Dairy & Beef News

With inflation rates remaining high and beef farming continuing to struggle as a result, Hydor is urging farmers to invest in tube ventilation systems for calf buildings to prevent pneumonia from causing a loss in yield by stunting growth.

The results of an ongoing Innovative Farmers field lab indicate that diverse winter grazing crops offer major benefits to soil health and biodiversity, as well as the potential to cut input costs while farming in harmony with nature.

Average prices for all prime cattle peaked at 448.1p/kg in the final week of December – the highest price on record (back to 2014), according to AHDB figures.

Even small amounts of spoiled silage will have a detrimental impact on how much cattle eat and how their rumens function.

Three finalists have been named for this year’s Royal Dairy Innovation Award and will be presenting their products to a panel of independent judges at the Dairy-Tech event on 1st February.

Lactalign, a device that counters the often costly impact of uneven weight and vacuum distribution of a milking cluster, has won a Gold Award in the Livestock Innovation category.

As weather patterns become increasingly extreme and unpredictable, input costs continue to rise, and farmers face ongoing pressure to reduce environmental impacts, approaches to managing parasites and disease will need to adapt. Livestock editor Sarah Kidby reports.

A new woodland restoration scheme has launched at the RSPB’s 1,200-acre nature reserve, Franchises Lodge, located in the north of the New Forest.  

Designed and built by Aberdeenshire farmer Gordon Stephen, the Calf Catcher makes it quicker, easier, and safer to carry out calf tagging and other routine tasks. Livestock editor Sarah Kidby spoke to two farmers who have used the innovative system.

Five finalists have been announced for the 2022 NMR RABDF Gold Cup award, including two dairy businesses in Scotland and three from the south and southwest of England.

Farmers should take extra care when transitioning between different silage cuts this winter to ensure milk yield and fertility aren’t compromised.  

With British farms continually squeezed by high input costs and low prices, selling ready-pasteurised milk straight to the consumer can substantially increase farm profits, according to Batchpasteuriser.com.