august 2015 vol 21, no. 10 - british dairying · august 2015, vol 21, no. 10 contents getting to...

BRITISH DAIRYING August 2015 1

• Over 60% of mastitis cases can start during the dry period1

• 50% of high yielding cows may fail to develop a complete keratin teat plug, increasing the risk of bacteria entering the udder2

• OrbeSeal is tried and trusted to reduce mastitis by 35% with over 10 years on farm success3

• The silica component of the formulation increases viscosity to create an eff ectivebarrier against new infection

Don’t take risks during the dry period. Speak to your vet about how OrbeSeal can reduce the cost of mastitis on your farm.

1. Mütze K, et al. The eff ect of dry cow antibiotic with and without an internal teat sealant on udder health during the fi rst 100 days of lactation: a fi eld study with matched pairs. J Dairy Res. 2012 Nov;79(4):477-84 2. Dingwell RT et al. (2004). Association of cow and quarter-level factors at drying-off with new intramammary infections during the dry period. Prev Vet Med.;63(1-2):75-89 3. Rabiee AR & Lean IJ. The eff ect of internal teat sealant products (Teatseal and Orbeseal) on intramammary infection, clinical mastitis, and somatic cell counts in lactating dairy cows: A meta-analysis. Dairy Sci. 96 :6915–6931

OrbeSeal contains 65% bismuth subnitrate. Withdrawal period: Zero days: POM-V . Further information is available on the product SPC or contact your veterinary surgeon or contact Zoetis UK Ltd, Walton Oaks, Dorking Road, Walton on the Hill, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 7NS. Customer Support 0845 3008034. www.zoetis.co.uk

Always seek the advice of your medicines provider. Use medicines responsibly (www.noah.co.uk/responsible) AH246/15

August 2015 Vol 21, No. 10

Feature on Gold Cup winner

Genomics Q&A

Focus on heifer rearing

Dairying in Wales

Latest bull proof run update

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NEWS

ISSN 1356-1561ISSN 1356-1561

BRITISH DAIRYING does not necessarily share the views of contributors. No respon-sibility is accepted for the claims made by advertisers.

This magazine is Copyright © WB Publishing Ltd. No part of it may be reproduced in any form without prior permission of the publisher.Printed by Warners Midlands Plc

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ISSN 1356-1561

August 2015, Vol 21, No. 10

ContentsGetting to grips with genomics 6-8

Animal Health—feeding fats 12

Hayseed feed market analysis 13

Barry Wilson comments 15

Forage Excellence 18

Dairying in Wales 20-23

Gold Cup 2015 feature 24-28

Dairy business training 29-30

Focus on winter feeding 32-33

Grassland Update—Finland 36-37

Calcium nutrition 40-41

August bull proofs 48-51

Dairy beef update 52

Product News 54-55

Supermarket milk now 6ppl cheaper than waterThe price gap between supermarket milk and bottled water has grown to its widest point in more than a year, research by The Grocer shows. As farmers stage protests in some supermarkets and with all four UK farmers’ unions meeting in London to discuss the growing industry crisis, the average price of four pints of own-label milk sold in the big four supermarkets is now 6ppl cheaper than the bottled water equivalent. The Grocer revealed in January that supermarket price wars had pushed the average price per litre of a four-pinter to below that of

retailers now selling four pints at 89p or less, that gap has stretched from 1ppl to 6ppl, with the average price per milk litre now 42p compared with 48p for a large format (above 750ml) bottle of water within the same retailers. The average price of bottled water has risen steadily from 44ppl at the start of January to 48ppl this month.

CMA invite comments on Müller takeoverIn a notice posted on their website recently the Competition and Markets Authority have indicated that they propose to accept Mül-ler’s undertakings on the takeover of Dairy Crest’s liquid milk busi-ness. They have now invited comments from third parties on this. The CMA also announced an extension of their deadline for consideration of these undertakings by the statutory 40 days from August 21 to October 19 although they have also said that they may

Dairy Crest continue to expect the sale to complete before the end of 2015 should the CMA accept the undertakings. Mark Allen, chief executive of Dairy Crest, said: “We have always believed the sale of our dairies operations is good news for the whole UK dairy

low dairy commodity returns. It will deliver economies of scale

compete more successfully in global markets.”

Arla launch farmer-owned logo for its dairy products

Arla Foods UK has launched a new initiative to support its farmer owners with the unveiling of a new farmer-owned marque that will appear on its Arla branded products from the autumn. Supported by a new marketing campaign, the product marque will allow consumers to easily identify and trust that when they buy Arla branded dairy products they are responsibly sourced from a farmer-owned business

-ers—and has the highest expectations for animal welfare and environmental standards throughout its supply chain. In parallel to the launch of the farmer-owned marque, Arla has initiated a countrywide series of meetings where all of its 3,000 British farmer owners have been invited to attend to express their

-chasing dairy products produced by a farmer-owned cooperative.

Booths Fair Milk scheme

Northern retailer Booths, who have pledged to pay the highest market price to farmers through their Fair Milk scheme, say are paying 33ppl, 10p more than Asda and Morrisons, and 1.02p more than Waitrose. Sales of Fair Milk are up 5% in the past four weeks. Chairman Edwin Booth said: “The retail industry’s obsession with price wars is de-stroying the dairy industry.”

World milk prices down

Driven by still-falling world dairy commodity prices, world farmgate milk prices are estimated to have fallen by 19.2% to 23.2 US cents/kg (14.9p) in July, down 37% since February, based on likely returns from average dairy commodity prices, according to the German-based IFCN data collection agency.

Fonterra payout cut

Fonterra have slashed their fore-cast payout to farmer suppliers for 2015/16 by nearly 27%, to NZ$3.85/kg milk solids (£1.62)from an initial forecast of $5.25/kg (£2.21) given in May. “We have

over the course of the season. How-ever, it will be a tough season for our farmers,” said Fonterra chair-man John Wilson.

Free EU trade

Dutch dairy industry association NZO and Dutch farmers’ associa-tion LTO have called on the Euro-pean Commission to secure free trade in Europe after the French co-op dairy association FNCL asked their government to stop dairy imports. LTO and NZO said that unilateral action in the EU was not acceptable.

World dairy companies

Nestlé remain at the top of the league of the world’s largest dairy companies, with a turnover of

-bobank’s latest annual Global Dairy Top 20 survey. Lactalis edged into

$19.5bn on the back of a vigorous acquisitions programme, putting them ahead of Danone ($19.5bn). Fonterra ($18.5bn) stay at four, while DFA ($17.9bn) pushed into

http://www.britishdairying.co.uk




4 BRITISH DAIRYING August 2015

NEWS

Inaugural Women in Dairy conference

All women working in dairy-ing will have the opportunity to connect, share and be inspired at the inaugural Women in Dairy conference to be staged at Sixways Stadium, Worcester on Wednesday September 9. Minister of Agriculture, George Eustice MP is scheduled to of-

which AHDB Dairy board chair-man, Gwyn Jones will scope out the

scholar, Tanya Robbins will ex-plore just how innovative women are in today’s agriculture, while Wisconsin-based Genus ABS CEO, Saskia Korink will discuss working in the global dairy sector. Livestock scientist, Miriam Parker will encourage delegates to understand how to see the world through the eyes of cattle while Di Wastenage who farms in Devon with her husband Peter, will dis-cuss her role in the practical opera-tions of their 645ha farm. For further information visit www.rabdf.co.uk/events

OMSCO export demand

Growing global demand for organ-ic cheese has seen farmer-owned co-operative OMSCo, (the Organic Milk Suppliers Co-operative Ltd), secure new export contracts and as a result, become the UK’s larg-est organic cheese and whey pro-ducer—achieved exclusively from export sales. OMSCo’s latest export initia-tive has led to a partnership with privately owned and independent cheese producer Dairy Partners, to produce organic Mozzarella for the USA market using OMSCo’s specialist USDA-compliant organic milk pool. Having worked closely with US customers to meet their

a dedicated supply chain, produc-tion commenced this month at Dairy Partner’s Carmarthenshire plant with a planned 800 tonnes of

The Cattle Health and Welfare Group (CHAWG) has published the 2014 review of the Dairy Cow Welfare Strategy and, following wide consultation within the sec-tor, has revised the strategy to deal with current issues. This is in-tended to support the continuous improvement process the industry has adopted. In the past year, an increased number of members has now joined together under the CHAWG banner resulting in AHDB Dairy, British Cattle Veterinary Asso-ciation, Dairy UK, Holstein UK, Red Tractor Assurance, RABDF, RSPCA, NMR, NFU, NFUS and the Livestock Auctioneers Associa-tion, all working in unison. “We have introduced some new priorities and made some changes to the existing priorities which, for example, include calf and heifer rearing,” says Tim

The Tenant Farmers Association has accused the UK’s biggest su-permarkets of operating against the long-term interests of British consumers. Speaking earlier this month be-fore an emergency farming summit in London, TFA national chairman, Stephen Wyrill said: “Some of the UK’s major retailers are engaged in driving prices paid to farmers to such low levels that their ability to survive is in severe jeopardy. “Fundamentally, this is against what we hear consumers want—which is locally produced, high-quality food made to high animal welfare and environmental stand-ards. “Paying farmers below the cost of production for their produce today will mean that they will not be there tomorrow to deliver these legitimate consumer demands. Retailers need to change their at-titudes and fast. “Consumers are fast becom-ing aware that retailers are not

operating in their long-term best interests. “Retailers who use practices such as reducing the retail price of milk to increase footfall shows that some retailers are simply in-

than long-term sustainability of the supply chain,” said Mr Wyrill. “There has been much focus on protests by the farming communi-ty and some of the heavy-handed responses to those by individual retailers. Farmers who are losing

their ability to make a living for themselves and their families are not prepared to go quietly and those retailers who are unwill-ing to ensure a fair return to the farming community must not be surprised if they become the target for farmer protests. “Farmers are not asking much just fair play, fair prices and fair trade. If retailers truly valued their customer base they would change their practices today,” added Mr Wyrill.

• The Tenant Farmers Association is staging a special conference on September 1st to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 as part of its campaign for longer term Farm Business Tenancies (FBTs). TFA chief executive, George Dunn, said: “With the average length of Farm Business Tenancy only a little over three years this is holding back progression, investment and sustainable land use. FBTs have been too short for too long and now is the time for that to change. The TFA wants average lengths of term on FBTs to be 10 years or more.” The conference will take place at the Sheepdrove Eco Conference Cen-tre in Lambourn, West Berkshire, and limited places are still available. The conference is free to attend but booking is essential. For more information contact events co-ordinator Jenna Kirkpatrick on 0118 930 6130.

TFA attack supermarket pricing

Brigstocke, chairman of CHAWG. “Youngstock are the future and it’s recognised by the industry that these animals need a great start to life, in order to optimise their health and welfare. Improving the incidence of pneumonia and

scours are priorities, as is focusing on further reducing the calf mor-tality rate.” A copy of the 2014 Review and Update of the Cow Health and Welfare Strategy is available at www.chawg.org.uk

CHAWG update Dairy Cow Welfare Strategy

Farmer views on promotion of dairy products

The Dairy UK Farmers’ Forum is asking dairy farmers across the country to give their views on the promotion of dairy products. The survey, cir-culated at the end of July, focuses on generic promotion of dairy products and consumer education on milk and dairy. The Farmers’ Forum believes there is a wide range of reasons to invest more in promotion to, and education of, consumers. However, they are hoping to gather enough evidence to ensure that it is a broadly shared view amongst the farming community. Therefore, dairy farmers are asked to answer two simple questions:

promotion of all dairy products and the education of consumers with professionally-researched activity such as promotion, marketing or sponsorship?• If the answer is yes, how do you think such industry-wide activity could be funded? To respond, dairy farmers should email [email protected]

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Getting to grips with genomicsGenomics burst onto the scene just over three years ago, heralded as a major breakthrough in dairy cow breeding. While farmers have shown interest in the technology, many are still unsure exactly what it is. So we sat down with Andrew Rutter, breeding programme manager at Genus ABS and AHBD Dairy head of genetics Marco Winters to get a clearer understanding of the subject.

GENOMICS

British Dairying (BD): The

is a genomics proof?

