up a gear and increaseoutput and ultimately margin.

ProductionAnd so we are all clear, whattangibly was Messrs Smith goingto get out of this in terms ofproduction? “I thought we couldput on five litres on the 25 litresdaily average, but I am happy tosay we eventually did eight litreslifting the daily average to 33litres.

“To start with we conducted aSWOT analysis to identify the keyissues that were holding backproduction and greater profit-ability. From this we created astrategy that recognised the farmis made up of discrete but inter-linked units like calf and heiferrearing, dry cows, and early andlate lactation milking groups,” hesays.

The first things that appearedto be putting the brake on prod-uction were the usual issues offeed intake and utilisation, andhealth and fertility. This is wherethe need for a total teamapproach becomes very evident,and KW considered it vital to holdregular tripartite meetingsbetween the Smiths (plus farmstaff), KW and their vet, to ensureall three parties were workingtowards the same goal.

The Smiths decided to changetheir vet and review their labourstructure, replacing three workerswith LKL herd manager MickSpears, plus other local staff.

“It takes time to implementchange and to start to see the

benefits,” says Dr Marsden, “but Iheld the strong belief the teamcould turn things around.”

Herd manager Mick Spearsjoined the team in November2009, focussing on actuallymanaging the herd rather thanan ‘all hands to the pump’approach, where there had beenno time to stand back andmanage. An extra bonus withthis appointment was that MrSpears’ wife is a very experien-ced and competent calf rearer,and so she was employed tomanage that department.

Co-ordinated The new vet, Jonathan Stathamof the Bishopton VeterinaryGroup, arrived in summer 2009and from then Dr Marsdenstarted to see the basic buildingblocks fitting into place to helpachieve the objectives.

“You have to have a co-ordinated approach with thefarmer, vet and nutritionistworking together – preferably

face to face – to devise actionplans to achieve everyone’sgoals. Following every meetingwe had a definite plan as to whoshould do what and by when,”says Dr Marsden.

A fundamental part of theproposal was to scrutinise thefeeding regime and specifically toraise dry matter intakes as apriority to achieving the produc-tion goals and contributing toimproved health and fertility.

“As you might imagine therewere lots of things to consider andwe started by creating the correctnutritional and physical attributesto the diet, eg opening up thediet with pressed pulp, checkingTMR to make sure it wasn’t over-mixed, reducing trough sortingand improving palatability byadding Spey Syrup (a distilleryliquid). The most balanced dietwill not work to its potentialunless we achieve target intakesand ensure a happy rumen.

“The Smiths always producegood forages, especially the grass



COMPASS FARMS

Improvements made atCrosby Grange:■ Daily milk yield up by eightlitres per cow■ Herd calving interval cutfrom 454 to 418 days■ Average SCCs cut from 300to under 150■ Clinical mastitis cases cut by50%.

IMPROVEMENTS

and the fermented whole cropwheat, with the maize in someyears being at the mercy of thegods. It has been important tochallenge the cows with as muchforage as possible.

“To complement this we used amix of starch and digestible fibresources to provide additional fuelto the rumen. The former hasbeen propionic treated wheat, anecessity due to rain spoiling theharvest, SweetStarch and latterlyprocessed bread, soya hulls andsugar beet pulp.

“Rumen degradable proteinhas been supplied from the startwith Spey Syrup, rapeseed mealand wheat distillers with a portionof the latter adding rumen by-

pass protein which is supple-mented further with the heat-treated rape meal Prototec (asoya bean meal replacer) andSoyPass. To cap it off the Smithshave always fed the protectedfat Golden Flake, yeast andminerals.”

Dry cows Attention was also focused on thedry cows and managing themproperly. “Some producers acrossthe world don’t appreciate thatwhen you dry a cow off it’s reallythe start of the next lactation notmerely the finish of the presentone, though this is changingrapidly as producers see thebenefits. The cornerstone here isbased on a one-stage system,controlling the potassium intake,ensuring sufficient rumen degrad-able and by-pass protein, and thatthe majority of the milking rationcomponents are in the dry ration.It’s vital the cows are ready atcalving and not adapting postcalving,” insists Dr Mardsen.

As the diets gradually gotsorted so other aspects started toimprove. “There was a significantreduction in calving issues,particularly milk fever whichplummeted, and as Mark Smith

told me ‘they now just get onwith it’, and all this leads to betterfeed intakes when the cows arereturned to the herd,” says DrMarsden.

The veterinary input, which willbe discussed in more depth in thenext issue, looked at diseaseprevention. Two of the problemswere IBR and later BVD, and likemany farmers, the Smith’s wereconvinced initially there was notan issue. But with encouragementfrom Jonathan and Michael, thecost benefits showed the Smithsthat IBR vaccination would beworthwhile. Indeed, following aperiod of little signs of heat, nasalvaccination on a Friday resulted inno less than 21 cows comingbulling by the Monday whichreinforced the message that onemore day post-365 open wouldmore than pay for the vaccineitself.

Then there was the recordkeeping which had to be broughtup to scratch – partly to monitorprogress and identify cattle whichneeded closer vet scrutiny.

Locomotion scoring was intro-duced to assess the start positionand then the benefits ofmanagement changes such asfeeding, hoof trimming and

Michael Marsden: define goals.

general parlour flow could bemeasured, and their contributionto production and fertility.

More attention was also paidto identifying bulling cows byintroducing RMS, and thetransformation there has been‘remarkable’.

“Our work at Crosby Grange Ilike to see in motoring terms,”says Dr Marsden, “what we haveis a Ferrari and it’s just beginningto fire on all cylinders.”

■ This article illustrates thechallenges at Crosby Grange andhow KW set about makingchanges. Next month we will belooking at developments throughthe eyes of the vet to see how hehelped get the farm on the righttrack.


DAIRY FARMER JANUARY 2012

01978 851238www.nwresources.co.uk

Competitive prices…True to our word

24KG BALED FINE SAWDUST

Guaranteed weights

Stable pallets for unloading

Hooded for outside storage

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

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

TAKE THE CIRCULAR CONCRETE ROUTE TO SLURRY STORAGE

UK’s LARGEST INDEPENDENT PROCESSING DAIRY

CURRENTLY LOOKING TO INCREASE DIRECT

SUPPLIERS OF RAW MILK

WE OFFER THE FOLLOWING:A truly independent family run business

No false promises • Simple pricing structure

Stan Hughes

Telephone: 07917 325414 • Email: [email protected] • www.freshways.co.uk

9

DF_01_P09 6/1/12 09:48 Page 21


POTTER’S VIEW

This month Ian Potter casts his mind to what the New Year could herald –perhaps rationalisation among the processors and the establishment of aproducer organisation as a counter to retailer power.

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

PO could be answerto retailers’ armlock

This year’s EFFP annualconference, entitled‘Volatile Landscape’, wasattended by 349 of theindustry’s great and good

(plus me), and the conclusion wasclear that we no longer have anyworld food mountains or milklakes, and for many food isbecoming a challenge to afford.

Also discussed was the extra-ordinary punching power of theNGOs and the multitude ofpressure groups who challengefarming on almost every front.This was compared to an almost‘embarrassing deathly silence’from their farming counterparts,who struggle to educate andinform the public on a range ofissues.

So far as the dairy industry isconcerned, in most cases wemiserably fail to dispel the mythsand get on the front foot withour PR and positive stories.Instead we either hide in thehope the issue vanishes, ormount a last minute defencewith a complicated message thatoften confuses the public. AsFarmers Weekly editor Jane Kingcommented: “We seem to havelots of talking shops with noaction.” Very true – particularlyin England and Wales.

Global pressureThe conference was told farmersneed to ‘up their game’ in orderto feed an extra 80m people ayear in addition to a Far Easternpopulation transferring from arice diet to meat. One speakerreferred to the global pressure tofeed this rising population as a‘nutritional revolution’.

In terms of dairying, China isstill the biggest cog driving thesuccess of world dairying. TheChinese population of 1.3bn maynot have the money today to buyfresh dairy products but theycertainly are a very exciting long-term opportunity.

Whilst Nimbys and MiddleEngland do-gooders (supposedly)fret about plans for a 2500breeding sow unit less than 10miles from my offices, China isplanning a single 600,000 breed-ing sow unit. UK Agriculture willhave to pull together to dothings differently and adopt newtechnologies.

As the conference summarystated: ‘Old assumptions as tohow we do business do notapply.’ Without change no livingsystems can survive. Remember,unlike pessimists, optimists areunafraid of change.

RationalisationSo what’s in store for our GBdairy industry in 2012 accordingto Potter’s tea leaves? Well someof my money is on major proc-essor rationalisation and, with agood wind, 2012 could see someparts of our largest three GBliquid milk processors concentr-ated into two businesses – drivenlargely by Arla’s new Aylesburyplant.

Hopefully other takeovers andmergers will happen. When/ifthree become two there will,perhaps, be less aggression togain market share, where,throughout 2010/11, all threehave fought like gladiators towin volume and retailers simplysat back and said, basically,‘thanks lads we will have a sliceof that cake’. It cannot carry on.

In addition I genuinely feel GBmilk co-ops will become morefashionable because it’s slowlydawning on most switched ondairy farmers that with goodmanagement and adoption ofthe right business model, theywill be increasingly successful.

Non co-op minded (directsupply) farmers are increasinglystarting to see the personal valuein the co-ops. It’s not been aneasy birth but I sense they nowhave a golden opportunity.

If I were the UK’s dairy fairywith my magic wand (and notthe Rottweiler), I would also liketo see the formation of anassociation of retailer alignedproducers, so the 25% (1 in 4) ofthe GB aligned farmers joinforces for discussion, represent-ation and (who knows) negot-iation purposes.

Under the new proposal fromthe European Commission suchproducer groups will be subjectto EU (not UK) competition law.The new regulation will allowdairy farmers to form a group toaccount for up to 33% of totalnational milk production, which,for the UK, is around 4.5bn litres.With that quantity and the rightnegotiator it should be easier tocollectively negotiate the rightcontract and milk price.

