Livestock News

Farmers who import live pigs or semen to the UK are being warned of the risks and reminded to follow protocols around PRRS.

With breeding sheep being traded from farm to farm, often via marts, this month the risk period for sheep scab transmission is heightened, Ulster Farmers’ Union has warned.

With the gap between farmgate milk and retail prices promising no let-up and high input costs putting significant strain on the sector, British dairy farmers are facing a tough six months ahead, the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) has warned.

Dr Carrie Rimes, a former grassland ecologist turned artisan cheese-maker, recently hosted minister Lesley Griffiths on her new award-winning sheep milk dairy in Bethesda, Gwynedd, which was realised through government funding and support from the local council.

The ban on gatherings of galliforme poultry and galliforme birds – including chickens, turkeys, pheasants, partridges, quail and guinea fowl – has been lifted.

The first UK ovine embryos have been shipped to the United States following the lifting of a long-term ban in 2021 on sheep and lamb imports from countries previously affected by BSE.

Vets from the VetPartners group are lobbying their MPs to address the volatility of the milk market, as a time when farmers are facing increased costs.

The poultry industry has slammed claims by Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) that avian influenza is ‘spiralling out of control due to the rise of factory farming’.

Dairy farmers have an opportunity this year to clamp decent tonnages of quality maize silage, which could be a useful buffer with uncertain milk prices. But it will be crucial to avoid the top three most common harvest pitfalls.

As a recent survey highlights a 20% drop in scanning results last year, and industry data suggesting forage quality is low this year, Rumenco nutritionist Alison Bond highlights the importance of supplementation.

Testing has begun as part of a project to reduce the environmental impact of ammonia emissions from livestock, after ammonia-harvesting technology was put in place at a pig farm running the trials.

In line with Somerset-based Godminster Farm’s ethos: ‘nature repays those who treat her kindly’, Pete Cheek who has been in charge of the farm’s 300 organic dairy herd for more than 25 years, is working with McArthur Agriculture to replace imported soya bean meal from the cows’ diet with home-grown and roasted pulses.