Andrew Rutter: In simple terms a genomic evaluation is where we compare the DNA of a potential young sire against a DNA database of proven, reliable bulls. We know which sites on the DNA are associ-ated with favourable traits. Look-ing at the DNA for an individual bull and comparing it to a ‘key’, we can see if the bull is better or worse than the key for the sites we are interested in. If he is better

improvement. Another way to visualise this

is to imagine a line with peaks and troughs. A peak might indicate milk yield and a trough might equal somatic cell count. The in-dustry average and an individual will have similar shaped lines. By comparing the line for the bull with the ‘average’ line we can spot potentially good bulls.

-tion carried out?

Marco Winters: The starting point as with progeny testing is for breeding companies to spot bulls with a desirable pedigree. If

of hair, blood or tissue is taken and

has been produced, we interpret the genotype and combine it with the bull’s pedigree information to produce a genomic evaluation. The evaluation considers all the traits that are tradition-ally assessed by AHDB Dairy in a progeny test, and the information is presented in the same way as a conventional daughter proof. The

-ters with records are used in the calculation.

-ics is that bulls can be marketed far

rapid genetic gain. While a progeny test can take seven years before semen is avail-able commercially, with a genomic proof, semen can be sold as soon as a bull starts producing, which can be at around 11 months old.

Andrew:big concerns is how genomic proofs are validated. At Genus ABS all bulls marketed as genomically tested are also put through a full progeny test. This means we get a full progeny test proof to compare to the genomic proof. If a genomic bull does not graduate from progeny testing then we will not continue to sell it. If a genomically proven sire is not also progeny tested the only way the proof will be validated is if enough daughters are milked in milk recording herds.

Marco: By looking at the number

of daughters in the proof. If it is zero then the bull is a genomically evaluated sire. This information is supplied for all bulls so ask to see it. If you want to double check information, this can be done at: www.dairy.ahdb.org.uk/breeding

genomic proofs?

Marco: The reliability of genomic proofs tends to be lower than that of a daughter proven bull and while the reliability for each trait

heritability, if we take an encompassing in-dex like £PLI, the reliabilities can be compared with the examples below:

It is also worth remembering that as more data is fed back and as more genomi-cally tested bulls are validated with actual

daughter results, the overall ac-curacy will improve. This data will also be used to update the genomic key, making predictions more reliable.

BD: What are the farmer

tested sires?

Andrew: -tially faster genetic progress. The

years behind a genomically tested animal so you are getting genetics

The technology allows greater potential, but at reduced reliability.

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Continued on page 8.

What a farmer decides to do

is that they should always select bulls that suit their system, for ex-ample their farming system, their facilities and their milk contract. You need to select based on the traits that are important to you, irrespective of how the bull is evaluated. The second is your attitude to risk and whether you

levels of reliability for potentially faster rates of gain.

Marco: I agree. It is vital to look

especially as progeny tested and genomically proven bulls are as-sessed on identical traits. The other issue is how to inte-grate genomics into your mating plans and how many bulls to use.

BD: What would you suggest?

Marco: Use the reliability of a bull’s £PLI as a guide as to how much semen to buy from each bull that meets your breeding needs. If the best bulls happen

to be genomic, consider using a minimum of two young sires for each proven sire that you would have normally considered. For example, when using 100% genomic bulls we recommend a minimum of eight bulls during a breeding season, whereas for tra-ditional daughter proven bulls we would be comfortable with four. Likewise, if you’re cons ider ing 50% genomic and 50% proven, this would equate to a minimum of four genomic bulls and two proven bulls for the year.

Andrew: That is sound advice. I have had discussions with farmers about stop-ping using proven sires and moving ex-clusively to genomics. Again, it is a case of horses for courses and your view on risk. Proven sires give validation and reliability, while genomics give the possibility of faster gains.

Commercially, the validation given by progeny testing helps underpin genomic progress as it improves

-dence in the predictions. Genom-ics is also performing an important role in helping accelerate the rate of progress in the proven stud. Before genomic evaluations were available we would trawl

the pedigree data for potential sires. We would buy and prog-eny test 60 bulls and on average six would graduate as proven sires.

N o w w i t h genomic testing we might screen 1,200 possible sires before buying the 60 best test bulls, but the stand-ard of the test bulls should be higher,

meaning that we are making more rapid improvements in the proven stud.

BD: It sounds to me like genomics is an exciting tech-

-

Marco: It is important people un-derstand what the aims of genomic evaluation are. In that genomics is intended to identify the best genotypes in the population based on current information, then yes it is delivering on its promise and is identifying the bulls that can take the breed forward. It is not the purpose of genom-ics to identify outcrosses in the population. An outcross means a bull has within its pedigree sire stack a sire that has not been used widely in the population and there is usually a very good reason for this—that sire was probably not particularly good. For farmers looking to achieve continual improvement in the merit of their herd, the use of outcrosses should be researched

GENOMICS

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A daughter of genomic sire Coyne Farms Dorcy.

GENOMICS

Continued from page 7.

carefully as they are also likely to lower merit, which could severely impact the progress of the herd.

BD: Thinking about the use of genomically evaluated bulls, is there any evidence that the best sires are being used mainly on the top end cows and does this mean their proof might be skewed?

Andrew: There is clearly a danger of data skew-ing but there has always been an element of bias however bulls are tested. Some genomically evaluated sires, espe-cially those available for very high prices may be used selectively, but so long as they are also progeny tested so semen is allocated randomly to herds and cows within herds, the actual bias will be minimised.

BD: What about inbreeding? Does genomics help reduce the risk?

Andrew: Again, this is not something that genomic evaluations are intended to do. If you want to reduce inbreeding you need to use a team of bulls and take account of the extended pedigree of the cows in the herd. The easiest way to do this is to use a mating programme to plan your matings. Genomics makes the use of a programme even more im-portant as you need to remember data on a great many more bulls.

BD: Is there any data to show how well genomics is working in practice?

Marco: We have done extensive national and international validation prior to the launch of genomics in 2012 and keep on monitoring and validating the results as they come through.

progeny proofs of these bulls are in line with the initial predictions based on their initial genomic

BD: Data show the use of genomic semen is increasing. With farmers hawkishly watching all costs, why should they pay a premium for genomic sires when they can buy proven bulls for less?

Andrew: Farmers need to consider the value and the return on investment as well as price. Genetics is the cheapest investment pound for pound that a farmer can make. If you have a chance to make more rapid progress within the constraints of your farming system it seems to make sense to do so.

BD: Genomics has been around in the US for about six years and for three years over here. What progress has been made and what have we learned?

Marco: We are learning all the time. Also, we collaborate very closely with both North America and Italy on this and work with a com-mon pool of genomic information. The results in practice are currently showing that the aver-age genetic merit of sires used in the UK is over 60% higher than it was prior to the availability of genomics.

technology can help underpin improved genetic qualities which is vital to develop durable dairy farming systems. The genomic key, the base that new sires are compared against, is also always improving in accuracy and this will help to identify the next

Is it delivering on its promise? I think it is. It was never expected to be more accurate than a proven sire but was expected to be more ac-curate than Pedigree Indexes and it certainly is. This is allowing farmers to make faster genetic improvement. I think the other interesting aspect is that as more farmers start milking daughters from

-dence is improving as they see the results in practice and I believe farmers who have used

genomic semen are already starting to see tan-

Andrew: We are certainly seeing bulls that were initially available as genomically evaluated,

test results become available. This is helping to

Coyne Farms Dorcy is a great example of a high genomically evaluated sire who now has a high proven merit.

BD: So what does the future hold for genomics?

Marco: The main thing is that we will continue to build our knowledge and understanding. As our understanding improves, we will be able to develop more accurate predictions of genomic

of production. The genetic key against which sires are evaluated is becoming more accurate, helping us to identify the very best of the next generation.

Andrew: I hope the future holds the prospect of farmers having access to a range of both progeny tested and genomically evaluated bulls, that will allow them to continue to make genetic

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Key areas for improving dry cow management highlighted

DRY COW MANAGEMENT

While feeding of dry cows had come on in leap and

bounds in recent years the envi-ronment cows were kept in had not improved. A lack of space for housing and at the feed bar-riers were both highlighted by

vet Owen Atkinson as a key area for improvement. Speaking at a farm open day at Dillington Estate’s Knott Oak Dairy at Ilminster, Somerset, they suggested that as a rule of thumb dry cows should be allocated one square metre per 1,000 litres of target yield—so an 8,000 litre cow should be allocated eight square metres of space in the shed. At the feed trough cows needed 75cm of feeding space—compared to 60cm for milking cows. “This is a critical measure

that all farmers can assess,” said Mr Atkinson. “There is always a temptation to keep stocking rates high but this limits feed space and lack of space is a com-mon problem on many dairy farms. We are not in the busi-ness of keeping cows alive, we want all dry cows eating their maximum intake which is an art. “Most problems we see in dairy farms are around dry cow management. The immune sys-tem takes a big hit at this time but if you get things right now then

of a barrel with holes in it to highlight areas where many producers could improve their dry cow management. “You need to plug the holes

need to be critical and identify where you can fill the holes quickly and easily.” Areas he suggested producers address and where problems often occurred included:• Poorly managed pre-calving nutrition. “Dry cow nutrition has come on leaps and bounds in the last 10 years but there are still improvements that can be made.”• Overstocking. “This is a big problem and cows should have one square metre per 1,000 litres of target yield.

• Water—availability, access and quality.• Feed—suitability, access and quality.• Ventilation.• Acidosis. “When cows calve and there is a diet change with increased sugar and starch in the

-trate to forage ration need to be monitored. What is needed is a consistent approach to the diet.” He said one of the key fun-damentals is the need to observe and decide how well transition has gone. The only way to do this was to record anything that goes wrong at the critical period—milk fever, retained foetal membranes,

ketosis, metritis (mild

calvings.“It is important to

monitor what is going on to pick up trends,” he said. “You can’t use gut feelings and need records related to the number of cows calving, for heifers and

times of year.” Testing cows for ketosis was a good idea because it gives an early warning if there are problems for a cow and for the herd. “I would encourage producers to do more ketone testing—it will flag up cows on the edge,” he advised.• The open day was organised by Synergy Farm Health and spon-sored by Elanco.

Vet Owen Atkinson in the new dry cow facilities at Knott Oak Dairy.

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NEWS

A shake-up of the livestock feed market in Scotland and the north of England was

opening of a new feed mill at Shieldmains, Coylton, Ayr.

to-product animal feed mill to be built in Scot-land for many years and is a combined initiative between farmer owned business, Mole Valley Farmers and John C Ferguson. The site can produce in excess of 140,000 tonnes of blends and compounds a year. The mill will service a wide geography across north-ern England to the central belt of Scotland and has been installed at a cost of £7.2 million. “The construction of the Coylton feed mill by John Fergusson, coupled with the presence of Mole Valley Farmers has already caused a

across Northern England and South West Scot-land,” said Mole Valley Farmers head of feed, Alan Callaghan.

reported to be unsustainable in the long term, aimed to protect market share. But with milk prices also at an unsustainable level, farmers are appreciating the current pricing environment,” he said.

any business, Mole Valley Farmers do not look

core purpose, especially when so many produc-ers are facing economic challenges with falling milk, red meat and cereal prices. We believe the supply industry needs a strong farmer owned business, operating to true co-operative prin-ciples, combining scale and leveraging greater value for farmers. “As the market consolidates, a strong, ef-

large market share, can only serve the best inter-ests of farmers, rather than serving shareholders with no involvement in agriculture looking for the best rate of return on their investment. “Up until now, much of the feed utilised on farm in south west Scotland has been produced south of the Scottish border, with feed trucked up from as far as Cheshire. The new mill will not only boost the local economy, but realise

-port costs which will ultimately be passed back to farmers, claimed Mr Callaghan. The mill is only 40 minutes from Glasgow port which means large stocks of raw materials can be sourced. Grain can also be sourced lo-cally while grain by-products can be obtained from Scottish distilleries. The port in Ayr can also be utilised. Other agricultural inputs such as calf milk, supplements and minerals can be sourced from Mole Valley Farmers. The aim is also to develop supply infrastructure on a wide range of other farm inputs such as animal health, fencing, si-lage plastics, and more.

New feed mill to intensify competition

Mole Valley Farmers and J C Fergusson’s new feed mill in Ayrshire is now fully operational.

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ANIMAL HEALTH

Importance of fat in dietFat is an essential part of a cow’s diet, so it’s certainly not for dropping from this season’s rations, argues Volac’s ruminant nutritionist, Dr Richard Kirkland.