CollectivelyProducers will be able tocollectively negotiate with boththe supermarkets and theirprocessors. Only then will somenormality in the balance ofpower kick-in, and the neverending domino effect of retailerssqueezing processors, followedby processors squeezing farmersmight stop or even reverse.

The only major hurdle I can seewill be the existing represent-atives who have their ownpersonal agendas and positionsat the forefront of any decisionsas opposed to what is best forthe collected benefit of thefarmers they claim to represent.

We must not let their personalinterests miss this opportunity. Ihope if/when such a producerorganisation is formed that thefarmers will employ a profess-ional with the skills and exper-ience to negotiate.

I am afraid that if the squeezeand price war, on which thesupermarkets thrive, continuesthey will succeed in perman-ently shrinking and shafting the

UK dairy industry. I still cannotunderstand why numerouspeople in this industry stillbelieve the retailer aligned liquidcontracts are the dog’s whatsitswhen many believe they arerestricting all milk prices.

I believe UK production isunlikely to rise significantly. Cullcows are selling for almost recordprices and farmers will offloadthem rather than feed them toproduce marginal litres for anunreasonable return. Retailershave been given advancewarning that they need toexercise extreme care over thespring pricing signals they senddown the chain.

GB ex farmgate milk prices aredetermined more by processorcompetition than the World andEU dairy commodity prices, andDairyCo data confirms retailersare making far more profit fromliquid milk and cheese thanfarmers or their processors.

There is a secret ceiling/cap onthe maximum price a dairyfarmer can receive for his milkand it’s controlled by our much-loved retailers. If one of our bigretailers sneezes in March youwill all catch a cold.

Meanwhile I will continue tovoice my observations for thethousands of UK dairy farmerswho feel they have no voice –unless they tell me to shut upshop. Be warned it’s inevitable Iwill rattle more cages. I don’thave all the answers but I dohave a big stick with which I amnot afraid to poke a few tigers!

If anyone wants to help mecounter some of the crazyproposals and the unexposedtruths behind this industry thenyou know where I am!

**DF Jan p10 Potter 5/1/12 14:57 Page 1

PremiumQuality, LumpRed Rock SaltContains over 70 trace elementsand minerals Inc. magnesium,cobolt, copper and selenium.

Tel: 01981 250301

www.ballofmadley-hereford.co.uk

Available in250kg, 500kg,1200kg Bags

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 dairyman

De Boer Housing Systems Ltd your partner in excellence.

Rypke de Boer Mob. 07785 288257 E-mail. [email protected]

Mark Wookey Mob. 07774 471208 E-mail. [email protected]

R E Y N O L D S www.shelbourne.comT: 01359 250415

POWERMIX PRO DIET FEEDER CUBICLE BEDDER POWERSPREAD

• Models from 9m to 25m• Mix and chop• Versatile elevator systems

• 3 Models• 3pt or loader mounted• Spreads all materials

• Models from 1600 to 3200 gallons• Spreads solid & liquid material up to 20m• Spreads and chops

CUBICLE BEDDER

• 3 Models • M

WORRIED ABOUTTB IN YOUR HERD?

Talk to us.FCN Helpline

0845 367 99907.00 am until 11.00 pm– everyday of the year.

DAIRY FARMER JANUARY 2012 11

DF_01_P11 6/1/12 11:51 Page 21


BREEDING

Dakota seizes top rating toregain dominance of familyThe Oman bloodline family may have temporarily lost its chart topping position but the latest Oman sonhas soon re-established their dominance. Ann Hardy reports.

The battle of the Omansons is currently beingwon by ALH Dakota whohas risen to the top of theDairyCo’s December

rankings with a huge ProfitableLifetime Index of £258.

Pushing aside former frontrunner, Lynbrook Jancen, Dakotahas the distinction of transmittingmassive milk production (PTA milk1035kg, 67.5kg fat plus protein)with exceptional daughter fitness.Most notable is his 0.5 LifespanIndex which is among the best ofthe top 50 PLI bulls and suggeststhis is a bull which really mayhave it all. Although still onlyhaving a first crop proof with thescope to change, with 154daughters in 91 herds contribut-ing to his figures, all the signs areencouraging.

Having had either the goodfortune to have taken on Dakota’ssire almost a decade ago, therelatively small breeding company,Dairy Daughters, will be optimisticthey may have scored their secondmajor coup with this bull.

Jancen holds on to secondposition, with around half thevolume and twice the milk qualityof Dakota, and with similarly highscores for fitness traits. Beneathhim Morningview Levi, havingjumped from sixth to thirdposition, is the best daughterfertility improver in the top 10(Fertility Index 5.1) and is thehighest ranking Oman grandson.His sire is the BW Marshall son,

Tiergandaughter,Waldford-manorTierganMattie 2.

Dakotadaughter,HBC DakotaLoise VG-85.

Buckeye, and his dam is a VG86Oman x Durham.

Beneath Levi, most top 10 bullshave done little more than jostlepositions although the biggestmove came from UFM-DUBSAltaEsquire who rises from 21st toseventh position. This is thanks toa big rise in his fat PTA to animpressive 37.2kg, which is thehighest in the breed.

But this proof run is really astory of UK breeding success, inparticular for Northern Ireland’sAndrew McCollum who has bredtwo of the top 30 PLI bulls, onenow with Cogent and the otherwith Genus. Leading the way isBallycairn Tiergan who adds 13daughters (he now has 71 in 47herds) and enters the top 10 forthe first time. He takes over as thehighest ranking Goldwyn sonavailable in the UK with a PLI of£216.

With good fat production, verylow cell counts, good daughterfertility and 1.8 points for type(the highest in the PLI top 20), heis truly of international calibreand will be a first choice for manywho are seeking an outcross fromOman bloodlines. Tiergan’s dam isBallycairn Garter Tinnie VG87, aformer UK number one PLI cow.

Tiergan’s herd mate is BallycairnLinus who enters the rankings forthe first time with 82 daughters in61 herds and a PLI of £192,although he hails from a differentcow family. An Oman out of aJocko, he offers the health and

Table 1: Top 10 Holstein bulls ranked on Profitable Lifetime Index (PLI) December 2011Rank £PLI Bull Name Rel% Milk(kg) Fat(kg) Prot(kg) Fat(%) Prot(%) SCC LS FI dCE% TM Sire From1 258 ALH DAKOTA 79 1035 34.0 33.5 -0.08 0.00 -11 0.5 0.8 1.7 0.5 Oman DD 2 242 LYNBROOK JANCEN 74 461 31.4 24.4 0.16 0.11 -11 0.5 0.4 – -0.2 Oman BUL (AIS)3 233 MORNINGVIEW LEVI 74 665 28.5 25.2 0.03 0.04 -20 0.3 5.1 1.3 0.8 Buckeye GEN 4 227 CO-OP OMAN LOGAN 73 956 34.8 29.5 -0.03 -0.02 -23 0.3 -0.9 0.5 0.5 Oman BUL (AIS)5 224 TIMMER TYSON 78 119 31.3 16.8 0.33 0.16 -17 0.3 3.6 2.6 -0.6 Oman (AIS)6 222 MAINSTREAM MANIFOLD 74 877 33.9 26.6 -0.01 -0.02 -8 0.3 3.5 2.8 0.8 Oman SMX 7 220 UFM-DUBS ALTAESQUIRE 76 497 37.2 23.1 0.21 0.08 -3 0.2 -0.1 1.9 0.5 Oman ALT (GG)8 219 LONG-LANGS OMAN OMAN 73 704 29.0 29.6 0.01 0.08 -1 0.2 -1.2 1.7 1.5 Oman WWS 9 217 CO-OP OMAN LOYDIE 73 472 28.0 24.0 0.11 0.10 -15 0.2 1.4 2.2 0.7 Oman BUL (AIS)10 216 BALLYCAIRN TIERGAN 92 397 31.3 18.6 0.19 0.07 -18 0.2 1.7 0.8 1.8 Goldwyn COG

fitness traits for which his sire isrenowned, along with goodproduction figures. With 0.51points for type, his linear profile ismost notable for the chest widthof his daughters.

Sandwiched between the twoBallycairn bulls among the UKleaders is Cogent Twist, whichnow ranks 22nd of all available

bulls, rising from 32nd. With a PLIof £199, over 600kg milk and 1.3points for type, he’s the highestranking son of Shottle.

Sinatra son, Bidlea Padbury,continues to put in a solidperformance at £157 PLI, withparticularly good daughter fertility(FI 5.1), while Goldwyn son,Abbeyhouse Mr Gold (PLI £156)

�

**DF Jan p12 14 Bull proofs 6/1/12 11:34 Page 1


FIVE

MILETOWN

PHAR M ACY

FIVEMILETOWNVETERINARYPHARMACY

www.vetmedicinesdirect.co.ukSAVE UP TO 75%

COMPARED TO VET PRICESOrder On-Line NOW!!!Tel: 028 895 21144Tel: 028 895 21208Fax: 028 895 21255

Cepravin Dry Cow 120 tubes £194.00 + VATOrbenin DC 120 tubes £172.00 + VAT

Pen Strep 100ml £7.00 Alamycin LA 100ml £9.50Nuflor 100ml £43.00 Excenel RTU 100ml £42.00

Phone for special prices on Cydectin Pour-On,Supaverm and Flukiver

Ivermectin Injection £45.00 + VAT Pour-On 5Lt £95.00 + VATLife-Aid Extra 48’s £50.00 + VAT

For all your veterinary requirements.Phone for prices or view our website.

Veterinary prescription required for all POM-V

Fivemiletown Pharmacy96 Main Street, Fivemiletown, Co. Tyrone,

Northern Ireland BT75 [email protected]

All products are UK specificationUntil further notice

+44 (0)783 621 [email protected]

+353 (0)87 356 [email protected]

Automatic Temperature Monitoring for Cowswww.bellaag.com

How does the Bella Ag System work?

How can we help you?

