Regular analysis of grass silage will be crucial to formulating winter diets Producers wishing to make the most of forage stocks this winter will need to ensure they are planning, monitoring and paying attention to detail, as British Dairying discovers. As plans for winter feeding begin to be formulated against a backdrop of continued milk […]
Category Archives: Uncategorised
The prices have moved up the bandings compared to July, with six processors paying between 38p and 39p By Chris Walkland I really don’t understand what’s happening at the moment in Europe. On the one hand the French Government is coughing up hundreds of millions of euros in drought compensation for its farmers. Some 65% […]
The grandam of Genosource Jumpstart, the new number-one genomic bull with a PLI of £919 and 775kg of milk The August genomic Holstein proofs were pretty groundbreaking, with a new number one and four bulls scoring over £900 on the profitable lifetime index. Independent Breeding Consultant Kevin Lane considers the best bulls to suit your […]
Animal Health: Welbeing, Hygiene, Disease Prevention, Selected Articles, Uncategorised
Understanding dairy cow heat stress, one building at a time
Galebreaker’s animal welfare specialist Chloe Rodriguez with a THI sensor Following three successive heatwaves, it might be time for producers to consider future-proofing buildings and making management adjustments to mitigate heat stress. A two-year project has investigated farmer attitudes towards heat stress as well as its impacts across 23 housed dairy herds in Scotland and […]
Philip Davies offered Hannah Edwards an opportunity to take over the farm as he stepped back From gap year to herd owner: How one young farmer from Shropshire has built a business through a bespoke farming agreement. Rhian Price reports. When Hannah Edwards took a gap-year job on a Powys dairy farm before university, she […]
Animal Health: Welbeing, Hygiene, Disease Prevention, Selected Articles, Uncategorised
Insights to get ahead of pathogens
Mastitis severity is often driven by how a cow’s immune system reacts, says Dr James Breen at Nottingham Uni Most producers have had it – a sudden and unexpected case of toxic mastitis in a freshly calved cow, sometimes curable, sometimes fatal. But why are there different responses to treatment, and why do some cows […]
Parlour Tech: Robotics, Herringbone, Rotary, Milking Equipment and Support Systems, Selected Articles, Uncategorised
The road to robotic milking: Early adoption to wider industry uptake
Batch robotic milking systems are becoming attractive for larger herds Robotic milking has come a long way in the UK over the past three decades. It has moved from niche technology for early adopters to an option many dairy businesses now consider when investing in milking infrastructure. British Dairying finds out more. The UK’s robotic […]
Animal Health: Welbeing, Hygiene, Disease Prevention, Selected Articles, Uncategorised
How precision nutrition is redefining the dry period
Cows mobilise muscle around calving, which then needs to be replaced The dry period is a key phase in a cow’s life, and getting it right is critical for her future success. So how can precision nutrition help? British Dairying reports. For a long time, the dry period was seen simply as a holding period […]
Net zero: Sustainability, Climate Positive, Green Initiatives, Selected Articles, Uncategorised
A focus on dairy efficiency and emissions can support resilience
Improving feed efficiency can help to lower a farm’s carbon footprint Current challenges with high input costs and squeezed margins can open opportunities based around sustainability and a circular economy, as British Dairying discovers. The current geopolitical landscape, combined with a global milk surplus over the past 12 months, has created the perfect storm of […]
Josh Fincham and his wife wouldn’t have been able to take on a tenancy, so it’s been a perfect route for them British Dairying is currently looking at ways to match new entrants with farmers who have no means of succession, following a successful industry round table at the House of Commons. Sarah Peacocke details […]