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FEED MARKET ANALYSIS

By ‘Hayseed’shrink, a further round of industry rationalisa-tion is likely—especially those without the re-sources to provide valued services to producers. Meanwhile, ruminant feed costs would be falling further if all protein feed raw materials had followed down grain markets. Although Hipro soyameal is running £50/t lower year-on-year, rapemeal, the main protein source in rations, is nearly £10/t higher. Domestic rapemeal is quoted at £176 to £190/t for spot bulk delivery—and rises by £5 to £8/t for the November/April run, before falling back by £3 to £181 to £190/t for next summer. Imported rapemeal ranges from £191 to £207/t in remoter parts of Britain for current delivery and climbs by at least £5 for the winter months. This is partly due to the desire by the crush-er duopoly to alleviate their currently alleged poor margins. In addition, while the UK oilseed rape harvest may match last year’s 2.5mt, EU production is forecast up to 3.0mt down. In sharp contrast, global soyabean output is still forecast by the USDA to be slightly higher at 319mt and again boost end season stocks. With US growing conditions improving at the beginning of this month, Hipro soyameal fell to a £284 to £296/t range for spot delivery across the country through to October. Currently, prices in England slip by £2/t for a November/April run. There is some intensive producer interest to buy some cover for May/October at £273 to £280/t. Brazilian soyameal at 48% plus crude pro-tein follows a similar pricing pattern, but at a premium of as much as £12/t over any origin. Unreliable Argentinian supplies of 44% protein remain uncompetitive at a discount of £10/t. In the mid-range protein sector, rapemeal

around 38% protein at £220 to £230/t for spot delivery, but tumbles by over £20/t for a No-vember/April run.

-ain’s surviving dried distillers’ grain producer, imported wheat-based product is quoted at £185/t ex port through to April. US corn meal distillers is also quoted through to spring at upwards of £182/t for bulk delivery. Maize gluten feed is trading at £146 to £156/t on a similar basis. Responding to the cereal market’s drop, spot wheat feed pellets are quoted at £106/t de-livered in the more competitive parts of Britain and up to £128/t in remoter areas. Values rise by £2/t for next month and to £112/t plus for the winter months. Filler ingredients such a palm kernels have fallen to between £100 and £120/t delivered across Britain through to next April. Soya hulls for bulk delivery have also dipped to £110 to £120/t through to April. Underlining the downturn in feed raw ma-

reaching farms in the south west at under £150/t in bulk. This is one of the rare occasions when values are lower at the end of the season.

Thanks to the slide in global and domestic grain pric-es since the market’s June surge, fears of rising feed bills through the winter have

receded. Capital funds switching from short to long futures positions caused markets to climb by up to £15/tonne—coincidentally the extent of a potential list price hike threatened by some major players. But the subsequent slide in grain prices and the traditional seasonal decline in other feed raw

While overall ruminant feed demand has declined, dairy ration sales continued to rise to recent historical highs, despite falling milk prices. On a rolling 12-month basis, volumes were 2% higher at 2.9 million tonnes to May, according to Defra, and still almost 1% ahead over the March to May period. A majority of milk producers responded to falling farmgate prices with the familiar strategy of producing more to compensate by stepping their cake orders. This has been the key reason for production rises across the UK and EU. But while ration prices have dropped by about 15% year-on-year, average UK milk prices have slumped by over 25% to 23.66p/litre—and are still weak. Meanwhile, mainly larger producers on enhanced supermarket liquid contracts, also boosted production profitability and could

round. However, the continued pressure on pro-ducer margins has prompted a switch from com-pounds to blends and, increasingly, to straight feeds. Unless there is a reversal of current feed in-gredient trends—like a big weather event in one of the major global production blocs—produc-ers’ feed bills are likely to remain unchanged. If current grain market predictions are borne out by events, feed costs could fall further. Moreover, in regions such as north west England/south west Scotland, competition for ruminant farmers’ winter feed orders is likely to intensify with this month’s opening of a 200,000t capacity feed mill in Ayrshire.

a joint venture marketing deal with Mole Valley Farmers which has grown out of its Devon base to become a national ruminant feed player. As a co-op, it has far lower margin aspirations than most of its rivals in a wide trading area. This increased cattle and sheep feed manu-facturing capacity in a period of falling demand puts producers in the driving seat in negotiating current and winter ration supply deals. However, price and volume are increasingly

producers. Business and nutritional advice on cost-cutting, even reducing cake usage, is a growing part of their brand packages. As both compounders volumes and margins

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING

By Jackie BradleyVolac International Ltd

This month we’re introducing four more fundamentals that will help you to unlock your heifer calves’ potential. Small management details like these can contribute towards their growth and the animals’ ability to hit required growth targets for 24 month calving.

Fact, if you increase your heifer calves’ daily liveweight gain from 500g to 800g in the milk drinking phase, then they’ll have the potential to increase yield by an average 450 litres in the first lactation*.

1, Drinking angle: the strength of the oesophageal grove reflex is triggered by sucking, milk temperature and the position of the head. Consequently, calves need to drink from shoulder height to ensure neck extension, a weak groove reflex can cause milk to enter the rumen which can lead to problems such as bloat and scours. If you bucket feed, then raise the buckets to sit at least 30cm from the floor.

2, Consistency: whatever you do - from the time of feeding to volume, concentration and temperature of milk, dry feed and access to straw – be consistent. It’s vital to sustain intakes and growth.

3, Maintaining and cleaning feeding equipment: check teats regularly - splits and wear and tear could lead to fast drinking and in turn, abomasal overflow and scour which could impact on growth. Check again to make sure the teats are set up right – the hole should be in a + position, not an x position, otherwise milk flow will be compromised.

4, Ambient temperature: your calves have a thermal neutral zone of 15oC to 20oC, below which they will need more energy for maintenance and keeping warm. If this energy is not supplied, then growth rates and immunity could be compromised. It won’t be long before temperatures start to fall; for every 10oC drop below the thermal neutral zone, milk solids should be increased by 100g/day. Jackets are useful to keep calves warm from birth to three weeks, whilst it makes for common sense to ensure they are bedded on clean, dry straw in a draught free environment.

Finally, measure and monitor: your heifer calves will need to gain 800g/day throughout the rearing period if they are to double their birth weight by weaning and go on to reach 85 - 90% of mature weight by calving at 23 to 25 months.

* Adapted from Soberon & Van Amburgh 2013

Jackie Bradley can be contacted at Volac on 01223 208021

[email protected]

Attention todetail

Unlocking potentialin the milk drinking

phase



GOLD CUP COMMENT

Worthy Farm looks to futureThis month herd manager John Taylor—and owner Michael Eavis—sum up their pleasure at winning the 2014 NMR/RABDF Gold Cup and give an indication to the future.

We have talked a bit about robots and looked at a few

but when my wife Pam said she was going to stop milking at 60 (oops!—sorry dear), it certainly focused all our minds on what to do in the future—although it’s still a couple of years away, writes John Taylor. I think a robotic rotary would be the best option as Mr Eavis is al-ways going to want cows to graze even though it is only an image thing for the festival. Personally, it is much easier to manage high yielding cows indoors as grass is so variable—along with the good old British weather. Well at least it has been a good growing year, and there will certainly be no shortage of forage this winter so that will allow us to save on bought in feeds. In the last week we have made our 700 big square bales of grass and clover silage which smelt as sweet as a

The good thing is I shall soon be able to take the straw out of the milking cow rations much to (nutrition-ist) Allison’s d i s m a y , since putting straw in the ration our butterfat has dropped. It will be inter-esting to see what hap-pens when we switch it back for big bale silage. Last year when we turned the cows out to grass by day we lost three litres per cow per day so I have decided to feed them some TMR mix in two feed trackers and this seems to have worked well, although it is only a few days yet. The milk dropped a lot the

to be nearly back to normal now for the last couple of days. I have left the ration exactly the same, just replacing grass silage with grass and leaving all the other

John Taylor’s grandchildren look on as the Worthy cows are put to grass.

John Taylor and Michael Eavis.

A good year and plenty to look forward to in future

We have now come to the end of our Gold Cup year, and what an excit-ing year it has been, writes Michael Eavis. From the winning moments of Birmingham NEC and to the Gold Cup Open Day here in early May. We enjoyed showing all the visitors how we run this farm and I hope some of our ideas caught on with others. This week I was so pleased to see the cows go back out to grass after

and we’ve had hundreds of eager workers dedicated to bringing the farm back to normality. The dark clouds of low milk prices don’t seem to be moving away at the moment, but I’m pleased to see cheaper barley straw, and lower cereal

a year before the pendulum swings the other way. But in the meantime I’m looking forward to being president of the Bath & West Show. And we are planning a major investment to reduce my milking costs by £200,000 per year. I’m hopeful of using the very latest technology available anywhere in this country to milk large numbers of cows—so I hope you can see that at the end of May next year. Enough of that—now it’s back to the business of maintaining the high standards that are needed to qualify for the Gold Cup. Not that we can apply for another couple of years—but winning it last year has created a buzz and a pride that will take a long time to get over!

before the days of poured concrete over 70 years ago. Would I be here now without their endeavour, energy and dedication to succeed?

ingredients the same. I think I can get away with this as our grass is all old permanent pasture with no fertiliser so it’s probably low in protein. We have also turned out 120

groups and it is a pleasure to walk around these—I am really look-

ing forward to some of these com-ing into the herd. We have kept in a group of

months old heifers and will AI these with sexed semen over the next few

months. We also have a group of sixty from eight to 12 months old which I think we will turn out next week even if we give them two kg cake to keep them growing.

-other set of buildings and 150 acres to rent so we will now be able to move some youngsters there and

there. In the longer term, we aim to have just milking cows at Worthy Farm and close to calving cows—altogether we now have enough room for 500 cows plus.

I have been doing this job and

years. Without any doubt at all this has been a truly outstanding year for all of us at Worthy Farm, and hopefully you have all enjoyed your visits as much as we have enjoyed showing you all around. I can remember watching Tim Harding winning the Gold Cup,

and thinking that would be nice one day—never in my wildest dreams thinking it would ever happen. I would like to thank every-body whom I have worked for in any way as I think that the day you stop learning is the day you should pack it in. I personally could deal with cows all day—but my pa-tience is not so good with people though. I must thank Mr Eavis for letting us have a free hand for the

dairy as though it was our own, and for his continuing investments in moving the farm onwards, and hopefully upwards. Finally, I have to thank my fantastic wife Pam, who has put

and when things go wrong you are glad she is in your corner. When my mate Ian won some money on the lottery, I gave him a bit of stick about it—but he promptly replied that I won the lottery the day I met Pam. For that I should thank Young Farmer’s Disco night in 1975!


BARRY WILSON COMMENTS

How long will Arla’s currency generosity last?When Arla UK farmers voted to join the Danish/Swedish co-op just over three years ago they couldn’t believe their luck. At long last they would get Continental milk prices. But they didn’t

€

to about €€

commodity dairy prices which are still based on Continental prices. Today basic

bottom of the UK milk price league table and now well behind Müller Wiseman and Dairy Crest prices—although still well ahead of First Milk prices. But Arla in the UK operate a currency smoothing mechanism—which bases the currency exchange rate for milk price setting purposes over a two-year period—which is now cushioning UK milk prices against the worst impact of the dramatic

€ relationship. The exchange rate used for Arla’s August milk € €

€

farmers will be facing tough times indeed. Obviously UK milk prices are much

let their price get too far out of line with Müller’s UK prices.

Tesco worriesA bit of number crunching suggests that the billion litres of milk sourced

conduct “a review of the TSDG and all that it entails”. They say that since it

very real factor. Tesco’s milk suppliers must be worrying that the retailer will see

Market turnaroundA gulf is opening up between those who are convinced that pro-

Russian political trade embargo will lead to weak dairy markets

might come soon. Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings is not alone in saying prices could yet start to recover before year-end. The

and Rabobank have been repeating their guidance for a late -

milk powder stocks are now falling rapidly. Let’s hope the optimists are more right than the pessimists.

DC—MüllerThe detailed document published by the CMA analysing the potential conse-

have been considering a ‘one dairy’ option for well over a year. This ‘Plan B’

downscaled Severnside as their “only strategic option”. The plan was “not for-

their retained cheese and spreads business if the dairies sale to Müller goes

Super-leviesA number of EU farming groups are calling for the €800m being collected in

dairy markets. Of course some member states have opted to allow farmers three


MILK PRICE LEAGUE TABLE

MILK PRICE LEAGUE TABLE—June 2015 Monthly Annual price averageMüller Wiseman Booths 32.25 34.42

(that is required by each retailer; additional milk will be paid for at DC’s standard liquid milk contract price; the milk price above assumes that all litres produced are sold into the dedicated milk pools.

with the Promar costings survey.