Benefits

13

DF_01_P13 6/1/12 10:01 Page 21


BREEDING

Top type transmitters Table 3: Top 10 Holstein bulls ranked on type merit (Dec 2011)Rank Name Type merit £PLI Available from1 Toc-Farm Goldsun 4.01 122 KSS 2 Zelgadis 3.65 146 GEN 3 Go-Farm Artes 3.47 174 DD4 Regel Elegant Beagle 3.26 112 DD5 Van Gogh 3.22 160 BUL6 Curtismill Mr Sam 3.13 120 GEN7 B-crest shadow-et 3.08 138 SEM8 Mr Vision-Gen Altaclint 3.04 86 ALT9 Bassingthorpe Bossman 3.02 142 GEN 10 Raline Lakota 3.00 89 SRL

HOLSTEIN UK’s type proofs aredominated by Goldwyn morethan ever, with eight of the top10 sires by this bull, and nochange at the top with Toc-FarmGoldsun (Type Merit 4.01),Zelgadis (TM 3.65) and Go-FarmArtes (TM 3.47) retaining thepositions they held in the previousproof run.

Ranking fourth is the relativenewcomer Regel Elegant Beagle(Honeycrest Elegant x Stormatic)at TM 3.26, and he is unusual in

having no Goldwyn in hispedigree. Van Gogh moves intofifth position and Curtismill MrSam remains the highest typetransmitter from the UK (TM3.13), and is less extreme forstature than most of his hightype cohorts.

Two North American new-comers rank seventh and eightwith B-Crest Shadow (Goldwyn xDurham) at TM 3.08, and MrVision-Gen Altaclint (Goldwyn xOpsal Finley) at TM 3.04.

Table 2: Top five UK-tested Holstein bulls ranked on Profitable Lifetime Index (PLI) December 2011Rank £PLI Bull Name Rel% Milk(kg) Fat(kg) Prot(kg) Fat(%) Prot(%) SCC LS FI dCE% TM Sire From1 216 BALLYCAIRN TIERGAN 92 397 31.3 18.6 0.19 0.07 -18 0.2 1.7 0.8 1.8 Goldwyn COG2 199 COGENT TWIST BLF 93 603 36.9 22.9 0.16 0.04 -13 0.1 -3.8 -0.8 1.3 Shottle COG3 192 BALLYCAIRN LINUS 93 540 27.3 23.2 0.07 0.07 -4 0.2 1.3 0.0 0.5 Oman GEN4 157 BIDLEA PADBURY 96 102 11.8 14.1 0.10 0.14 -10 0.1 5.1 -0.1 1.6 Sinatra GEN5 156 ABBEYHOUSE MR GOLD 94 755 17.0 19.3 -0.15 -0.06 -24 0.3 1.2 0.3 1.9 Goldwyn GEN

AIS = AI Services; ALT = Alta; AV= Avoncroft; BUL = bullsemen.com; DOV = Dovea; COG = Cogent; DD = Dairy Daughters; GEN = Genus ABS; GG = Global Genetics; KSS = Kingstreet Sires; SMX = Semex; SRL = Sterling Sires; WWS = World Wide Sires UK; VIK = UK Viking Genetics. PLI = Profitable Lifetime Index; FI = Fertility Index; LS = Lifespan Index; SCC = Somatic Cell Count index; dCE% = direct Calving Ease; TM = Type Merit.

offers good type (Type Merit1.9), excellent Fertility Index (FI2.3), PTA milk at 683kg and SCCIndex of -24. Just below at £156

PLI is newcomer Moet Baldric (byMascol), out of a Lookout damfrom the famous Cadet’s family.

“British bulls have performed

particularly well in this proof run,”says Marco Winters, head ofgenetics with DairyCo. “In thecontext of the thousands of

Holstein bulls tested around theworld, to have three UK bulls in thetop 30 demonstrates a good returnto AI from bulls tested in the UK.”

Other UK-tested bulls high inthe type stakes include Bassing-thorpe Bossman (TM 3.02); Shottle(2.53); Loader (2.49); Smiddiehill

Granite (2.46); AldinghamElegance Edward (2.42);Woodmarsh Asterix (2.34); andSmiddiehill Enigma (2.3).

�

**DF Jan p12 14 Bull proofs 6/1/12 11:34 Page 2


Please contact your nearest agent for more information

C&F Green Energy is a subsidiary of the globally renowned contract manufacturer C&F Group www.cftooling.ie

E: [email protected] W: www.cfgreenenergy.com

• Scotland - Mathers 078 5020 9078

• Scotland - Mint Energy 01577 865 910

• Scotland - Ecodyn 01337 870 249

• Scotland - Enviko 01467 670 780

• North England - Clean Power Solutions 01704 841 848

• North Midlands - UKSS 01782 285888

• West Midlands & Wales - Enegis 07721 442 979

• East Anglia - EcoExcel 01728 621215

• SE England - British Eco 0845 257 0041

• SW England - Kesell 07580 168242

• Northern Ireland - C & F Direct 07918701755

• Northern Ireland - Linton & Robinson 028 7138 4920

• Rep of Ireland - 091 790 868

The BestWind Turbinesin the World

MarketLeading

WarrantyDirect from the

Manufacturer

Now MCS certified

Products (kW):6, 11, 15, 20, 5075 and 100

Designed andManufacturedin Ireland

CHOOSE C&F FOR:• UNRIVALLED POWER• AFFORDABILITY• RELIABILITY• CUSTOMER SERVICE

SEE US AT

LAMMA

OUTSIDE CEDRIC

FORD PAVILION

AND HALL 8

NEW DUTCHSUPERSTARNow Availableto U.K Breeders

De Vinkenof ANNO(Baltimore X Albert J)

+682 kgs milk +.28% fat +.10% proteinPlus 107 for udder, 104 for bone, 103 for muscling

102 for height, 104 for udder health 105 foot healthAnd 101 for temperament.

Dams first four lactations average;10,332 kgs 3.95% fat 3.91% protein

WOODLANDS M.R.I.sOfferr aa choicee off tenn M.R.I.. bullss fromm Hollandd &

Germany.. Detailss onn request.

Semenn deliveredd too yoourr A.I.. centree orr

farmm flaskk ass required.

Phone:: 014588 850269

15

DF_01_P15 6/1/12 14:18 Page 21

There can’t be many self-respectingdairy farmers who don’t know thefat and protein content of theirmilk. But what about the fattyacid profile – and in particular the

different proportions of saturated andunsaturated fats?

If they don’t already know – and thereare certainly those who do – then theymay be well advised to find out. For ifthey want to be at the cutting edge ofmilk production, gain a premium for theirmilk and help the UK population over-come its growing obesity and cardio-vascular problems, then they mightconsider manipulating fatty acid profiles.

This message will be delivered at theBritish Cattle Conference, later this month,by Ben Bartlett from National MilkLaboratories. He believes there is not onlya moral duty on the dairy industry to playa part in reducing the UK’s saturated fatintake, but that failure to do so will paintthe industry as the villain of public health.

“The Government wants the UKpopulation to reduce its saturated fatintake from 13% to 11% of its totalenergy consumption, and the last thingwe need is for its recommendations to befor people to reduce their intake of dairyproduce,” he says, observing that milk-based products are a significantcontributor to saturated fat intakes.

Instead, he believes there is plenty ofscope to reduce the saturated fats in milkthrough both feeding and breeding.

His view is based on bulk tank measure-ments of saturated and unsaturated fatswhich have been taken by NML acrossmore than 80% of British herds sinceNovember 2010.

“There’s a clear pattern in the data,”

says Mr Bartlett, “which shows an average72% of milk fats were saturates inNovember 2010 compared with 64% atturnout in spring 2011.” (See graph 1).

Remarking on the likely role played byfresh grass in achieving this trend, he saysmilk produced from grazed grass generallyhas the lowest saturates, while grass silageis not quite as good at reducing saturatesand maize silage is worse than both.

However, a snapshot taken in anymonth shows a wide variation betweenherds from, for example, as little as 55%to more than 80% saturates in Novemberbulk milk samples. (See graph 2).

Saturate scaleAnd since not all herds at the low end ofthe saturate scale are feeding grass and notall herds at the high end are feeding maize,there are clearly other factors at work.

“We don’t know exactly what theyare,” declares Mr Bartlett. “It could beinfluenced by the weather or it could besilage quality, but the profile appears tochange with stage of lactation and we’veeven noted higher saturates from farms athigher altitude.”

Meanwhile, other factors have beenproven to be more clear cut and he namesextruded linseed as a feed ingredientlikely to bring about beneficial change.

Accepting there is a cost attached tousing this type of ingredient, he saysseveral milk buyers across Europeincluding Campina and Danone, as well asMarks and Spencer in the UK, are alreadypaying some producers to raise their milk’sunsaturates.

But while there may be a paymentpremium associated with unsaturated fats,another benefit has been seen in thecows’ health.

“Just as higher levels of unsaturated fatsare beneficial to humans, it’s also beenfound that producing more healthy milk isbetter for the cow,” says Mr Bartlett.

“There’s a correlation between cowhealth and the fatty acid profile of hermilk, with a better rumen function inparticular associated with higher levels ofunsaturates.”

Taking this a step further he says thishas environmental benefits too, as ahealthy rumen utilises dietary energymore efficiently, so minimising waste and


BREEDING

A WORD FROMBOEHRINGERMASTITIS is a significant problem in UK dairy herds,

with implications for animal welfare, herd health and

farm productivity.

It is vital affected cows are detected early and

treated promptly and appropriately to ensure a full

return to health and milk production.

Inflammation in the udder as a result of mastitis

causes pain and discomfort to the cow. Signs

which can be associated with the inflammation in-

clude changes to the milk, such as clots or flakes,

and swelling and heat in the udder.

Affected cows may have reduced rumen func-

tion as a result of the inflammation. This reduced

rumen function and dry matter intake can negative-

ly impact on the cow’s productivity, general health

and immune status.

