Partner Insight: Group monitoring takes guesswork out o herd management
Monitoring the reproduction and health indexes of individual dairy cows and heifers can tell the herd manager a lot about how each animal is being managed, but monitoring animals on a group-by-group basis can unlock a wealth of additional information which can be used to improve the overall herd’s performance.
Partner Insight: What makes a good silage?
High quality silage is a high energy, palatable and digestible forage which can provide a significant proportion of the nutritional needs of a high yielding dairy cow
Dairy Matters - Phil Latham: "I see no prospect for rolling out badger vaccination across the endemic area"
So my time on Defra's Bovine TB Partnership has unexpectedly come to an end. My three-year term ended and was disappointingly, for me, not extended
Understanding Schmallenberg in the dairy herd
Dairy farmers are encouraged to understand the signs and symptoms of Schmallenburg within dairy herds amid UK outbreak
NZ vet blog: "We're going to have to go all out on the recruitment drive"
In his latest article, New Zealand vet Rory Dean, discusses how his client's herds are performing in terms of fertility, looks at some of the disease risks he is faced with, and also discusses his practices current recruitment drive
World dairying: 12,000-cow dairy farm in Mexico grapples with challenge of cheap food imports
The issue of cheap food imports is one of the major issues facing a large dairy farming business in Mexico
Dairy Talk - Gemma Smale-Rowland: "The winter routine is dragging now"
Let's start with the record-breaking news, although I'm not sure that knowing that February had the highest rainfall in 250 years is the sort of record we want to be hearing about
Managing business change in dairy farming
A turbulent milk market against the backdrop of an ever-changing regulatory landscape has brought managing change into sharp focus for dairy producers
Foliar fertiliser helps cut nitrogen usage in half
With rising fertiliser costs looking set to remain, a dairy farmer from West Wales has successfully halved his nitrogen use
Good Evans: "It's not that I'm anti-tree, but I would just pick and choose where they went"
This month, Roger Evans discusses the situation in rural communities, delves into the world of politics and recounts a tale about rats and chainsaws
How to control the bTB risk factors
Bovine TB continues to affect herds across the country, and with turnout approaching, we look at ways farmers can manage the risk
How to manage lameness during the grazing season
Managing lameness is an all-year-round task, with care needed to ensure problems do not arise when cattle are at grass
Dairy Talk - Ifan Roberts: "A wet but positive start to spring calving"
After a steady start to calving at Houghton Lodge in early February we were fully back on track by the beginning of March and had delivered over 630 calvings in four weeks equating to 59% of the expected 1,070 calvings due by the beginning of May
Market dips as flush concerns increase
With peak milk for the UK now less than two months away the awareness of the spring flush is dominating European trading sentiment
Milk prices increase heading into spring
A good number of milk buyers are increasing their milk prices as we head into spring
Efficiency over expansion approach for Gloucestershire dairy farm
A dairy business is showing that expansion does not always mean more cows and instead the focus is on driving forwards to get the most from the cows through breeding and the use of technology. Ellie Layton reports.
Usk Holstein herd achieves expansion goal
A plan to increase the milking herd size from 270 to 330 head through replacement breeding is well underway at the Morgan family's Graig Olway Farm
Dairy Talk - Becky Fenton: If you want to be sustainable, focus on farm efficiency
I start this column on a high; we have just returned from a skiing holiday in France
Roger Evans: "There were lots of hoops we had to negotiate"
Part of our exit strategy if you like, was to get planning permission on three of our conventional buildings. I would hasten to add that our exit was forced upon us
Milk prices for cheese see the action
Arla holding their milk price for February following their 3€c/kg increase for January, together with Müller deciding to leave their Müller Direct price unchanged for March, posting the fifth consecutive month of price stability, has the effect of locking in virtually all other milk buyers for liquid processing as a hold for March
Dairy-Tech - Learn to live with climate change
Dairy farmers will have to learn to live in a more challenging climate because changes are already affecting many aspects of their operations, said Hayley Campbell-Gibbons of Kite Consulting
Dairy-Tech - "We must get our story right and protect the image of dairying"
There was plenty of discussion about dairy industry hot topics, and new products and technology on show at this year's Dairy-Tech held at Stoneleigh Park
Cross-bred herd breaks the mould to win Gold Cup
The winner of the 2023 NMR RABDF Gold Cup award is Bisterne Farm in Ringwood, Hampshire. This is one of the first farms in the competition's recent history to receive the award with a cross-bred, low-input, grass-based herd
Dairy talk - Claire Eastham: "We need to build in resilience to differing weather patterns where we can"
Happy New Year to you all Although it probably seems like a distant memory I hope you all enjoyed some quality time with your families over the Christmas period
Dairy Talk - Ben Yates: "This spring will be the first year where we get to assess some of the new SFI schemes that we have entered"
I am certainly glad to see the end of the long period of wet weather we have been enduring in Somerset since October, and we are currently enjoying a crisp dry spell
Milk powder: What should be in it and why?
Knowing what ingredients should be present within a milk powder is key to assessing its quality as the quantity and origin of ingredients can impact calf performance
Benefits of early pregnancy diagnosis via blood tests
Research has looked at the potential benefits of blood testing to detect early pregnancy in dairy cows
NZ vet blog: "This can be rather embarrassing for the vet"
In his latest article, vet Rory Dean, talks about how his farmers in New Zealand are starting out on their cow technology journey, and the impact this has on his job
Cow signals allow you to objectively observe your cows
Applying Cow Signals to day-to-day farm management can prevent disease and ‘owneritis', says Owen Atkinson of Dairy Veterinary Consultancy
Large Ukrainian dairy farm battles to survive
One of Ukraine's biggest dairy farms, situated just 60km from the war front line is battling a number of daily challenges to survive