BADP in line with the milk balancing scheme.Milk prices are ranked according to the annual average price that

price schedule remained the same. Prices listed above exclude capital

AHDB Dairy levy and seasonality adjustments. For more information go to dairy.ahdb.org.uk

MILK PRICE CHANGES—2014-15

Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug

NOTES TO THE ABOVE TABLE

inclusive of AHDB Dairy Levy and seasonality adjustments.

FIRST MILK A&B CONTRACTS

ppl Jun Jul Aug

A B A B change A B change


MILK PRICES

Soaring £ now hitting pricesCommodity prices continue to weaken on the Continent and more so in the UK because of the strong currency. UK butter prices are down 45% to £2,050/tonne since the peak at the end of 2013 and SMP prices are down 55% since the peak to £1,225/tonne. Prices have also fallen on the Continent but not so much as in the UK because UK prices are still based

the euro over the past 12 months and this means about a 20% cut in com-modity prices. Dairy Crest have said that farmers on Davidstow contracts will not face any price cut in September, following the 0.25ppl increase for the previous month. However, farmers on DC liquid contracts face a 1.4ppl cut. Unfortunately, the familiar picture of more price cuts continues for others. First Milk farmers will all receive a 0.5ppl reduction to the ’A’ price,

‘B’ price has been estimated between 11.5p and 14.5ppl, down from the 14-17ppl range in July.

suppliers will see a 1ppl cut from August 1 and a further 0.85ppl from

companies implementing the same reduction, as listed below. Pattemores and South Caernarfon Creameries both have applied a 0.5ppl cut. Unfortunately it is hard to see where any relief will come from at the

quota era are not expected to reduce cow numbers anytime soon. Until the milk/feed price ratio falls in the US, production is seen likely to continue to grow there. However, milk production could begin to ease in NZ. Milk prices have been hit even harder over there and environmental regulations are making it hard to keep milking. However, with the country’s spring

milk production.

Recent monthly price changesJuly

-

1.18ppl.August

-

September

Arla directs all down 0.85ppl.

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Grass delivers despite variable monthThis grazing season British Dairying, working with Promar International, is putting the spotlight on milk from grazing, working with farmers across the country to try and achieve top 25% performance from grazing. Promar principle consultant Andrew Hawkins looks at current performance and prospects for milk from grazing.

FORAGE EXCELLENCE

The best word to describe graz-ing in July was variable. De-

pending on where you are in the country, you will either have seen healthy growth rates or a rapid decline in production, entirely due to rainfall. The good news is that when the rain arrived, growth rates have kicked on and grass covers are generally good for the time of year. While some contributors have reported yields from grazing on or above target, for others pro-duction has been below expecta-tions. However, by reacting to

as required, they have managed to achieve target yield from total forage, helping control feed costs while maintaining total produc-tion.

-duction is to continue to measure covers, to know precisely what

In many cases it will also be pos-sible to manage stocking rates to increase grazing availability as silage aftermaths are introduced into the rotation. It is also important to plan for the rest of the season and longer term. In most parts of the country soil and sward conditions are good and the prospects for grazing en-

the extreme droughts or heavy rain of previous years and it will be important to exploit the potential of grazing.

on with top-dressing to ensure growth rates and a high proportion of leaf are maintained in the sward. Putting a stop to fertiliser applica-tions may save a bit of cash but the costs of making up for reduced grazing intakes could far outweigh the saving. The other key will be maintain-ing quality. This is particularly important in the second half of the season when grazing quality will generally start to decline and when grazing intakes can also fall. You need to make sure every mouthful taken is as high quality as possible. Where paddocks have gone stemmy, remove the old material to reduce rejection and encourage a more even sward by topping, or preferably by pre-mowing. It will also be important to keep the grazing pressure up to help ensure paddocks are taken down close to the target exit cover of 1,500kg DM/ha which will help with overall grazing quality on the next rotation. High stocking rates will also be important on pre-mown paddocks to make sure the mown material is eaten.

As daylight hours start to reduce, grazing intakes will begin to decline so it will be important to be realistic about grazing intakes in the coming weeks. If fresh calved cows are expect-ed to do too much from grazing they can often fall below predic-tion because they fail to achieve adequate total dry matter intakes. If peak yield is not achieved, cows will stay below predicted yields well into the autumn. Monitor them carefully, keeping a close eye on milk yield, milk quality, fertility and cow condition. This is one

greater extent will pay. Make sure the ingredients in

rather than displacing it from the diet. Maize silage and wholecrop

grass silage and concentrates like sugar beet pulp and soya hulls will help rumen health and milk qual-ity. Consider restricting grazing to fresh calvers, allowing them to graze during the day when intakes will be higher. This will also leave more graz-ing for the late lactation cows that can be expected to perform harder from grass. However, keep an eye on body condition as they should be maintaining or improving condition score. If they are losing

condition they may need more supplementation. Now is also the time to start planning ahead for next season when hopefully we may be look-ing at improved milk prices. Is the grazing block as productive as it could be? Reviewing growth rate records will show which paddocks are pro-ducing above average and which are not. Walk grazing and assess physical damage and the compo-sition of the sward. Hopefully physical damage won’t be too bad this year but in cases where poach-ing is an issue, slot-seeding and other renovation techniques can

can help in particularly bad areas. Where the sward is tired with a high proportion of weed species then a full reseed can still deliver a good return. With cash tight on all dairy farms, the average £550/ha reseeding costs might be seen as cash that can be saved, but the return on investment next season will outweigh the cost. Finally, taking soil samples across the grazing block can help indicate any deficiencies that might be holding back production. Correcting these can help boost output next year. Equally, they might show areas where saving can be made on the fertiliser bill.

Area Grass Growth rate kgDM/

ha/day

Grass dry matter (%)

Grass ME (MJ/kgDM)

Target milk from grazing for July (Litres/cow/day)

Actual milk from grazing for July(Litres/cow/day)

Target cumulative milk from grazing

to end July(Litres/cow/day)

Actual cumulative milk from grazing

to end July(Litres/cow/day)

Scott, Co Antrim 60 17.8 11.5 10 14 1,590 1,490

Robinson, Ayrshire 60 17.7 12.1 8 14 1,110 1,210

Nicholson, Yorkshire 65 21.1 12.3 14 11 1,735 1,470

Waterhouse, Yorkshire 55 17.6 10.5 13 15 2,180 2,194

Tyson, The Wirral 50 23.7 11.5 13 12 1,960 1,850

Rowlands, Anglesey 65 14.6 11.6 13 16 1,648 1,890

Blore, Notts 32 23.0 12.1 12 11 1,532 1,380

Brooke, Lincs 46 14.4 11.8 10 11 1,130 1,220

Shallcross, Wiltshire 70 18.0 10.6 8 7 1,150 1,380

Sheppard, Somerset 60 16.5 11.4 10 11 1,370 1,495

34 26.9 10.8 8 2 1,160 880

Harvey, Devon 54 25.9 11.8 6 4 1,010 1,210

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British Dairying focuses on two farms which face each other across the Caerphilly valley. Both are father and son combinations, where the sons have been to college then decided to return to the farm. They face similar issues in terms of dealing with close proximity to a large urban population, plus sloping land. Both systems are simple and forage-based. However, one is commercially focused while the other concentrates on breeding pedigree Holsteins.

DAIRYING IN WALES

When Owen Tamplin’s son, Thomas, re-turned from agricultural college full of

ideas for the farm, it provided the catalyst for a move back into dairying. “We had been dairying here at Cwmnofydd Farm up until 1998 but went out of the industry for family reasons and I scaled things back to just sheep for 15 years to focus on my children. When Thomas came back in 2012, it seemed the right time to go back in,” says Owen. “The farm is right on the urban fringe of

and we have all the associated problems—peo-ple wandering all over land since the Right To Roam legislation came in, theft, gates left open and dogs worrying the sheep. We’d built up to 650 breeding ewes but those have now been reduced to 240 and we have 80 milkers plus 50 followers.” Once the decision had been made, father and son started buying in pedigree Holstein heifers from dispersal sales and the Sedgemoor

auction sale. Milking began in May 2013 on the 300-acre unit and the herd now has a rolling average of 9,250 litres at 3.95% butterfat, 3.2% protein. “We made the decision to go with Holsteins as we wanted the production—modern breed-ing means there’s more focus on fertility and mobility and we are going for the ‘middle of the road’ type rather than show types. When we

were doing 6,000 litres—there’s no point going back to that,” says Owen. Mainly Cogent bulls are used, including Cogent Twist, Woodmarsh Asterix and Ladys-Manor RD Grafeeti, to produce medium-sized, robust cattle able to thrive at Cwmnofydd. The ration is based on what the Tamplins describe as a ‘very traditional and simple’ grass and maize silage system, with forage in ring feeders and compound in the winter. As well as an extra allocation of compound at midday to top up, high yielders are also fed a

Back into dairying after 15 year break

The Tamplins describe the system at Cwmnofydd Farm as ‘very traditional and simple’ with grass and maize silage fed out in ring feeders.

Safe storageof grain

by

Dr Stephen Whelan,

AHDB Dairy R&D Manager

With combine harvesters starting to rollinto fields across the UK, there will soon bea supply of 2015 grain available for livestock farmers to purchase. There aremany purchasing options available forcereals, and farmers should carefully consider which one is best suited to theirsystem.

For example, grain may be forward purchased and collected from the seller onan as-required basis. Placing the onus onthe seller to maintain the grain in a mannerthat is fit for use as an animal feed. In thiscase, the price per tonne of grain may behigher than if purchased straight from thefield, but you will not need to store thegrain yourself, which has its own associated cost.

These costs will vary depending on themethod but the end goal is the same; thegrain must be kept in a manner that maintains its suitability as an animal feed,ie free from biological, physical and chemical contaminants (moulds, stonesand pesticides).

Correct storage helps to ensure the maximum energy and protein value isrealised when the grain is offered to yourlivestock. Colleagues in AHDB Cereals &Oilseeds recently published a guide on thesafe storage of grains and oilseeds, whichcan be downloaded from their website,cereals.ahdb.org.uk However, while thisdocument is useful for background information, it only covers drying and storing of grains and there are otheroptions available to livestock farmers. Formore information on these alternatives,you can consult the AHDB Beef & Lambguide on grain storage, which can be downloaded from their website, beefandlamb.ahdb.org.uk

In conclusion, proper storage methodsallow the nutritional value of the grain tobe maintained, ensuring your livestockhave the best quality feed available tothem. However, it is important to carefullyconsider the costs associated with eachmethod, taking into account infrastructurethat is already in available on farm.


60:40 maize/grass mix (this is 20:80 for the low yielders). “Last year we had 40 acres of maize grown on contract, but we’ve knocked this back to 26 acres this year. With the milk price where it is, we felt we couldn’t justify any more than that,” says Owen. Around 70 acres of high sugar Aber grass mix leys were cut in late May for clamp silage by local contractors. Another 50 acres will go into

feeding the cows and for the sheep, plus 40 acres of second cut put into the clamp later on. NWF technical sales specialist Luke Thomp-son says that, in a system like that at Cwmno-fydd, there can be no chances taken with forage quality. “Spring 2014 was very challenging for mak-ing silage, resulting in some wet, acidic material.

product to the ration from the start of autumn feeding and it helped avoid digestive upsets and improved performance,” says Luke, who adds that a silage additive is also used. The cows also receive a bespoke mineral blend which was put together following analy-sis of the water two years ago.

“The water is relatively high in iron be-cause of the coal measure, plus low in cobalt and selenium. Since adding it to the ration, we’ve seen

-ond service improve and the calving index tighten up,” says Owen.

Calving is year round with an autumn bias—cows go out as soon as possible in the spring

for high yielders. Dry cows are fed pellets plus haylage in the summer, but everything is geared to keeping the system simple, says Owen.