It is possible to reduce the pain and inflammation

associated with everyday cases of clinical mastitis

through using a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory

drug (NSAID) such as Metacam.

Antibacterial agents reduce the bacteria causing

the mastitis, but do not directly treat the inflamma-

tion associated with the infection, which can cause

damage to the udder and delay healing. This prod-

uct reduces inflammation in the mammary gland,

reducing the pain, heat and swelling in the udder.

This can aid the recovery of the udder and helps

the cow return to effective, healthy milk production.

Studies have shown when Metacam is used

alongside antibiotics in treating everyday mastitis,

somatic cell counts and culling rates are significant-

ly reduced compared with those cases treated us-

ing antibiotics alone.

By reducing the inflammation associated with

mastitis, NSAIDs assist

cows in their recovery and

improve their future health

and productivity.

Advice on the use of

NSAID or other therapies

should be sought from

your veterinary surgeon.

By Laura Randall, veterinary adviser

Milk fat profilein the spotlight

Ann Hardy asks NML’s Ben Bartlett about the ramifications forthe industry of being able to measure fatty acid profiles.

� Unsaturated fats are broadly considered tobe more healthy for humans than saturates.� Dairy products are the largest source of sat-urated fats in the human diet.� There is scope to reduce saturates in milkthrough feeding and breeding.� A 2012 trial will examine associationsbetween the different milk fats and otherhealth and production parameters.� Herds are being sought to take part in the trial.

Fatty acid facts

**DF Jan p16 17 Fats 6/1/12 11:00 Page 1

BREEDING

Source: NML – all figures expressed as a percentage of total milk fats. Graph 2: Snapshot of bulk milk saturated fats in GB (Nov 2011).

■ Traditionally milk has been testedusing gas chromatography at a cost ofaround £120 per sample.■ MIR (Mid Infra Red) testing is nowbeing used at a cost of around £3 perbulk milk sample.■ NML is involved in a European

study (www.optimir.eu) which aims to calibrate MIR testing acrossEurope.■ This will assist in the cross-border trade of dairy products andgenetics and the development ofgenetic evaluations for fatty acids.

Testing milk for its fatty acid profile

Graph 1: Per cent saturated fats in GB milk (Nov 2010 – Nov 2011).

methane emissions. “It’s a win-win situation,” he

insists, “and the trick is for theadded costs of feeding to be metby the milk price premium whilethe farmer gains extra benefitfrom a more healthy herd.”

For 2012, the study into fattyacids is continuing in the UK withthe Scottish Agricultural College,Marks and Spencer and NML allinvolved.

“We’ll be looking for around500 herds to partake and will bemeasuring a variety of fatty milkacids at the individual cow level,”he says.

Relating fatty acids to a broad

range of other factors – rangingfrom feeding and managementto body condition, cell counts,fertility and overall fat andprotein production – should helpcreate a clear picture.

Emphasising the importance ofensuring there are no detrimentaleffects, such as changing theconsistency of cheese, he adds: “Anincreased understanding of thedynamics between fatty acids andother performance characteristicswill mean there’s potential for thegap between the best and theworst herds (in terms of saturatedfats) to be narrowed.”

The problem also has the pot-

ential to be addressed throughbreeding and to what degreeproducers wish to manipulate fattype through diet will be influen-ced by the outcome of the trial.

“A price premium for some milkwill certainly drive up interest andthe uptake of fatty acid testing,”

says Mr Bartlett, “although Ibelieve the greater driver forfarmers will come through thehealth of their cows.”■ Dairy day at the British CattleConference is 25 January 2012. Seewww.cattlebreeders.org.uk fordetails.

**DF Jan p16 17 Fats 5/1/12 15:00 Page 2


BREEDING

The Award Winning.......

P R O D U C T S

Fully galvanised Yard Scraper from 6ft. A-frame and 3 point linkage standard on all models.

Designed to work in Grasslands, Cereal beds and Turf conditions. The Spring Tine Harrow can be used for tearing out old thatched grass, aerating soil & encouraging new growth, breaking slurry crust, spreading manure and leveling mole hills. It can also be used as a weeder in many cereal beds.

Garnett Farms Engineering Ltd., Tel: +44 (0)1565 722922Fax: +44 (0)1565 723303 [email protected] web: www.ag-products.co.uk

“New PU1011 blades excellent giving clean scrape, far superior to rubber blades leaving yards far cleaner and with no evidence of ware after three months of constant use.”D & G EdwardsBrinsea Green Farm, Bristol

The A G Dispenser has been designed to bed cubicles with sawdust, shavings, chopped straw, paper pulp, gypsum, sand and lime. Users report up to 40% saving on materials. 160 cubicles bedded in eight minutes. Seven models available from walk behind to tractor / loadall mounted.

Where

EXCELLENCEmatters

Are genomic evaluations reliaWith the first genomic evaluations in the pipeline, will traditional progeny testing become an expensive thing ofthe past? Genus ABS’ Stephanie Whittaker urges farmers to continue to pay particular attention to reliabilitywhen choosing dairy sires.

Reliability is the measurewhich gives farmersconfidence that the siresthey choose will deliverthe anticipated improve-

ment in the traits they want. “But in the quest for increased

genetic progress, farmers may betempted to choose bulls that lookpromising but which initially havea low reliability, and this is ahigher risk strategy,” warns GenusABS’ Stephanie Whittaker.

“The whole objective of bullproofs is to help identify thosesires that will convey improve-ments in the desired traits andwhile PTAs (Predicted TransmittingAbilities) are an indicator of thebull’s merit, just how good anindicator they are depends on thedata used to calculate them,” sheexplains.

Ms Whittaker says that the first

genetic indices for a bull arebased on pedigree informationbut over time actual productioninformation is added, usuallythrough a full progeny testingscheme. As more extensive andmore reliable data is added, theaccuracy increases and the greaterthe likelihood the anticipatedimprovements will be seen.

The amount and quality ofdata affects how accurate theprediction will be, and thisaccuracy is presented as thereliability. Progeny testing hasbeen the tried and testedapproach for many years, butduring 2012 the first UK-basedgenomic evaluations will beavailable providing a new guide,and one which is being heraldedas a major step forward.

“A genomic evaluation is nota 'proof' because there are noDaughter of the much used Shottle who has a reliability of 99%.

**DF Jan p18 19 Reliability 5/1/12 15:02 Page 1

BREEDING


iable enough yet to bank on?actual daughters evaluated to 'prove' that thebreeding values are consistent. While genomicsare an improvement on an evaluation basedsolely on parent information, and aresomething we are using when selecting possiblesires for progeny testing, the reliability issignificantly below that of progeny testing.

“What you are ideally looking for is a highreliability and a widespread proof where thebull’s data include results from a large numberof daughters spread over a large number ofherds. This means management influences havebeen minimised and the bull has the greatestchance of success,” she says.

“A sire progeny tested in, for instance, theGenus Cornerstone Breeding Programme with afirst crop of daughters will typically havearound 100 daughters in 60 herds and areliability of well over 80%. A genomicevaluation will have a reliability of 56-65%which is equivalent to 10 to 11 daughterswithin a sire’s proof.” (See Table 1).

More data Ms Whittaker explains all proofs andevaluations change as more information,particularly daughter data, is added. In generalthe higher the reliability the less a bull’s proofor evaluation will change. Table 2 shows theextent of change in a bull’s proof depending onthe reliability.

“If we look at milk yield for example we seean initial proof for a young sire with a reliabilityof around 30% could move by +/- 590kg asmore data is added, which is a huge variance. Agenomic sire could move by +/- 366kg whichmeans a sire who looks good initially may failto deliver as more data is added. Conversely, aproof for a sire with second crop daughters isvery stable and the expected change in hisproof is +/- 73kg, which is negligible.

“The same picture is seen with key typetraits. The difference in movement between agenomically evaluated sire and a sire withsecond crop daughters is +/- 1.2 on legs andfeet and +/-1.1 on udder traits. What this meansis the daughters of genomically evaluatedyoung sires could end up with very differenttype than was expected.

“If a farmer elects to use a low reliability sire,there is a greater risk that the bull’s proof willchange significantly by the time his second cropdaughters are added. In other words you couldactually be using a very different animal to theone you selected on the initial proof. It may notproduce the expected extra milk or may fail tocorrect the type trait he was chosen for. This willreduce the rate of genetic progress and may leadto higher culling rates and replacement costs.

“Selecting bulls with high reliability is thebest way to ensure you get the geneticimprovements you expect. It only takes a fewseconds to inseminate a cow but many years tobreed out the consequences of a poor decisionbased on low reliability,” she says.

Table 1: Typical reliability of different evaluation methodsReliability Comment Information10-55% Very low Mainly pedigree index56-65% Low to moderate Very early proofs / genomics66-74% Moderate Early proofs with some information on progeny and typically foreign bulls75-90% Moderate to high Bulls with an initial progeny test through AI91-98% High Proven bulls with a large number of daughters from a wide cross section

of herds99% Very high Widely proven and used AI bulls.

Table 2: Effect of reliability on movement in bull proofsSire type Reliability (%) Milk (kg) Legs and feet UdderYoung sire 30 +/- 590 +/- 1.9 +/- 1.7Genomic sire 50-60 +/- 366 +/- 1.4 +/- 1.3First crop sire 75-90 +/- 164 +/- 0.9 +/- 0.8Second crop sire 90+ +/- 73 +/- 0.2 +/- 0.2

**DF Jan p18 19 Reliability 5/1/12 15:02 Page 2


BREEDING

Top Jerseys showwhat can be donePedigree Jerseys are paying their way for a north-east family withyields from forage running at 45 per cent and high fertility levelsallowing sales of surplus heifers. Jennifer MacKenzie reports.

Brothers Hugh and TomRichardson’s 112-strongWheelbirks Jersey herd basednear Stocksfield, Northumber-land, won the RABDF Lilly Hill

Trophy for the breed this year. By paying attention to detail, the

Richardsons, their herd manager ChrisShipley, Carrs Billington nutritionist JulieSargent and vet Iain Carrington, of IntakeVets, Hexham, have, year-on-year,increased the number of calvings andimproved fertility, lifted yields whileincreasing milk from forage and marginsover purchased feed.

