Will Holmes is striving to become an employer of choice From multi-site dairies to new expansion in Wales, Will Holmes is building a farming business designed to endure change and to grow through it. Danusia Osiowy reports. For Dorset farmer Will Holmes, becoming resilient is not just surviving the tough years but creating a business […]
Category Archives: Selected Articles
Steffen returned to Cwrt Malle Farm in 2023 after working for Alta Genetics One farming family have jumped from a first-generation smallholding with four cows to a multi-site business comprising 2,105ha. Olivia Cooper reflects on their progress after a presentation at the Kite / British Dairying Professional Dairy Operators’ conference. The rise and rise of […]
November milk prices falling through the floor Retail aligned liquid contracts saw mixed movements in November. Muller Co-op Dairy Group made a positive price announcement of 0.84ppl after holding steady for the last three months. Tesco announced a price cut of 0.11ppl, though there was no change in price for the previous month. M&S held […]
Tri-Cross Dairy was built eight years ago on a 32-ha greenfield site in South Dakota. British Dairying took a tour of the state-of-the-art 5,200-cow unit. Established by Californian dairymen Tom Koolhaas and his brother-in-law Wes Bylsma, Tri-Cross Dairy was born out of the challenges facing the dairy industry in California, where expansion is near-impossible. Lured […]
The Fera team collect the award for ‘Best New Product’ at UK Dairy Day Stress in animals is hugely damaging, affecting their immune system, growth and milk production. But a maternal pheromone is proven to dramatically reduce stress at any age, potentially transforming animal health and welfare. Olivia Cooper reports. We always talk about the […]
Feed & Nutrition: Maize, Forage, Grassland, Nutrition, Vitality, Selected Articles, Uncategorised
Planning for future perfect forage
The changing climate will result in more favourable conditions for growing maize across the country Weather patterns are becoming more extreme and herd genetics are changing – with both influencing grass and forage strategies. Are we reaching a tipping point, where the practices of the past become unsuitable for the future? British Dairying takes a […]
Dairy ‘fuelling performance for a new generation,’ Dairy Sector Director at AHDB Paul Flanagan tells us what makes this campaign a winning formula. AHDB exists to add value for our levy payers and we do this by undertaking activities that individual farmers cannot do themselves. One of the ways we do this is through our […]
Animal Health: Welbeing, Hygiene, Disease Prevention, Selected Articles, Uncategorised
Offspring performance hindered by heat
High temperatures around birth can negatively impact calf performance Heat stress in dry cows has been found to affect the lifetime production of their offspring. And recent studies show that this in-utero heat stress reduces growth rates and mammary development in the post-weaning phase. British Dairying reports. Warmer temperatures in the lead up to and […]
The smart bolus can send alerts about health, calving or feeding behaviour Bolus sensors deliver data straight from inside the cow to a smartphone or computer. And by combining smart tech with sharp stockmanship, one farm is boosting yields, cutting medicine use, and catching problems before they start. Danusia Osiowy reports. Farming has always been […]
Parlour Tech: Robotics, Herringbone, Rotary, Milking Equipment and Support Systems, Selected Articles, Uncategorised
Attention to detail brings robot success
Andrew was tied to milking his 500-cow herd three times a day, so felt the robots were a natural progression It can take some time to fine-tune the process of moving to robotic milking, something which one Chester dairy farmer executed with his pedigree Holstein herd since replacing his ageing rotary milking parlour. So how […]