“The milkers are set

stocked until June, when they go out onto the silage aftermaths. The sheep, which are Lleyn

cows. “They lamb in two blocks in January and early March then utilise the rougher ground no good for the cows in the summer, before tidying the cattle grazing in the autumn and winter. “The lambs are finished and sold via Monmouthshire market. Having this second enterprise helps balance out milk price dips, and

While the current milk price is a concern, the plan at Cwmnofydd remains to push cow numbers up to 90 and then focus on driving up production. “The system works well—the size of the unit means one of us can be away and the other can manage with the help of our col-lege student, Megan, who comes in three days a week. We can’t do anything about the milk price, but we can keep focusing on getting the most from our cows,” adds Owen.

Tom and Owen Tamplin with NWF technical sales specialist Luke Thompson.

The Lleyn ewes are put to the Charollais. The sheep are used to tidy up dairy ground.

DAIRYING IN WALES

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For the full range of Milkivit milk replacers ask your feed supplier or calf specialist.

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DAIRYING IN WALES

High up on the hill above Caerphilly, with land

stretching up to 1,100ft among the redundant slag heaps of what was the coal mining centre of south Wales, is 140-acre Tyn-y-cwm Farm, home to the Hillbarn and Jackpot herds of pedigree Holstein cattle. Gareth Watts and his son, Jack, run 100 cows with followers on a simple system that is producing competition winning cattle. Despite much of their land being steeply sloping, the Watts maximise output from their 140 acres—around 25 acres are down to short-term Italian and Wester-wold leys used for early grazing before yielding two or three cuts of silage. The rest are long-term leys which deliver two cuts of silage or grazing. “Cows are paddock grazed in the summer, and winter feeding is based on grass and maize silage, with most grass silage being made at home. We buy in around 40

acres of maize and additional grass silage as required,” says Gareth. “The forage is fed out via ring feeders, with compound in the parlour. The herd is averaging 8,500 litres at 4.0% butterfat, 3.2%

protein, and a SCC of 140, with a calving interval of 405 days,” says Gareth. Heifers are generally calved in two batches—one in early summer and the second batch in late au-

tumn, so heifers can be anything from two to two-and-a-half years old at calving. “All heifers are bred and reared on farm with a focus on growing them correctly,” says Jack. “The bull calves are usually sold at a fortnight old, but any from good families are kept for breeding.” This policy has seen bulls from Tyn-y-cwm going to established Holstein herds including Styche, Deri, Saintclear and Crossrigg. “We sold a couple of bulls recently which the buyer had seen on our Facebook page. I think social media will play an increasing role in marketing our cattle—we’ve had enquiries from farmers in their 70s who use the internet to keep up to speed with what’s happening around

the world in cattle breeding,” says Jack. Calves are weaned at eight to 10 weeks and move from starter pellets onto an 18% CP rearer plus

Producing competition winning cattle

The 90-cow milking herd is averaging around 8,500 litres at the moment.


good quality straw, fed to appetite. Depending on availability, haylage may replace the straw as the heif-ers get closer to bulling age. “This is flexible depending on what is available and building space. There’s pressure on both so we go with what works,” says Gareth. NWF technical specialist Luke Thompson works with the Watts on nutrition manage-ment for their young-stock. “There is a keen emphasis on young-stock performance at Tyn-y-cwm and so

-ible on supplemen-tary feed according to the forage available. The show ring suc-cess being achieved demonstrates what can be done by combining the right genetics with a close attention to ration manage-ment,” says Luke. The herd regularly enters the Monmouthshire Herd Competi-tion, and has had considerable success, winning Champion Herd on Inspection three times in the past four years. Most recently, in the 2014 competition, in addition to being First Herd on Inspection,

the Champion Heifer class with

cow progeny with the Ivy family,

cows (purchased and homebred). In addition to the herd com-petition, Jack has enjoyed con-siderable show ring success, after getting involved with showing cattle while on placement with

the Seaton family, in Shropshire. Starting with local shows, just four years ago, he now regularly shows at national events, including the Welsh Dairy Show, Celtic Dairy Showcase, and the National Calf Show. Results including Reserve Junior Champion two years run-ning at the Celtic Dairy Showcase with Hillbarn Sublimity Fillpail

32 and Hillbarn Shot-tle Roxy 10, as well as 2nd and 5th at the Na-tional Calf Show 2014 with Hillbarn Gold-

-pot Fever Dawnette, respectively.

There is a strong emphasis on cow fami-lies at Hillbarn and Jackpot, with old es-tablished families of

Fiona, Cross Stitch, Fillpail, and Jasmine featuring heavily. More recently, selective purchases have introduced Roxy, August, Ivy, and Farrah families. Embryos have also played a role in the breeding programme with some exciting prospects be-ing Sally from Styche Holsteins, Dawnette from Hodgelynn Hol-steins (Canada), and Mist from Heather Holme (Canada). Bulls are selected for type with the current sires being Crackholm Fever and Regancrest Altaiota, as well as older bulls, Comestar Outside and Picston Shottle. “If the bull is good enough, use it,” says Jack. “I’m not sold on the idea of genomics yet—our aim is strength and type—that is what we breed for and it works for us. After

Gareth Watts.

Jack Watts tops up the rearer nuts for one of the heifer groups.

DAIRYING IN WALES

With silage typically accounting for 40-70% of daily feed intake when cows are fully housed, variations in silage quality can have a massive impact on cow performance. Yet although most recognise that feed value often differs markedly from clamp to clamp and between the various cuts of grass silage, the substantial variation within a single clamp or across a clamp face is largely overlooked when formulating rations.

According to data generated last winter using NIR4Farm – a revolutionary portable spectrometer capable of real-time on-farm feed and forage analysis – key parameters like dry matter (DM) can vary by as much as 10% from the top to the bottom of each clamp, and by as much as 5% from side to side.

For a cow being fed 40 kg freshweight of grass silage daily, even a 2.5% reduction in silage DM from one day to the next can cut DM intake by 1kg, energy intake by 11MJ and milk yield by 2 litres/day!

This variation isn’t just in the DM content, and it isn’t just an isolated example.

Every aspect of silage quality that affects feeding value –

and volatile fatty acids – can vary. A study by Trouw Nutrition back in 2013 found that grass silage NDF also varied by around 10% across a single clamp face, whilst energy density differed by 1.6MJ ME/kg DM and crude protein by 3%.

Combine these differences and the potential day to day impact on cow nutrient intake – and subsequent performance – is huge.

Yet until now, silage sampling and analysis typically has focused only on producing average values for the whole clamp face, with ration formulations adjusted several days later when the results arrive. Even daily on-farm adjustments are reactions to yesterday’s intakes, yesterday’s milk production and yesterday’s silage quality.

That’s now set to change – new portable analysis equipment like NIR4Farm is making it possible to monitor and adjust rations daily based on measured trends in silage quality variation, not spot samples after the fact.

It’s a new era for ration optimisation, and a new era for precision feeding.

For more information or a free silage quality assessment sheet phone 028 9447 3478.

Dr Derek McIlmoyle, AB Vista Technical Director for GB & Ireland

Forage analysis: NIR4 Farm

Don’t let silage variability undermine production this winter

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Clear business focus drives dairy unit forwardMike Green visited Neil Baker on his Somerset dairy unit to see what caught the eye of the judges and made him the 2015 NMR/RABDF Gold Cup winner.

GOLD CUP FEATURE

The one thing Gold Cup winner Neil Baker does not do is stand

still. He is constantly looking for opportunities to improve his busi-ness—with the welfare of his cows,

milk contract and opportunities to expand at the forefront of his mind. Plans currently underway for the next 12 months include new and improved facilities for dry cows, introducing fresh grass into the TMR and building a anaerobic digester with sand separator. The family-owned Rushywood Farm at Haselbury Plucknett, Som-erset, now extends to 692 hectares. Over the past 12 months the herd has increased by 520 head to 1,800

cows. This has been achieved with homebred heifers, heifers purchased from Germany and the introduction of 50 Jersey cows to the herd. With 55% of the herd being heifers, yields are currently running at just over 11,000 litres sold at 3.8% butterfat and 3.4% protein. “Our business strategy is to broadly follow what our family has been doing for the past four generations,” explains Neil. “This is to care for our animals in the very best way so they produce high yields at low costs, so that we can invest in people, facilities and further expansion.” Milk was sold to Müller Wise-man on a Tesco contract but in

April 2014 Neil moved to Arla be-cause he sees a good future in milk with the company. “I strongly believe our industry needs to co-operate more, and Arla’s access to international markets is unique among UK milk buyers.” The business had been produc-ing cheese until three years ago but due to tight margins this was dis-continued. “We had been breeding for cheese production for over 30 years but then stopped when we were on a liquid milk contract and moved to milk bulls. We need to produce for our milk contract and are now back to component bulls to meet Arla’s new payment schedule being introduced in 2018. This will be a new world and the

base price will go and we will only be paid on constituents leaving the farm.” This is one of the main reasons Jerseys have been introduced into the herd over the past 12 months. At the moment they are mixed in with the Holstein cows and their health, fertility and performance is being monitored and compared closely with the rest of the herd. They are currently averaging 7,800 litres.

July last year and thought we would try them and have now built up to 50 head.” Neil would like to convert a cubicle shed for a dedicated Jersey group. “We have a barn with 250

Neil Baker at the entrance to Rushywood Farm in Somerset.



GOLD CUP FEATURE

cows which could be converted to house 300 Jerseys. We can make the cubicles smaller and

replace the 30-inch headlocks to 24 inches—so in a 20 foot bay we can feed eight Holsteins or 10 Jerseys.

This is a 20% increase in stocking and they will eat 20% less with high components and fewer health

problems.” The youngstock are reared at nearby Manor Farm and im-provements are being made here to reduce heifer rearing costs.

more hutches installed so calves can be kept on the farm longer. “The youngstock are reared away

we are trying to reduced this by improving calf and heifer housing facilities. We are also aiming to reduce rearing costs by getting the

months to 22 months,” says Neil. All the milking cows at Rushy-wood Farm are bedded on deep sand cubicles, and are housed year-round. Sand bedding was introduced in 2003 but caused problems initially. So in 2004 Neil went on a study tour to the United States to look at managing sand bedding. “You can have more cows with sand bedding because you get fewer problems and can push ahead. We were getting trouble with it because we were

Over the past 12 months the herd has increased by 520 head to 1,800 cows and housed in this extended barn.


Typical milking cow ration

Grass silage 15.0kg

Maize silage 13.5kg

Premix/blend 23.0kg

Premix contains:

Maize meal 5.5kg

Molasses 1.0kg

Water 6.0kg

C16 fat 200g

Minerals 100g

Also includes mycotoxin binder, Optigen, limestone and salt.

Blend contains:

Rape meal 4.5kg

Rolled wheat 1.5kg

Distillers grains 1.25kg

Sugar beet pulp 1.0kg

Soya hulls 1.0kg

Palm kernel 0.75kg

Molasses 0.20kg

managing the sand like sawdust and worried that it was going to wear out and block up our ma-chinery and equipment. We have changed our attitude and now we don’t worry about this—metal and concrete is a lot cheaper and easier to replace than dairy cows. “We got the dimensions of the cubicles right so the cows did not soil the sand beds and made them

easier to clean out. The cubicles are now very comfy for the cows which encourages them to lie down as much as possible while lameness and mastitis cases have been reduced.” Milking three times a day through an 80-point rotary parlour,

-portant. “We carry out full milking prep at every milking, focussing

on hygiene and udder stimulation, and over the winter introduced teat sanitising brushes at the point of entry into the parlour.” All mastitis cases are moni-tored closely. Neil monitors case rates monthly, uses cell count data to identify problem cows and clus-ter dips after those cows have been milked. “Any cow with two cases in a lactation is culled,” he says. “We were running at 25.6 cases per 100 cows last year and are currently running at 13 cases. In February we only had two cases of mastitis.” Working in groups of six, one man will foremilk, one clean the teats with the automated brushing unit, one put on the clusters and

after milking. There is a barn operator moving the groups of cows to and from the parlour and another scraping out. “When we get a new milker they will be shadowed by a senior

to make sure they learn the job correctly,” explains Neil. “I am currently setting up structured job descriptions and giving those with more responsibility an incentive to move up the pay grades. For example one of the milkers is re-sponsible for changing the liners in the parlour and will be paid more. “We also take the opportunity

organised by local vet practices,” he says. The farm harvests 1,000 acres

then planted with maize. A total of 800 acres of maize is grown. Lucerne is also grown. In 2012 there was 250 acres of lucerne but

this got wiped out by wet weather. This year 150 acres of maize will be grown and the area is still being increased. “We have a range of soil types on the farm and grow lucerne on the lighter land,” explains Neil. “Lucerne is a palatable feed and adds variety to the ration and I like to have it in the TMR of the dry cows and freshly calved cows to help get protein into them.” Newly calved cows are in the fresh group for 20 days and then move into the milking groups including a breeding pen with 500 cows. There are also two heifer groups and two pregnant pens.