Hugh and Tom took over from theirfather Michael as the fifth generation ofthe family at Wheelbirks where the Jerseyherd was established in 1925. In total theyfarm 495 acres, with 40 acres permanentpasture and 150 acres of barley whichprovides straw and grain, and 20 acres ofoilseed rape.

The brothers took the opportunity tosell their 170-ewe Mule flock after the2001 foot-and-mouth epidemic andinvested in ice cream-making equipmentto add value and sell direct to the public –and this enterprise now makes aroundhalf the business’s income.

Average yield per cow has increased by23 per cent since last October, running at5908 litres a cow. Yield from all forage percow has risen by 62 per cent to 2681 litres– equivalent to 45 per cent of the totalyield from forage.

On an annual basis, the litres retainedon farm for ice cream production is nowaround 7400 litres, and milk sold off thefarm going to specialist Jersey dairy J andE Dickinson at Longley Farm, Holmfirth,has risen by 21 per cent to 655,753 litres.

The milk price has increased from33.01p over the year to 34.85p, while themargin over purchased feed per litre hasincreased from 24.73p to 27.72p.

In winter cattle are housed with themilk cows in cubicles, and since troughspace is restricted, they are fed threetimes a day with a TMR to M+15 litres andtopped up in the parlour.

The 14x14 Westfalia herringboneparlour was installed four years ago andaids management with computerised auto

identification and heat detection.Calves are fed their mother’s milk for

the first couple of days and then rearedon an automatic machine which weansthem by two months old. The systemensures the heifers are mature enough tobe bulled at 15 months old.

Bull calves are reared alongside theheifers and Jersey beef is sold through therestaurant. Sexed semen and British Blueand Aberdeen Angus bulls are also likelyto be used in the future to prevent asurplus of pure Jersey bulls.

The cattle are vaccinated for BVD inJanuary and as a producer retailer, theherd is subject to an annual TB test. Thecattle are also monitored for Johne’sthrough the SAC scheme.

The vet makes routine visits to the herdevery two to three weeks. Any cows notseen bulling by 42 days are treated with aPRID and are seen by the vet. The currentconception rate is 1.9 services with theherd having a calving index of 361 days.

The calving interval has been droppingdue to good record keeping, improvedobservations and early inseminations.

The culling rate is 15 per cent, withsurplus stock sold privately or at pedigreesales. The preferred option is to sell pointof calving heifers, but last year a numberof second and third calvers were sold as abatch. This year excess heifers will be forsale in-calf or newly calved.

Three ET calves are expected next yearand they will form the foundation of anelite herd of 10 to 15 cows at Wheelbirks.

Julie Sargent says the aim is to maximisedietary performance using the farm’s ownresources.

Left to right: Hugh Richardson, ChrisShipley and Tom Richardson.

**DF Jan p20 22 Wheelbirks 5/1/12 15:03 Page 1


OUTSTANDING QUALITY FEEDSOUTSTANDING QUALITY FEEDS

FOR 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]

PRICES FROM £199 PER TONNEWe will never be beaten on quality and price.

SUPREME 22TYPICAL FORMULA

Rape, Wheat, Dist Grains,Palm Kernel, Sunflower,Molasses, Hipro Soya,

Vegetable Fat,Minerals & Vitamins

Oil 4.8% Protein 22% Fibre 10% Ash 8.7%

EWE 18 NUTTYPICAL FORMULA

Wheatfeed, Palm Kernel,Rape, Soya Hulls, Molasses,

Biscuit, Dist Grains,Wheat, Vegetable Fat,Minerals & Vitamins

Oil 5.7% Protein 18% Fibre 11.7% Ash 8.25%

HIGH SUGAR 18TYPICAL FORMULA

Sugar Beet, Rape, Palm Kernel,Wheatfeed, Soya Hulls,Dist Grains, Molasses,

Wheat, Hipro Soya,Vegetable Fat, Minerals & Vitamins

Oil 5.2% Protein 18% Fibre 13.5% Ash 7.5%

BEEF FINISHER NUTTYPICAL FORMULAWheat, Barley, Rape,

Palm Kernel, Wheatfeed,Molasses, Sunflower,

Cereal, VegetableFat, Vitamins & MineralsOil 4.5% Protein 15%Fibre 8.3% Ash 8.5%

RE BUILDINGS

Bespoke steel framed livestock buildings, fully erected or supplied in kit-form.In-house design service. Light ridge and curtain specialists.

Leading the market in buildings & equipment

Bobman & SL

An efficient one pass cleaner and spreader system improving the lying area and milk quality. Customised for all systems

Mimics natural soil, claw friendly! Allows fear free and confident behaviour.

KURA WALKING AREA

RUBBERMATTING

5

ww

w.r

ebuildin

gs.c

o.u

k

21

DF_01_P21 6/1/12 10:03 Page 21

Milking cow diets Wheelbirks FarmDiet name November 2011 June 2011ANIMAL DETAILSMilk yield (kg) 26.0 26.0Milk fat (g/100g) 5.8 5.8Milk protein (g/100g) 4.0 4.0Days calved 50 50FEEDING PLAN (kg as fed/head/d)Grass silage 1st 13.0 -Grass silage 2nd 8.0 -Grass silage – big bale - 3.0Whole crop barley 12.0 -Grazing - 62.0Barley rolled 1.5 -QLF TMR 40 liquid feed 1.5 -Buttergold 18 compound - 6.5Dynamic Plus 18 compound 6.5 -Mineral dairy 0.1 0.1Blend 1.5 -

Both diets are M+15 from the base then compound fed above this in the parlour.


BREEDING

GRASSLANDSUBSOILER

With spiraling input costs it makes financial sense to optimise theyield and quality of grassland productionthrough better soil management.

The Sumo Grassland Subsoiler (GLS) has been designed to our usual very high standard with features that givefarmers the opportunity to do just that.

In one pass it will alleviate structuralcompaction in the rooting zone, aerate the surface, remove and scatterany surface debris - leaving a soil environment conducive to maximumgrass growth, leading to more vigorouscrops better suited to withstand periodsof prolonged rainfall or drought.

Also, fitting a seeder on the GLS gives the opportunity to either rejuvenate or re-seed poorer growing areas.

Farmers have been particularly impressed with the 'billiard table finish'that the GLS leaves, enabling livestock to be turned back out onto the fieldimmediately afterwards.

“

“

Richard HalesGrassland Specialist

Redgates, Melbourne, York, YO42 4RG Tel: 01759 319900 Email: [email protected] www.sumo1.com

Sumo UK Ltd reserve the right to make any alterations without prior notice. All specifications are to be used as guides only.Prices shown are correct at time of printing. A full version of Sumo Uk Ltd Terms & Conditions of Business is available on request

A leading row of straight, serrated discs cut through the turf on individually suspended arms. The discs have adjustable depth positions, easily altered via a one-boltsystem, allowing the Subsoiler legs easyentry into the pre-cut soil.The legs with a pin adjustable depth of4”-14” deep and cut from 15mm Hardox500, lift and fracture the earth. They arefollowed by a 508mm diameter packer.The shark fin design ensures importantsurface aeration across the full workingwidth of the machine.A ring of packer teeth run directly behindeach leg, closing up and firming theopening the leg has made and acting as a continuous grip to ensure the packerturns and drives in any conditions.The scarifying harrow disturbs andremoves any dead vegetation - and isadjustable so can be moved out ofposition when not required.

FORMAKIN MONTBELIARDE NEW SIRE AVAILABLE

VALFIN One of the top index sires, Strong Bodies, Exceptional Udders,

The sire that ticks all the boxesQuality Imported Heifers available

For more information visitformakin-montbeliarde.com

or call Robin McMurrich on01786 812175 or 07971 973155

Dry cow diets at Wheelbirks FarmDiet name Summer 2011 November 2011ANIMAL DETAILSMilk yield (kg) 0.0 0.0Milk fat (g/100g) 0.0 0.0Milk protein (g/100g) 0.0 0.0Days calved 340 340FEEDING PLAN (kg as fed/head/d)Grass silage – big bale - 18.0Grazing 32.0 -Straw 2.0 2.0Transform Dry Cow 2.0 2.0

Milk from for-age and marginover purchasedfeed have bothincreased forthe Jersey herdat Wheelbirks,Stocksfield.

To maintain milk yields andquality, extra concentrate is fed inthe parlour from April to Junewhen the cows are turned out. Asgrass quality deteriorates in Julysome barley is introduced to theration.

“We want to keep butterfatlevels above 6 per cent but wealso want to maintain milk yields.We find milk yields drop if wedon’t introduce buffer feedingearly enough,” she said.

“The cows don’t peak particul-arly high because there is such agood calving index, but yield ismaintained and the current dailyaverage is just short of 20 litreswhich we try to maintain. As theaverage yield for the herd hascontinued to increase, the calvingindex has come down,” she added.

Wholecrop wheat was ensiled in

a ‘sandwich’ between the first andsecond cut silages to allow accessto all three crops. A switch towholecrop barley has allowed abetter quality second cut to betaken in July instead of August.The wholecrop balances the betterquality silage and helps maintainbutterfat and protein.

The cattle have been grazed ona rotational, set-stocking systemwith fields divided into threepaddocks. But to make moreeffective use of the grazing, Hughhas created five paddocks with anelectric fence front and back, eachproviding two to three days ofgrazing.

Next season a plate meter willbe used to measure available grassand the aim is to provide freshgrazing after every milking withan electric ring fence.