GOLD CUP FEATURE

Fifty Jersey cows have been introduced to improve herd milk solids.Cow comfort is a priority with deep sand beds an important part of this.


One key element of the business is that everything that happens to a cow is recorded—and costed—giv-ing a valuable insight into produc-tion costs and keeping individual cow management focussed and

Particular attention is paid to transition cow management—to the point where every cow is scored and costed on calving and getting into milk with a target set

Transition scoring

Neil has developed his own tran-sition scoring system looking at cows from calving to 30 days in

by themselves with no problem

incidents are recorded—includ-ing calving problems, milk fever, retained foetal membranes, dis-placed abomasum, severe metritis

For all these health events Neil records the treatment cost for each cow in addition to the cost of rou-

labour charge for both routine and

-out problem and milk well with

subsequent health problems such

work out at over £500 and in-variably the cow is culled before it

scores the freshly calved cows for a

are assessed in monthly calving batches—for example, cows calv-ing in July will be assessed at the


ration (see table) except the fresh cows where two kilos of lucerne

and pick up fresh grass has been purchased and zero grazed grass

last year and it worked well,” says

we will be able to feed grass most of the year and to spread manure

But the main advantage is

the cost of growing and harvesting the grass and intends to feed 20kg

Dry cows get a ration compris-ing six kilos of straw and two kilos of lucerne mixed with the milking

In order to improve the ef-

adding a mile of pipeline to aid

spreading of liquid manure this year, and is also building an anaerobic digester with a sand

venture with an energy company and will utilise all the slurry from

matches to my cows using their

Everything is inseminated

to improve fertility, so we moni-

barren after calving and do not

this is limiting heifer production and we may struggle to replace

service of the heifers and on all the Jersey cows because there is no

GOLD CUP FEATURE

Vital attention given to transition cow management

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will be given a monensin bolus to prevent ketosis and associated health problems. A salmonella vaccine is also administered at this time. Dry cows are housed in two

and the near group loose housed and bedded on straw. “We have tried the ‘just in time’ calving sys-tem but too many cows are messed about. I think it is better to let the cows calve themselves and get on with it.” Immediately after calving cows get 20 litres of warm water with a fresh cow tonic. Older cows will also get a calcium bolus. “Cows that have had twins or a

killer,” says Neil. The two dry groups are cur-rently housed and managed at Manor Farm but Neil has plans to convert a shed at Rushywood Farm for the near group. “At the moment freshly calved cows are transported here which is not ideal. So we are converting a shed for the calving group so we can bring them here at three weeks. “We will be able to give them better supervision and it will be

better because they are not moved between farms when fresh,” he explains. The straw-bedded shed for 100 dry cows will have plenty of feed space—72 inches per cow—and should be ready by October. The fresh cow group of 150 cows is managed by a dedicated

the fresh group being milked and

health problems such as metritis. Any that need attention are marked and those with a seri-ous problem moved to a hos-pital group and milked in a separate parlour until they are ready to move back into the fresh group. The cows are also routinely checked at day four after calving for retained cleansings and at day 20 to make sure they are ready for rebreeding.

• Starting from next month Neil Baker will be writing a regular column in British Dairying to update readers on latest developments on his dairy unit along with his thoughts on some topical dairy issues.

GOLD CUP FEATURE


Dry cows in the calving group are loose housed and bedded on straw.

have completed 30 days in milk. “We have been transition scor-ing for the past two years and you need to keep very good records. We are now using this information to rank cows and decided which

“Most cows that have health problems at transition will not conceive anyway. Cows with an assisted calving are twice as likely to get metritis while RFMs after twins is highly correlated.

84% success rate

“We are currently achieving a transition success rate of 84%. We have touched 90% and gone down to 70%—the target is over 90%. To achieve this he has strict protocols in place. Cows have a dry period of 55 days. Cows

of developing mastitis in the dry period are treated with antibiotics. All dry cows are treated with a teat sealant. Three weeks before calving po-

being too fat or thin, or with twins,


Training future generationMeeting the huge demand for business training from aspiring dairy farmers is an issue The Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) are addressing with their latest business training programme. Deadline for the next one is the end of this month.

DAIRY BUSINESS TRAINING

RABDF is meeting demand for business training from aspir-

ing dairy producers by relaunch-ing Entrepreneurs in Dairying. It is also introducing an additional

-ing its successful inaugural pro-gramme held in 2014.

specialist tuition and coaching for

in September. RABDF policy director, Tim Brigstocke explains: “After train-

delighted that demand is running so high for this type of business training. We are in a position to relaunch Entrepreneurs in Dairy-

to 60 aspiring dairy farmers. “We are also pleased to con-

-mentary organisations:

by the extension team and Dairy Pro membership.

dairy farmers.

proven track record of advising on the various farm business arrange-ments available. “Once again the Entrepre-neurs in Dairying programme is

of training amongst people already

managers and farmers’ sons and

on the family unit. “They are all keen to progress

they require training and coaching

joint ventures or contracting ar--

management.” According to Tony Evans, from agricultural consultants Andersons, an entrepreneur devel-ops a business plan after acquiring human and technical skills and

future success. “The dairy industry has never provided a greater opportunity in an environment of challenging change,” he says.

Training goals

of the Entrepreneurs in Dairying -

ing key experiences and training:1: Business goal setting.2: Understanding the principles of investment and return.3: Analysing business perfor-mance.

to achieve both.

-nities from business joint ventures.

develop a business. “Business opportunities currently

next 12 to 18 months,” predicts Mr

entrepreneur in the best position to take advantage of these op-portunities.

-preneurs in Dairying course has an excellent track record for establish-

to the dairy industry be they re-turning to the family business, an employee stepping up to business

entrant to a dairy business,” adds Mr Evans.

Entrepreneurs in Dairying at a glance

College locations:

Gelli Aur College, Carmarthenshire.

Reaseheath College, Cheshire.

Programme organisers:

Centre.

Programme features:

daytime depending on the college. Delivered by industry specialists accompanied by a local farming business.

steps of your dairy career.

More information:For an application form and more details, contact RABDF’s Emily Egan on 0845 4582711, email [email protected], or go to the RABDF

Key date: August 31st is deadline for applications. www.teemoreengineering.com

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DAIRY BUSINESS TRAINING

Entrepreneurs in Dairying helped me to progress quickly from gen-eral farm worker to taking on a lot more responsibility as assistant herdsman with a 450-cow herd. It also left me realising that anything is possible if you have the mental drive to achieve your goal. My father was a teacher, we had a 35 acre holding, and I’d been working on dairy units since I was 14 years old. I chose to do a degree in Countryside Management at the University of Aberystwyth and I thought I’d be able to get a job as a countryside ranger and then work on the family holding. However, after graduating I realised in my heart of hearts that I wanted my own farm with my own cows.

The course was recommended to me and I found it to be one big learning curve. I discovered so much about how a farming business works from budgeting, detailed financial management

with people. The speakers were really mo-tivating, in particular Tony Evans, and some of the practical guys, for example 26 year old Matt Jackson who had already established a 400-cow unit from scratch. Overall, the course has given

career and understand what it takes to make money and even-tually establish a business. I’ve caught the bug! One of my priorities now is to

dairy farming business, and to do that I’ve started to save to buy heif-ers with the option to sell them. Eventually I’d like to have the opportunity for a joint venture. For the immediate future, I’m hoping to go to New Zealand to enhance my knowledge in grass-land management systems and low input businesses.

I’d recommend the course to anyone who wants to go dairy farming on their own. Entrepre-neurs in Dairying is a definite must.

-

business knowledge, it’s great for networking and getting to know a lot of really inspiring people.

British Dairying met two dairy farmers who completed Entrepreneurs in Dairy 2014 training course and asked for their views on the training course.Tomos Huws, Padog Farms, Conwy, North Wales

Matt Senior, Crewkerne, Somerset

Attending the Entrepreneurs in Dairying course has enabled me to bring a much sharper focus to the business—to cost control and knowledge on

-larly useful in the current climate. It has also helped to better prepare us for the future—our next major step is to secure our own dairy unit. My wife Coral and I are currently on a journey—we are both from non-farming backgrounds, worked on neighbouring farms during the school holidays, studied at agricultural college and started employment as herdspersons. We met 25 years ago and found we both had the same goal and passion to farm in our own right. I went on to be-come a herd manag-er before we secured the current share farming agreement six years ago based on the New Zea-land model—initial-ly 20:80 where we owned 20% of the 200-cow herd and youngstock, and supplied all the ma-chinery and labour in return for 20% of the milk payment while the landowner supplies and takes the remainder. We upgraded to 40:60, and then to 50:50 where we are currently. We’ve expanded to 300 cows and now own 50% of the youngstock. We are look-ing to move on to 60:40, by which time we should be near to accumulating

Entrepreneurs in Dairying was attractive for its emphasis on business skills, both as a refresher and broadening my level of knowledge and un-

starters, I left with an understanding of our accounts which are prepared

use in our farm discussion group. Also really useful was the networking aspect—meeting more like-

course looked at employing labour which is something we are likely to have to seriously consider in future.

useful—two heads are better than one—and each of us picked up bits the other didn’t. It helped us get a better understanding of our long-term goals and how to achieve them. Yes, I’d certainly recommend this course to other dairy producers, particularly those who are lined up for succession of a family business—it really helps to broaden the mind.

Matt and Coral Senior from Somerset.

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CROSSBREEDING

The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Hillsborough, Northern Ireland, has reported results of a ‘three-way’ crossbred dairy cow

breeding programme. Previous research at Hillsborough has demonstrated that crossbreeding Holstein cows with Jersey sires results in robust cows with similar milk solids yields as Holstein cows, but with fewer health problems and higher levels of fertility. The new study has demonstrated that many, although

bred to Scandinavian Red sires. The report says a ‘dilemma’ that is faced by many farmers who adopt

-bred heifers and cows. A number of possible breeding strategies exist, including ‘back crossing’ to one of the original breeds, the use of progeny tested crossbred sires, or the adoption of a ‘three-way’ crossbreeding programme. The three-way crossbreeding strategy is often advocated to maximise hybrid vigour in the long term, and this approach has been adopted within the dairy herd at Hillsborough. The Swedish Red breed was chosen due to the long-term focus on health and fertility traits within the Scandinavian countries. Consequently, Scandinavian sires would be expected to introduce positive fertility and health traits. The study involved 72 spring calving dairy cows comprising 36 Hol-stein cows and 36 three-way crossbred cows. The three-way crossbred

-stein crossbred cows were bred to sires of the Swedish Red breed. Cows of each genotype were managed on either a low (0.7t) or moderate (1.7t) concentrate input system for one full lactation.

-tion in milk yield, but no loss in milk solids yield. In addition, overall fertility performance was improved, while the incidence of mastitis was reduced. However, hoof health was not improved with the three-way crossbred cows, while intakes were lower.

AFBI crossbred trial results Holstein-Friesian

Three-way crossbred

Milk yield (kg/lactation) 7,310 6,378

Milk fat (%) 4.15 4.63

Milk protein (%) 3.34 3.54

Fat + protein yield (kg/lactation) 546 520

Somatic cell count (000/ml) 107 162

Conception rate to 1st AI (%) 37 37

Conception rate after 14 weeks (%) 72 90

Cows with at least one case of mastitis (%) 26 6

Cows with at least one case of lameness (%)

10 13

Crossbreeding trial results


Diet ‘alkalisation’ unlocks maximum milk output potentialto milk output potential, but often practical on farm issues limit the delivery of optimum performance, according to consultant Rob Cockroft.