**DF Jan p20 22 Wheelbirks 6/1/12 11:03 Page 2

Visit farmersguardian.comfor news, views and much, much more

Breaking news – keep up-to-date with the latest news, or sign up to our weekly newsletter to find out what’s happening in the industry

Videos – from tractor tests to interviews with leading political and industry figures

Comment – share your opinions and take part in our online debates

Pictures – display your pictures in our reader gallery and find out what’s happening on farms around the country

Online events – from our popular Farming Prospects series to our conferences streamed live to your computer

Classifieds online –More than 156,000 people visited www.farmersguardian.com last month. Make sure your ad gets noticed

Visit now for in-depth and exclusive stories

Farmersguardian.com

FG226

FG House com WP DF 6/1/12 11:56 Page 1


NEW PRODUCTS

New products are now featured in each issue ofDairy Farmer. Please sendinformation and photographsto Jennifer MacKenzie [email protected] call 01768 896 150.

New products

Wormer pour on■ Wormer Zermex 0.5% Pour-On for Cattle has beenauthorised for use in adultdairy cows and is recom-mended for use in themanagement of pre-calvingcows. For example if used inthe close-to-calving ortransition cow group, a fewweeks pre-calving, there willbe no loss of milk from thesix-day withdrawal time andthe response to treatment ismaximised. Dosage is 1ml per10kg bodyweight.

The wormer is availablefrom Downland franchisees,operating throughout the UK.■ Details at www.downland.co.uk or call 0870 9101 112.

NEWS IN BRIEF

AgriArgo has expandedits McCormick T-Maxtractor range to fivefour-cylinder modelsfrom 74hp to 110hp.

The extra versions have poweroutputs from the familiar Perkins1104D-44 engine of 74hp, 83hp,93hp, 102hp and 110hp.

There is a new trans axle witha choice of synchro or powershuttle transmissions – SynchroShuttle models come with theSpeed Four Overdrivetransmission, giving 24 speedsforward and 12 in reverse, usinga mechanical high-low splitter.

The Power Shuttle trans-mission has a novel clutchsensitivity adjustment featurethat alters the ‘bite’ character-istics of the main drive clutchand power shuttle clutch.

It also provides greater three-point linkage lift capacity – 4350kgversus 3700kg on the C-Max. Also,the tractors can be fitted with an1800kg front linkage, with orwithout power take-off.

Inside the four-post cab withroof window, air conditioning isfitted as standard.■ Details on 01302 757 566 orwww.agriargouk.com

New modelsadd to range

SEMEN from Regancrest S BraxtonEX94, the US number one typebull in breed, is now availablefrom World Wide Sires UK.

The new graduate, alsoavailable sexed, is from apedigree with type andproduction on both sides. He isby Picston Shottle out of theglobal phenomenon and formernumber one type cow,Regancrest PR Barbie EX92.

His US type figures stand at amassive +3.98, with breed leadingfeet and legs (+2.46). Fit for theshowring, his daughters offer anunbeatable combination ofstature, dairy strength and power.

Transmitting exceptionalchest width, body depth, rumpwidth and udder support, he is saidto be a great cross on Goldwynpedigrees to produce world-classconformation.

Luck-E Braxton Pacific VG88.

Bruisers from Kelvin Cave.

US number one type bull now available

Merlin milking system gets overhaul

■ Details on www.worldwidesiresuk.com or 0800 161 3371.

KELVIN Cave’s new heavy dutyroller mills help boost output oftraditional flat-rolled flaked grain.

Available in two sizes providingan output of 20-40 tonnes perhour, these British designed andbuilt machines can process allcereal grains and pulses with upto 25% moisture content.

The Bruiser 1000 can process20-30 tonnes per hour, while thelarger Bruiser 1250 can process upto 40 tonnes per hour. Bothmachines can be equipped withgrain preservative applicators andan on-board digital weighingsystem.

To achieve its high output theBruiser 1250 incorporates two600mm diameter 858kg rollersrequiring a minimum 120hp tooperate. Each model is mountedon a robust trailer chassis andboth models feature magneticprotection to remove ferrousdebris. Prices start from £20,000.■ Details on 01458 252 281.

Heavy dutyroller mills

FULLWOOD’S fourth version of itsMerlin automated milking systemclaims faster teat cup attachmentand removal as well as improvedcow comfort during the milkingprocess.

The new design also extends theservice interval, as well as makingthe machine easier and cheaper tomaintain and keep clean.

The completely redesigned teatcup attachment arm has been

made lighter to create less wearon the main pivot points. It alsofeatures improved take-offcylinders and new vacuum shut-offvalves for faster teat cupattachment and removal.

The new arm features improvedergonomics, giving a greater rangefor improved teat cup alignment.The new design also providesbetter protection to the robot’sinternal components for greater

reliability and longevity.To celebrate the new model,

prices remain unchanged for 2012,and Fullwood is also offering asignificant discount on all systemsordered up to February 29, 2012.■ Details on 01691 627 391.

PROVIMILK is a new range of fivemilk replacers from Provimi whichhave been shown to contribute tobetter calf performance in dairyand beef systems.

Three ProviMilk products,Fastgro, Daisy and Elevator, arewhey-based milks with high levelsof dairy protein. Elevator is thetop performing product designedfor accelerated replacement heiferrearing. Fastgro is suited to earlyweaning systems, while Daisygives strong performance in bothdairy and beef calves.

Based on skim milk, ProviMilkPrestige contains all dairy proteinand has been shown to boostearly growth rates. ProviMilkProfessional uses a mix of dairyprotein and non-milk proteins andoffers high performance and cost-effectiveness.■ Details www.provimi.com

Milk replacers

**DF Jan p24 New Prods 5/1/12 15:07 Page 1


NOW in Farmers GuardianNew store and breeding stock comparison tables

More commercial sales coverage

New, improved graphs and information

The ONLY place for nationwide store and breeding stock averages

25

DF_01_P25 6/1/12 15:23 Page 21


MILK PRICES

The Labour Saver

Completely eliminates the back-achingtasks of forking ‘nosed out’ Silage

back to the feed barrier.Front or rear mounted models available

Rear model is used in reverse to clear the way for the tractor wheels.

HARELAND ENGINEERINGTelephone/Fax: (01323) 841227www.harelandengineering.co.uk

In just 30 seconds the nosed-out silagealong 200 feet of feed barrier is back

within easy reach of the feeding stock.

Phone Neil or Richard NOW on Tel (016973) 32585Email: [email protected] or Fax (016973) 32546

PRE - STRESSED CONCRETE SPECIALISTS DESIGNED TO BRITISH STANDARDS

Manufacturers of all types of pre-stressed panels for agricultural and

industrial use. Top Quality at competitive prices.

Supply and delivery or collection ex works.

Standard lengths in stock, specials made to measure.

� portable cubicles � cattle slats � weeping wall panels

� slurry stores � silage pits

Brochures on request

WE ARE ONLY A PHONE CALL AWAY

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

United auction■ United’s last milk auction for2011 saw the average dipbelow 29ppl for the first timesince Jul’11. With 46mltrs soldfor delivery this month, theprice was weaker by 0.51ppl(-1.73%) on last month.

However, the price was still1.53ppl (5.67%) above theaverage the previous year. Thecompany has confirmed it hasheld its producer base milkprice at 28.5ppl for Nov’11,making our standard litre forNI Co-op producers 28.81ppl.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Meadow Foods offers timely price increase

In an extremely positive andtimely move in trying tostabilise milk prices in early2012, Meadow Foodsannounced last month it was

increasing its producer milk priceby 0.5ppl from Jan’12.

This is not the first time theChester-based company has takenthe lead in spurring GB farmgatemilk prices, and while Milk Linkcan stake a fair claim to be adriving force behind the recentprice increases, MP.com recalls in2007 and 2010 as commodityprices rose, Meadow was one ofthe first to make the early push.

Despite cooling commodityprices, the company has added0.5ppl to the existing 18.7ppl flatrate element of the company’suncomplicated price schedule sothe full increase goes to allproducers.

This takes our standard litre(4%b/f & 3.3% prot, bactoscans of

30,000/ml and SCCs of 200,000/ml,1mltrs/yr on EODC) for Cheshireand the surrounding counties, andNorth and South Wales, up to28.88ppl. Our manufacturingstandard litre (4.3% b/f & 3.5%prot with the same hygiene,volume and collection) price risesto 29.36ppl.

The company’s Cumbrian milkprice is up 0.5ppl to 28.96ppl forour standard (including 12-monthrolling profile payment of 0.58ppl).Our manufacturing standard willincrease to 29.48ppl, up 1.57pplon the previous 2008 highs.

The company reported a stronglift in pre-tax profit over Christmasto £8.8m (2010: £5.5m) on sales up14.3% to £301m (2010: £263m) forthe year to Mar’11.

As well as reducing net borrow-ings to £3.4m, the company claimsto have invested £2.5m inincreasing capacity and efficienciesat its manufacturing sites.

Milk Link sets the pace SHORTLY after Meadow’sannouncement, Milk Linkmembers received confirmationtheir current milk price (lastincreased by 0.5ppl from Nov’11)would remain unchanged until atleast the end of March this year.

Citing the recent negativemarket talk on milk prices as notjustified, Milk Link reported it wason track to achieve its year endforecasts, and having reviewedongoing performance, as well as

prospects for the wider dairymarket, the Milk Link Board felt itwas possible to hold the milk pricefor the next three months.

The company said it hopedthis would provide memberswith much needed stability intothe New Year, at a time whenconsiderable financial pressurespersist for dairy farmers, not tomention increasing the pressureon any milk buyer contemplatingmilk price cuts in early 2012.

**DF Jan p26 27 Milk Prices 5/1/12 15:11 Page 1

MILK PRICES


Profit from our knowledgeSee a video of them in action visit www.opico.co.ukOPICO Ltd, Bourne, Lincs. Tel: 01778 421111. Email: [email protected]

A spring and autumn pass with the OPICO SWARD SLITTER toalleviate compaction in the topsoil caused by her 1,600 sheep hassignificantly improved the quality of grassland, says Julie Brown,flock shepherd at Thornborough Farm.Aerating the soil has improved nutrient uptake and prevented waterlogging. Digging a soil profile has revealed a better soil structure withbetter grass root growth and a vast reduction of soil mottling. Theflock is also benefiting from better quality pastures which helpsmaintain our stocking rate and supports outdoor lambing.

Two ways to better Grassland next Spring

OPICO SWARD SLITTER

OPICO SWARD LIFTERRemoving the compaction and improving the soil structure of claysoils in autumn has helped enhance grass root development andwater drainage. Our cows now benefit from an earlier turnout whichin turn helps lower my feed costs.Comparing fields that had not been sward lifted with those thathad, quickly convinced me that sward lifting should become aroutine operation. The difference is remarkable.

NEW“Our pastures are providingfar more forage.”ME Bell, Thornborough Farm, Corbridge,Northumberland

“Swards look greener and healthierafter sward lifting.”

Derek Garrett, Park Mill Farms, Thornbury, Bristol

Sept’11 Oct’11 Oct’11 12mth

4.0/3.3 4.0/3.3 4.0/3.3 Ave

Before Before 1mltr Nov’10

Seas’lty Seas’lty SAPP Oct’11

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

D.C – M&S ∞ 31.76 32.10 33.37 29.49

RWD – Tesco Scotland 29.78 30.21 32.21 29.23

RWD – Tesco England 29.78 30.21 32.21 29.23

Arla Foods – Tesco •• 29.53 29.96 29.96 29.03

D.C – Waitrose ∞^ 29.29 31.09 32.41 28.66

D.C – Sainsbury’s 28.94 30.79 32.58 28.45

RWD – Sainsbury’s Central Scotland 28.82 30.53 32.53 28.39

RWD – Sainsbury’s England 28.82 30.53 32.53 28.39

Arla Foods – AFMP Sainsbury’s •• 28.48 30.33 30.32 28.11

Cadbury – Selkley Vale Milk 28.42 28.56 28.56 27.51

United Dairy Farmers ≠ 28.81 28.81 28.80 27.46

Arla Foods – Asda•• 27.63 29.23 29.22 27.26

D.C – Davidstow ∞ 28.29 28.29 30.08 27.17

Caledonian Cheese Co – Profile ‡ 28.33 28.33 28.20 26.96

Barber A.J & R.G 27.62 28.61 28.61 26.83

Wyke Farms 27.65 29.00 29.00 26.80

Wensleydale Dairy Products 27.23 28.23 28.24 26.60

Blackmore Vale Farm Cream 27.55 28.65 28.65 26.56

Milk Link Rodda’s ¢• 28.40 28.40 27.89 26.49

Robert Wiseman – The Co-op Dairy Group 28.07 29.78 31.78 26.47

Milk Link – London Liquid 28.00 28.00 27.49 26.46

Milk Link – West Country Liquid 28.00 28.00 27.49 26.46

Caledonian Cheese Co 27.70 27.70 27.70 26.34

Grahams Dairies 27.30 28.60 28.60 26.33

Parkham Farms 27.82 27.82 29.81 26.23

Arla Foods – AFMP (Non-Aligned) •• 26.88 28.73 28.72 26.20

Robert Wiseman – Aberdeen 26.72 28.43 30.43 26.14

Robert Wiseman – Central Scotland 26.72 28.43 30.43 26.14

Robert Wiseman – England 26.72 28.43 30.43 26.14

Milk Link – Manufacturing ¢• 28.00 28.00 27.49 26.10

Saputo UK – Level supply # 27.21 28.21 28.21 26.10

D.C – Liquid Regional Premium ∞ ¶ 26.76 28.61 30.40 26.06

Paynes Farms Dairies 26.60 28.45 28.45 26.00

Arla Foods – AFMP Standard •• 26.63 28.48 28.47 25.94

Belton Cheese 26.80 27.80 27.80 25.91

Meadow Foods – Seasonal 26.71 28.38 29.38 25.86

Meadow Foods Lakes ± 26.78 28.46 28.38 25.81

Saputo UK – seasonal # 26.91 27.91 29.41 25.80

Glanbia – Llangefni (flat) 26.85 27.85 28.08 25.80

Glanbia – Llangefni (Constituent) 26.78 27.78 28.01 25.71

Meadow Foods – Level 26.71 28.38 28.38 25.69

Joseph Heler 26.99 27.49 27.49 25.65

First Milk – Highlands & Islands § 26.97 27.97 29.12 25.59

D.C—Liquid Milk & More ∞ ¶ 25.95 27.80 29.59 25.50

South Caernarfon 27.00 28.02 28.01 25.46

First Milk – Liquid § 26.40 27.90 29.06 25.19

First Milk – Cheese § 26.50 27.50 28.63 25.03

First Milk Balancing § 26.50 27.50 28.63 25.01

Average Price 27.67 28.71 29.40 26.66

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) Sept’11 prices before seasonality. (ii) Oct’11 prices before seasonality.(iii) Seasonally adjusted profile price for Oct’11 taking into account monthly seasonality payments and profilesof supply. ** Seasonal adjusted profile supply for 1mltr supplier (using monthly RPA figures) for Oct’11=2672ltrs/day, flat supply=2740ltrs/day. (iv) Table ranked on the seasonally adjusted price for the 12mths toOct’11. § SAPP reflects 80% of producer’s previous year’s daily average volume (2,269ltrs/day) paid as a coreprice with the remaining marginal volume (403ltrs/day for Oct’11) priced at 140% of the core price for Oct’11.¢ SAPP reflects 2726ltrs (Aug to Dec’10 daily average) paid as ‘A’ ltrs with the remaining ‘B’ ltrs paid at 130%of the ‘A’ price (ie constituents plus Market Related Adjustment) for Oct’11. • No ‘B’ litres/day applicable forOct’11 with daily volume of 2672ltrs/day being below the ‘A’ volume of 2726ltrs. 0.5ppl production bonus forMilk Link & First Milk not applicable in the seasonal price due to Oct’11 daily production below that of Oct’10based on RPA monthly figures. •• No balancing charge for Oct’11.∞ Price before seasonality includes 12mthrolling profile payment of 1.21ppl to Oct’11 (n/c from the previous month). Milk & More 12mth rolling profilepayment also 1.21ppl.∞^ Price before seasonality includes 12mth rolling profile payment of 0.57ppl to Oct’11(n/c on previous month). # Constituent payments priced by volume. ≠ Seasonality built into monthly base price.Arla Foods – AFMP Standard reflects price before the addition of 0.25ppl Non-Aligned Farm Premium. ¶ Priceincludes 0.4ppl Regional Premium. ‡ Non-seasonal price includes 12mth average rolling profile 0.63ppl toOct’11 (unchanged on previous month). Tesco milk prices include the 0.5ppl bonus for co-operation with Promarcostings. Milkprices.com cannot take any responsibility for losses arising. Copyright: Milkprices.com

**DF Jan p26 27 Milk Prices 5/1/12 15:12 Page 2


WORKSHOP TIPS

Some of the weekly jobs like cutting firewood tend to get left until the log pileis depleted. Mike Donovan gives us a simple idea to make the job quicker.

MikeDonovanMike is a respected machin-ery columnist who gives ususeful tips on building ormodifying our own farmequipment. Sign up for hisfree newsletter atwww.farmideas.co.uk

Cutting frame means logs ready in no time

The busy dairy farmernever has the time tosit down and list hisjobs in order ofpriority. In fact, he

never gets time to sit down, andwhen he does he falls asleep.

Priorities never seem tochange and usually start withthe cows, then the youngstock,followed by machinery, any staffor helpers, and after these theperson who looks after thehouse.

A farmer’s wife was describingher life on radio, and she told theworld things improved when shecame to terms with the fact herplace in the household peckingorder was after the cows,machinery and dogs, but beforethe poultry and garden.

Despite equal rights and femin-ism, the order of priority seems tohave changed little and choresconcerned with the householdlanguish down on the list and getdone when they can be fitted inor when the demand reaches an

With this simple holding frame the timber can be cut in just a few min-utes and makes a potentially dangerous job safer.

The upright goal posts need welding securely to the angle iron base.

irresistible crescendo. Sourcing good heavy timber

which needs a log splitter and18in chain bar is the job whichneeds planning and is betterdone in the summer when theland is dry. Using lighterbranches is the kind of jobwhich can be done on more of a

last minute schedule – which iswhat the job has become.

Fewer farms these days usecircular saws which demand ateam of two or more, partlybecause the manpower is notthere and partly because suchsaws are considered dangerous.

So the logging job tends to bedone for 15 minutes with a pileclose to the ground and stackedso you can never tell whetherthe blade is going to be pinchedor not.

Safer and fasterThis simple limbing frame which Isaw on an Exmoor farm makes apotentially dangerous job saferand faster. The farmer got theidea from an issue of Farm Ideas,but improved on it considerably.The original was a series of stakesdriven into the ground, and crossposts nailed in place so the framewas static and not half as long as

this steel construction. Neitherdid the original have as manysupports or the spacing whichmakes it possible to cut eachlength into logs without havingto put the saw down.

The Exmoor frame is a series ofsteel rugby posts welded to anangle iron base on the floor –notice the long bars across theends which prevents it tippingsideways. The cutting sequencedepends on the length and size oflogs, but the goal post designmeans there is no steel in the waywhen making downward cuts,and the logs drop out of the way.

The goal posts need to bewelded securely to the anglebase frame, and the joints mightbe improved by adding somesmall triangular gussets as thesideways force from the stack oflogs can be considerable.

The frame makes use of smallerbranches which means you do notneed to pick up the axe to splitthe firewood, and represents yetanother saving on time.

■ Practical Farm Ideas helps cutcosts on dairy farms. Visitwww.farmideas.co.uk or call01994 240 978.

**DF Jan p28 Workshop Tips 6/1/12 13:01 Page 1

REGISTER YOUR DETAILS TOCONTINUE RECEIVING YOURCOPY OF DAIRY FARMER

Please take a couple of minutes to visitwww.subscription.co.uk/cc/df and complete the registration form

Dairy Farmer is a leading specialist farming title, providing

in-depth, technical and management advice to service the

progressive dairy farmer.