WINTER FEEDING

Dairy farmers face a myriad of challenges if they are to

get their cows performing to their maximum potential with breed-ing, nutrition, environment and milking routine all interacting to

-try is creating high performance

producers to reach their output potential without compromising optimum rumen function and

Recent studies with dairy units that have made the switch to robotic milking—with the associ-ated feed intake, milking and cow

from robots—show that we really can feed high yielding cows more

Consultant Rob Cockroft from Cow Talk specialises in dairy cow

Using an advanced rationing and nutrition programme from pH6+, he’s been working with a number of robotic milkers with excellent results—drawing also on input from FiveF Alka, the company behind the alkaline-based preser-

In late August 2014 Chris Drake from Headley Hall Farm

was feeding good quality second cut clamp silage at around 35%

dry matter to high yielders in his 70-cow, all year round calving

averaging 31 litres a day and quite -

tember last year, the cows needed to move onto much wetter, more

also a maga joule (MJ) lower in

“The lower forage quality and prospect of a more acidic diet meant the threat of a fall away in performance was very real unless we fed higher levels of supple-ment, boosting ration starch and

“However, maintaining a high output ration without causing acidosis was the challenge and the pH6+ programme suggested the risk of digestive upset was

to alkalise the diet to deliver the nutrition the cows required,” Mr

The first step was to add

sources, this alkalising comple-mentary compound feed product

formulation ensures excess acids in the diet are quickly turned into ammonium salts, which are then

rumen degradable energy and

“This improves rumen func-tion, as well as helping to reduce the requirement for high protein feed ingredients like soya and rape

In the early autumn Mr Cock-roft was able to boost the ration starch and concentrate level—and the rumen pH still further—by introducing Alkanuts, fed 50:50

Mr Drake was already feeding

Robotic feed data

“Data from the robot feeders showed that the cows were cud-ding well despite the increased concentrate intake, so much so that in July we were able to increase the

“Mr Drake commented that rumination time really shot up soon after we introduced the AlkabupHa and this showed how content the cows were with the alkalised ration,” says Rob Cock-

According to data from the robots, cows were spending an average of 390 to 410 minutes a

Consultant Rob Cockroft (left) in discussion with Chris Drake.

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WINTER FEEDING

day cudding before the ration was alkalised. After alkalisation this increased to 430 to 470 minutes per day, despite virtually doubling the starch level, reducing the forage to concentrate ratio and feeding more cake per robot visit. “The alkalisation of the diet was tremendously effective throughout the period when we had to feed the wet, acidic silage and shows just what can be achieved by this rationing ap-proach. Milk stayed within the target range of 28.5 to 30.5 litres per cow, while milk butterfat and protein actually rose slightly—an-other indication of the excellent nutritional status of the animals. Cow fertility and condition also remained good. “What’s great about robot milking systems is that we can access so much data now on how well the cows are performing. And on Mr Drake’s farm the data show the cows are happy on their ration, milking to maximum potential and in excellent health. You can see it with your own eyes too and its very rewarding when things

do come together so well,” Mr Cockroft says. “Often it is us that prevent the cows producing the

milk they have been bred to yield. In fact, who knows what the po-tential of a modern dairy cow is,

but in my experience you certainly get a lot closer to achieving it when milking with robots,” he adds.

Robotic milking has allowed Chris Drake to get more from his herd and closely monitor performance.

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Correct energy sources will drive milk production

New research means we have a better understanding of how cows use the energy in the

according to Mike Chown from UFAC UK.

ENERGY IN THE DIET

Dairy farmers are used to the concept that all energy sources are not the same, suggests

Mike Chown. “They are aware of starch, dietary

performance,” he says. “They know to avoid -

clinical acidosis.”

the energy in the diet and the end products pro-duced is great news for dairy farmers looking to

and lower digestive tract. When feeding cows

-tions of those end products of digestion such as

-duction need adequate levels of what is called glucogenic energy, which is a term all farmers

Glucogenic energy drives yields

He explains that glucogenic energy is the en-ergy that drives milk production as it is used to

glucogenic energy sources produce propionate,

precursor of glucose which in turn is required for lactose production. Lactose is vital for milk yield as it is what draws water into the udder

have, the more lactose is produced and the

production.-

cogenic energy, cows will use protein as an en-

source of glycerol which is another pre-cursor

and can leave the cow low on protein which

and reduced fertility.”

The key diet parameter is the proportion of the total energy in the diet that is glucogenic energy and Mike explains that all leading ration-ing systems will now report the glucogenic en-

more closely. This is particularly important in

optimum fertility. “You are looking for a Gluco-

is vital to ensure you do so while maintaining optimum rumen per-formance. “Feeds like cereals and molas-ses provide rapidly fermented car-

will depress pH. Mono-propylene glycol will

matter intakes and so lower total energy fed.

supply and so may not improve the ratio.”

Mr Chown says another simple check on

diet adequacy is to look at milk lactose data on

4.6% suggests cows are short in glucogenic en-

will have a high glucogenic energy demand. “Many propionate and glucose sources are

fermented quickly and can poten-tially lead to an increased acidosis risk,” Mike warns. “Dietary sup-plements that contain glycerol can

a rumen-inert non-liquid form such

-cogenic energy which do not upset rumen fermentation.

Liquid forms of glycerol have

fermented. Glyco-Buf which en-

passes through the rumen quickly delivering

kilo will provide the same glucogenic energy

“Focussing on the glucogenic energy levels

economics of milk production this year,” he adds.

Mike Chown.

Glucogenic Energy Ratio is becoming a key criterion for assessing dairy diets.

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Finland inspired by UK grasslandAfter visiting UK dairy farms in 2012, Finnish grassland consultants Anu Ellä and Jarkko Storberg encouraged their clients back home to introduce perennial ryegrass and white clover into their silage leys, with impressive results. Sara Gregson went to Finland to see.

GRASSLAND UPDATE

There are 8,000 dairy farmers in Finland and grass is the

biggest crop, covering 40% of the farmed area. Much of the country is covered in pine and birch forest or lakes—of which there are more than 200,000. The southern tip is on the same latitude as John O’Groats, so winters are long with deep snow most years and temperatures in the south down to minus 20°C or lower. Winters are much harsher further north in Lapland. Grass has to be tough to sur-vive and does not start growing until the end of April—the start of a short five-month growing season. However, warm tem-peratures (21°C and over) and long daylength create ideal conditions for fast grass growth—up to 5cm or 250kg DM/day. The time from

Average herd size is 30 cows, but there are bigger units with up to 120 cows. Fifteen per cent of the national herd is housed all year in a cow house—lying in cubicles and often milked by robots. Three quarters of the cows go out to do some grazing throughout the summer, for which some farmers receive additional milk payment. Calving take place all year to produce a level milk supply. The most popular dairy breed is Finn-ish Ayrshire with more Holstein coming in. Annual milk yields

vary, but can be over 12,000 litres on the highest input systems. Most of the milk produced is bought by Valio, the biggest dairy company in Finland. This is owned by 17 co-operatives and runs 16 processing plants, with an annual milk intake of 1,900 million litres. With a domestic market of only 5.4 million people, most of the dairy products are exported, including cheese to America and baby food to China. Traditionally, neighbouring Russia bought almost half of Valio’s dairy total output. But since

from Russia’s ban on imported food products from the EU, and

-kets. Nevertheless, they continue their commitment to give farmers a stable milk price, which is the highest in Europe. Their current price—at the beginning of Au-gust—is 27.48p/litre.

Grazing mixtures

Traditional grass leys in Finland are grown for silage—rarely would a farmer think about growing a

The most common mixtures contain Timothy, which survives winter well and grows early in the season, and meadow and tall fes-cue—large, robust species which

perform better later on. With some farmers adding red clover, this collection produces an erect, tall crop with not much ‘bottom’, leaving up to 50% bare ground after winter. With so much growing space left empty, average grass yields were bumping along at 5.0 tonnes DM/ha, even with fertiliser applications of between 100kg and 240kg nitrogen/ha. With this in mind, grassland advisers Anu and Jarkko, who work for ProAgria a commercial food chain consultancy that advis-es 85% of Finnish farmers, came to England in May 2012, to see what type of grasses we grow here. I took them to see dairy farm-ers in Shropshire and Wales and the Grassland UK event at Shepton Mallet, where they met special-ists from DairyCo and the British Grassland Society. They were im-pressed by the mixtures they saw and the density of the swards—both for cutting and grazing. They

of 10t DM/ha or more. Back home in Finland they de-cided that winter-hardy varieties of perennial ryegrass and white clover may help raise the quantity and quality of their farmers’ silage

between the Timothy and fescue plants. Sowing more species and varieties would also help spread the risk of extreme and unusual weather.

Jarkko (right) and Anu learned all about rotational grazing from organic dairy farmer Tim Downes in Shropshire.

Stronger Formula


GRASSLAND UPDATE

They worked with a large seed house to devise, source and trial new mixtures that might work in conditions across Finland. These included varieties that had been bred in Sweden and Estonia. Anu and Jarkko then persuad-ed some of their farmer clients to reseed their silage leys with these new mixtures. The most popular one contains 55% Timothy and 15% each of tall fescue, meadow fescue and perennial ryegrass, with 4.0kg to 5.0kg/ha of a red, white and alsike clover blend. Sowing rates for a complete new reseed are high at 25kg to 30kg to allow for winter losses. Overseeding, the following or second spring after establishment, with perennial ryegrass, Timothy and white clover, is carried out at a seed rate of 10kg/ha.

The results have been rapid and positive—with reports of silage yields doubling as a result. Lead farmers who participate in facilitated discussion groups are now achieving 10t DM/ha, and the best ones even more. “Of course it’s not always easy to tell whether it is just the perennial ryegrass that is deliver-ing these large increases in yield,” says Anu. “But since our trip to England there has certainly been a lot of interest in improving silage quantity and quality by using other species. The farmers are believing us and having very good results. “We have visited other coun-tries including Denmark, Ireland

England was the one which really inspired us,” she adds.

White or black plastic?Finnish farmers never use black plastic to wrap their silage bales or cover their clamps. And they never stack bales on their rounded edges or place them on top of each other.

exactly what is inside when it comes to feeding out, allowing a mix and match approach to the ration.

“Black wrap absorbs more heat than white and when hot it expands and becomes more permeable. This allows more oxygen to enter—exactly what you don’t want,” Jarkko explains. “Fifteen years ago some farmers in Finland tried black plastic—but they were disappointed with the quality and amount of wastage. “Bales can easily become misshapen if stored on their edge rather than

“We wouldn’t stack bales more than one high, again because the lower bales get squashed and change shape, stretching the plastic. “We believe the next move after wrapping should be to the animals for them to eat. It is easier for the farmers here to collect them direct from the

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Monitoring rumen healthExtensive expansion plans, coupled with the drive to increase rumen health, means that there is no room for complacency when it comes to nutrition management at Calcourt Farms, Montgomery. This included investing in rumen monitor boluses to give them an insight into how well their cows are being fed.

RUMEN HEALTH

Maurice Jones farms in part-nership with his son Fraser

and over the last few decades the pair have seized every opportunity to take on available land in order to expand the enterprise to 2,500 acres. “I came back to the farm after

-

then,” explains Maurice.

cows across three units and over the next couple of years we plan to double our numbers.

-

but we think there’s a future and

help future-proof our business. “This is Fraser’s project really.

Welshpool.”-

-

the planned expansion will only -

plains Maurice. “That’s why we’re

computerised rotary parlour in

that the unit will also be stocked with replacements from the fam-

Herd. “We don’t really want to buy in any replacements if we can help it. So, for the last couple of

this expansion in mind and we feel

stock to build our numbers up,” explains Fraser.

Health key to expansion

“Rumen health is key to the suc-cess of our expansion. We’re

and have worked hard to reduce setbacks caused by diet related health implications,” he says. “That’s why it’s really im-portant that all of our stock, from

of their ability, in the short and

Fraser explains that this prompted him to invest in rumen

“From a nutritional point of

on in the rumen. You can look at

the whole picture. This is why the boluses are so valuable. “They were placed inside six

to monitor the pH and tempera-ture in the rumen. The computer

-ity and then beamed it to a reader

the pH and temperature.” The bolus results recorded at

of the pH levels in the rumen were of healthy values. “They recorded pH levels of

for maximum productivity. The

nutritional content and is mini-

Fraser.

with rapeseed extract, rolled -

lasses and minerals.