DO NOT DELAY – REGISTER TODAY TO RECEIVETHE INDUSTRY’S NO.1 DAIRY PUBLICATION

If you are unable to access our web site, but still wish to register, then please email [email protected] with your Dairy Farmerregistration request, your name and your address. A registration card will then be posted to you.

DONOTLETTHISBEYOURLAST ISSUE!

FG House Reg WP DF 6/1/12 11:58 Page 1


LIVESTOCK SERVICES

LIVESTOCK SERVICES

CONTACT DETAILS: TEL/FAX: 01460 221408WEBSITE: jcmshackles.co.uk E-MAIL: [email protected]

STANDARD SHACKLES £30 PER SET, ALL OTHER SIZES £31 PER SET. + P&PDISCOUNTS ON 5 OR MORE SETS

JCM SHACKLESNeed shackles?

Fed up they are too small, fall aparteasily or do not last?

Why not give ours a try? Available in small, standard, large,

and made to measure sizes.With M12D-Shackles & 7mm chain; both larger

and stronger than our main competitors.

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

EQUIPMENT & ACCESSORIES

DAIRY FARMER CLASSIFIED

��

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

.��#��/�� 0 1�� #�222 ��

�� 3��.4��

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

BACKING GATESCost effective solutions for cow flow electric or manual, kitted or fitted.

Tel 01279 465624 Fax 01279 654491Mobile 07770 573878 or 07879 246891Email [email protected]

DF_01_P30 6/1/12 12:19 Page 22


BUILDING MATERIALS

��

��

�� !��"��#��"��

��

$�� "��%��"��"��

��#��

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

SCOTTBOWENMobile foot

trimming services.Telephone -

0742 851 746 (T)

FARM RECRUITMENTHerd managers, milkers

and stockmen.If you require dairy staff -

or seek milking work...AUSSIE, KIWI, BRITISH AND

SOME EAST EUROPEAN

www.4XtraHands.comThe simple easy answer...

Tel. 01284 747292

CONCRETE PANELSCONCRETE PANELSTEL: 0845 222 0015

Fax: 0845 222 0016

• GRAIN & LIVESTOCKWALLING

• SILAGE PANELS

• RETAINING WALLS

for Aggregate, WasteStorage

• DIVISION WALLS forBulk Storage

• MADE TO MEASURESERVICE

• Temperature cured

• Interlocking & easy fit

NEW DESIGN PANELSDesigned & manufactured to British Standards

email: [email protected]: www.concretepanel.co.uk

FOR QUALITY PANELS

Craven Concrete ProductsBENTHAM 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

SAWDUST • WOODSHAVINGS • WOODFLOUR

NEW CUBICLE ANTIBACTERIAL POWDERcontains a DEFRA approved disinfectantOur dry sawdust easily spreads on the bedsfor use with mats and slats. So this winterbed your herd with a product fromEdgar F. Shepherd Tel: 01325 312154

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

Parlours designed by the Farmer for the Farmer.Replacement troughs for any palour.

Also secondhand equipment, ACRs, Vacuum Pumps, Motors, Jars,Stainless line, Claws, Pulsators, Milkmeters, Feeders, etc, etc.

Everything for the Dairy FarmerCall Vic/Tracy Brown now on Tel: 01260 226261

www.milkingequipment.com

• Dairy-Gyp cubicle bedding

• Nationwide bulk deliveries

• Cost effective

• No burns or markings

• Reduces dermatitis & mastitis

• Does not support bacterial growth

• Superior to all other bedding products

• Now available in 20kg bags

• Improves cow welfare

��

��

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

LIVESTOCK SERVICES

LIVESTOCK

PROFESSIONALSERVICES

DF_01_P31 6/1/12 12:22 Page 22

Christmas will have beenand gone when youread this, but as I pen itin December I have tosay what a very mild

November we’ve just had with theresult we now have more grassthan we’ve had for six months. Iwent on to the fields where thecows graze and there was enoughgrass there that, if the cows werestill out, it would have lasted thema month if I electric fenced it.

So I put 15 in-calf heifers on itand it will easily keep them untilafter Christmas. There’s another20 acres on our away ground andthe grass there is a foot high, butI have 30 dry cows there. I knowthey should be on a high fibre drycow diet to take them through totheir next lactation, but silagestocks are tightish and these cowsare so contented they don’t wantto move anyway.

Some of what I am about towrite is not a proper article so Iapologise in advance for that. Ithas been a feature of my life thusfar that I am always tired. Mostdairy farmers will empathise withthat. To start with I get up earlyon Saturdays and Sundays, aroundthree o’clock, and I won’t go in toall the reasons for that now, butone of them is that I won’t bebeaten.

It doesn’t seem to matter howmuch time I manage to grab inthe chair at the weekend thisleaves me tired until aboutTuesday. I try to live a normal lifeand normal for me includes goingto the pub. I’m the only dairyfarmer that gets in there and theother farmers who go are never inany rush to go home, and I won’tbe beaten by that either, so I getlate nights, and unfortunatelythese often coincide with my earlymornings. “You wouldn’t be sotired if you didn’t go to the pubso often.” That’s not me sayingthat, but no prizes for guessingwho!

And then, when I do get somesleep, there are my dreams. I havelong, bizarre dreams that oftenleave me exhausted. I oncedreamt the Conservatives hadtheir party conference in the shedon our yard and I gotquite friendly withthat Norman Tebbit.So I often wake up,still tired, recollect thedetail of a dream I’djust had, and wonderto myself, whateverdrove that?

Last night I dreamtwe had of all thingsfoot-and-mouth. The detail andhow the sequence of eventsdeveloped was quite extra-ordinary. It started with an offcolour cow I went back out tohave a look at. It was so muchworse that I phoned the vet andeven at that point I thought itcan’t be, but it was. After that thedetail unfolded – the confirm-ation, the choice of auctioneer todo the valuation (I chose that bigauctioneer from Beeston), and myconcern that if this was to be along outbreak would cattle valuesrocket and mine be off the pace.

I’d got cattle at three locationsand we had to have three fires.

There was only one bunch ofheifers belonging to a neighbourthat had to go and he hasn’tspoken to me since. The bankmanager questioned the need forme to go back in to milk after it

all died down,which is bankmanager speakfor “I’ve gotmost of youroverdraft backand I think I’llhang on to it”. Ihelped with theclear-upoperation and

spent a lot of time wonderingabout with an empty knapsacksprayer on my back and getting£15 an hour for it. There were nofurther outbreaks but I stayedhome for two months, caught upon my sleep and watched all theends of those films I’d viewedover the years but had never seenthe endings because it was eithertime to go out to milk or go tobed. After two months I wenteagerly to the pub, but the otherfarmers got their heads togetherand asked the landlord to ask meto leave. The source of theoutbreak was a mystery but putdown to starlings. So once again I

wake up exhausted, a social leper,and once again I wonderwhatever drove that? Hope it wasjust a dream and not an omen!

My wife was writing herChristmas cards last night. Shepushed a pile towards me. “Thoseare yours to do”. They are theones that came last year, she says,that were for me. I look throughthem and they are either frompeople I know from the dairyindustry or mutual friends whohappen to have attractive wives.She did all this last year and I putthem all in the bin. I didn’t send asingle card. So if you sent me acard this year or last and didn’thave one in return, it’s becauseI’ve stopped doing cards. Instead Isend £150 to a charity whichoperates on children with cleftpalates. I hope this will enable achild somewhere to smile for therest of its life, not just atChristmas. I felt quite good aboutsending that money but it doesn’tmean I don’t like you all. BetweenChristmas and New Year I’ve gothalf the village doing a pram racefor the same cause. There’s a fairchance I won’t send any everagain but I wouldn’t send any tothose farmers who got me kickedout of the pub when I had foot-and-mouth anyway.

Well I have to say there’s givingand then there’s taking away. Inthe week I got my Single Pay-ment, and incidentally that is verygood, I put a new feed block outfor eight heifers just by the gate,in the dry, under a tree. Next dayit was gone. On Saturday I wentto Cardiff to watch the rugby andsomeone borrows my wallet frommy back pocket. There’s quite alot in it as I’ve supplied tickets tosome friends and they paid incash. Of course I could havemislaid it but I don’t think so.

But it’s the loss of the feedblock that really annoys me. It’s allabout trust really. What next, willit be the heifers?


GOOD EVANS

This month Roger Evans has not only had someone take his heifer feed blocks from the field but to top it all hiswallet has gone missing, and he is left wondering just who you can trust.

Please keep your handsoff my heifer feed blocks

So once again I wake up exhausted, a socialleper, and once again Iwonder whatever drove that?

**DF Jan p32 Evans 5/1/12 15:40 Page 1

Your solution – every day

Cow traffic

FeedingHerd Navigator™

Cow comfort

OCC online cell counterMilk cooling

Some say that this is the

ultimate milking machine.

We don’t agree, we just think it’s the best yet.

VMS™ has always been designed as a system that evolves over time to provide faster more efficient milking.

The new VMS brings together the latest technology in cow traffic, feeding and herd management to provide you with the highest possible capacity. And, with a VMS milking station at the heart of your system, you can be sure to harness the full potential of your herd, thus maximising profitability.

To find out how VMS can make your business more profitable, contact your DeLaval dealer or visit www.topmilker.com

To check out VMS simply scan this quick response code into your smart phone

Requires compatable smart phone with QR Code reader. Mobile networks and or WIFI charges apply.

Delaval WP DF 5/1/12 15:54 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 theuse of Metacam or other therapies should be sought from your veterinary surgeon. Metacam containsmeloxicam. Prescription only medicine. Further information available from Boehringer IngelheimVetmedica, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 8YS, UK. Email: [email protected] 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.

Boehringer WP DF 5/1/12 15:50 Page 1

Dairy Farmer January 2012

Documents

contentsof dairy farmer

ubm plc

dairy farmerforward

ubm information

milk pricespage

milk fat profile

liquid milk salesand

page 1contents1dairy