-tive. What’s more, we can ensure

source. “But, with that comes the need to drive palatability and for this

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RUMEN HEALTH

reason, for as long as I can remem-ber, we’ve always included sugar beet pulp in the ration. It’s a good natural, home produced feed that’s

against acidosis. “What’s more, meeting our constituency targets set by our milk contract is really important, especially in the current climate. Our current butterfat levels are 3.9% which is above the industry average and I’m certain that sugar beet has a role to play in this.” Dr Michael Marsden, Trident Feeds technical manager explains that the high palatability of sugar beet feed drives feed intakes, while the slowly available energy helps

-sociated with high-starch diets. “This leads to improved feed conversion efficiency and in-creased animal performance. It’s the ideal feed on which to base simple, ‘rumen-friendly’ mixes for young stock, and a key ingredient

high performance dairy rations,” says Dr Marsden. “The most important thing

with a dairy cow is her health. If unhealthy, she is not going to be at the peak of her performance and if you get the rumen right she is going to work with you rather than against you,” adds Dr Marsden. Sugar beet pulp is fed all year round at Calcourt Farm and is in-cluded in all diets, including that of young stock.

“When it comes to rearing calves, maximising daily live weight gains while promoting health in order to obtain optimum financial and reproductive effi-ciency is key,” says Fraser. “All calves are kept in individ-ual hutches until they’re weaned into group pens at four weeks of age. The calves are fed milk twice

a day and from day one they’re

coarse mix that includes sugar beet pulp,” he explains. “It’s really important that

possible, be it heifers or steers, as poor management during the early stages of their life can have detrimental impacts.

Kick starting calf rumen

“In relation to the dairy herd, heif-ers that don’t grow at the required rate to hit the expected targets at bulling and subsequently calving can cost the farm business consid-erably. This is why ‘kick-starting’ the rumen from an early age is vital to avoid any growth checks. “What’s more, I truly believe that a healthy animal is a happy animal. And, that’s why I invested the money into the bolus trials. “ It was expensive but I’m now

my stock is correct, and rumen health remains a key part of the expansion strategy at Calcourt Farms,” adds Fraser.

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Treat pre-calving calcium CALCIUM NUTRITION

A new approach based on re-stricting the availability of

calcium in the dry cow transition diet is set to help improve dairy herd productivity.

-cally assumed to mean clinical milk fever and the impression is that the absence of clinical cases is a sign that calcium problems are not an issue—but this is not the case. While clinical milk fever

most serious impact occurs be-

cows have sub-clinical symptoms. “Every clinical case costs

around £300 and the costs of sub-

Cows with clinical or sub-clinical milk fever are also more prone to other metabolic problems and increased negative energy bal-ance meaning the total cost is far

One of the main consequences

on dry matter intakes which are

energy balance. He believes that

so getting cows settled in lactation -

better general metabolic health. Milk fever occurs when cows develop low calcium blood levels imme-diately around calv-ing when demand can greatly outstrip supply.

experience a high spike in demand for calcium at a time when feed intakes are reduced. If the cow is unable to meet the demand

mobilise body reserves but this can be slow and generally inadequate. There are three possible ways for cows to adapt to the demand for calcium. They can either:

-cium in the urine.—Increase calcium mobilisation from bone.—Increase calcium absorption from the intestine. Where a cow fails to adapt

-ciency Challenge’. Research has shown that if cows are provided with diets low in calcium in the transition period their metabolism adapts to in-

-ing calcium from the diet. The target calcium level in transition diets is in the region of 28 to 30g/cow/day. “In many farm situations it

generally have high calcium lev-

cow products are fed as part of the transition programme. “If we can reduce calcium

so maintaining blood levels and reducing

Challenge after calv-

CalFix is a new patented feed technol-ogy for close-up cows which is proven to restrict the availability of absorbable calcium in the pre-calving pe-

levels. Each kilogram of CalFix fed will absorb 9.0g of calcium from the diet. By reducing the quantity of

feed promotes the active calcium absorption mechanisms in the

The consequence is that the cow’s absorption systems are better pre-pared to cope with the dramatic increase in calcium requirements

clinical and sub-clinical milk fever. CalFix is highly palatable and readily eaten by cows. It can be easily incorporated in transition cow TMR diets or into dry cow compounds. It should be included as part of the dry cow ration in the last three weeks before calv-ing but should not be fed to cows after calving. Inclusion rates are typically two to three kg/cow/day depending on the calcium content of the diet. A quick ration check

Farmer’s experience

-

had been experiencing a number of issues with dry cow management

-

Dr John Allen.

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‘twisted stomachs’, milk fever cases and condition loss in the all year round calving herd. “No mat-ter what we did nothing seemed to change things for the better,” explains Mr Worth. “At the worst point I’d say about 25% of cows were failing to calve without a transition issue, including some with milk fever. This was obviously having a big impact on both herd productivity

it adding to vet costs, but it also meant cows were taking longer to get back in calf and it was hitting yields too.” Mr Worth says that milk fever was an underlying problem in the herd and adding to concerns over dry cow management. “We had a bit of a problem with this and there’s no doubt our move to using CalFix, has helped overcome it. “In May alone we calved more than 40 cows without problems and we’ve not used a single bot-tle of calcium in that time either, whereas before we would have been giving about 25% of cows a bottle of calcium just to be on the

safe side.” Feeding has been a straight-

winter, with three kg/head of dry cow nuts containing CalFix sprin-kled on top of the cows’ usual ra-tion once a day. “For the summer calvers we’re grazing them on a

them ad-lib straw at the same time. They then have three kg/head of the CalFix-containing dry cow feed

in a trough once a day and they eat it up well. “The important thing we’ve found is to ensure we pull out the closer to calving dry cows and manage them separately for at least three weeks pre-calving. They need to be on CalFix for that

from it. “It’s been pretty amazing just how well it’s cleared up the is-

while it is an added feed cost, it’s certainly cheaper than the costs of a lost cow or the delay to breeding we were seeing. “It’s also taken a lot of worry out of the day to day routine which is invaluable, particularly with milk prices where they are.” Mr Worth adds that impor-tantly the cows have looked well all the time he’s been feeding CalFix. “It’s certainly helped keep them in good order and that goes a long way to easier calvings and fewer post-calving issues such as milk fever.”

Dr Allen concludes that routinely reducing absorbable calcium in transition diets can reduce the risk and severity of the Calcium

clear implication for costs. More importantly it will mean cows eat more at the start of lactation to help restore energy balance and generally get settled into a healthy lactation more quickly.

Barry Worth has successfully addressed transition cow health issues.

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Ration review boosts yieldsOne of the few remaining dairy herds left on the High Weald in East Sussex, that calves as many as 160 (70%) of its cows in a six week mid-summer calving block, has seen a lift in yield of over 1,500 litres per cow during the last year.

FEEDING UPDATE

A review of the diet and intro-duction of a total mixed ration

(TMR) has seen lifts in intakes and increases yield by over 1,500 litres a cow—a 22% rise on the year. Monthly costings show the herd is now achieving as much as 40% of its production from forage and there has been a 10% rise in margin over purchased feed. This impressive increase in production and performance fol-lows a total re-vamp of the herd’s feeding system—even though compound use has been reduced by 9%. Since Jeremy and Anne Court-ney of Crouch’s Farm, East Hoath-ly, near Lewes switched their 220-cow Holstein herd to a simple TMR system there has not only been a 22% increase in yield but a

marked improvement in fertility and overall cow health and condi-tion. “We had been running the herd on a simple self-feed system based on grass and maize silage, but two years ago we made our best grass silage ever and yet our milk from forage went down. So we began to question how we were feeding the cows,” explains Anne. “We run a late summer/early autumn block calving sys-tem starting on 10th August and rely on good conception rates but we found we were still calving some cows in early December. In autumn 2013 we realised we just weren’t getting the performance we wanted—we’d dropped from 9,000 litres to around 7,500 litres.” The self-feed system involved

adding wheat feed to the grass silage and rape meal to the maize. Cows giving over 40 litres were re-ceiving 9.0kg of concentrate in the parlour. Some cows were becom-ing ketotic and weren’t achieving their potential. “We started to evaluate how we were feeding them and looked at all the alternatives including out of parlour feeders. We knew we had to feed more concentrates outside and less in the parlour and give the cows an even mineralised ration. Calving around 160 cows in six weeks relies on maintaining good fertility but conception rates fell to 33%. “The block calving system suits us and the farm and it means the team can be really focused on the job. We can achieve a very high standard of management during the calving and serving period,” says Anne. Ongoing concerns about the herd’s performance led farm manager Mark Lewis to suggest switching to a TMR system. Fol-lowing the successful on-farm trial of a diet feeder, a total overhaul of the herd’s nutrition was under-taken. A TMR system was the intro-duced with the aim of achieving optimum dry matter intakes and deliver a correctly balanced diet.

test of the new feeding system and saw freshweight daily intakes increase to an average of 24kg/head/day. The mix comprised 60% maize silage, 40% grass silage, 1.0kg hay, 4.0kg of a blend consisting of rape meal, maize distillers, sugar beet and Hypro-soya, 1.5kg Regumaize 44 and minerals. Dr Phil Holder, of molasses feed suppliers E D and F Man, says the aim was to achieve a diet that delivered 7% sugar. “The cane molasses blend Regumaize adds palatability to the diet, increases dry matter intakes and achieves more milk to be pro-duced from forage. But it sustains both milk protein and butterfat levels by replacing some of the starch in the diet with sugars. “Dairy farmers need to en-sure TMR and concentrate-based rations meet their cows’ energy requirements. Regumaize is an ex-cellent source of sucrose and trials

source of sugar to boost rumen fermentation and lift the produc-tion of microbial protein. Sucrose

excess ammonia.” Steve Fuller of ForFarmers has been working with the herd to formulate the new diets. “The aim

Farm manager Mark Lewis and Anne Courtney.

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FEEDING UPDATE

was for an overall energy density of at least 12 ME (MJ/kg/DM) in the TMR lactating cow ra-tion, and a total protein level between 17% and 18%. “We’ve seen a significant improvement in yield and conception rates have improved. You only have to look at the cows to see how well they’ve responded. Milk quality has been maintained and the herd is on target to reach 9,500 litres this summer which compares with 7,800 litres last year,” adds Steve Fuller. The TMR is currently providing M+27 litres.

Concentrate feeding cut

Mark Lewis, who runs the herd with herdsman Adam Wadey, says purchased feed costs per litre were less than they were a year ago. “Concen-trates fed in the parlour have been cut by 50%. And the 65 heifers that calved last autumn have been the best for years with twelve reaching over 10,000 litres. “This is a wet farm which doesn’t usually see cows out to grass until April 20th. During April to June this year the cows had access to the TMR diet overnight following afternoon milking.” As well as the increase in yield the diet

health and fertility. “Conception rates have risen to 50%, vet

bills are down and we’re spending less on semen,” notes Anne Courtney. “The cows look really well, we’ve had no acidosis and only a few milk fever problems since the changeover and we’re using less

bought-in feed. And as the herd’s performance has improved it has lifted morale and commit-

came up with the idea and have made it work.”

Big increases in dry matter intakes have been monitored since TMR was introduced.

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pact of BVD, IBR and leptospirosis on fertility. “Develop a programme and follow it to give heifers the best start in life. But remember to look after vaccines. Store them cor-

cold chain from collection right through to use. A degraded vac-cine will not deliver the planned immunity.” Once heifers are growing to size, the management of the ser-

impact on age at calving according to Huw Lloyd, Genus ABS techni-cal services director.

Fertility management

“Heifers are under much less stress than milking cows so should have higher levels of fertility. We need to exploit this by managing the service period closely so that they are served promptly and that heif-

are not allow to slip.” He said research shows that heifers growing at 0.8kg/day have better fertility. Growth rates above 0.9kg/day are associated with poorer conception rates. He ad-vises moving heifers into a service group three to four weeks before the start of the service period and allowing 45cm of feed trough space. “The good news is that heifers will stand to mount more than cows, standing on average 17 times per heat event with an average of 11 hours on active oestrus. We need to exploit this opportunity. “We need to target a 60% to 65% submission rate and 60% conception rates with conventional semen. Fertilisation will occur on 90% of heifers served so with

heifers who fail to conceive to a service it can be economic to use a

served again quickly.” He said that a significant number of farmers now use Genus ABS Reproductive Man-agement Systems (RMS) to tighten up the service period with over 7,000 heif-ers now enrolled on the service in the north of England. “Reducing the duration of the ser-vice period and im-proving overall fertil-ity levels can easily take a month

heifers enter the milking herd sooner,” Mr Lloyd suggested. Host farmer John Banks who runs 320 high yielding Holsteins

admitted that heifer rearing on the farm had been ‘haphazard’ but a closer focus had brought significant

-ing growth rates more closely and taking serv-ing heifers more seri-ously we have reduced age at first calving which has had a big im-pact on the business.”

The herd is now served using RMS and he has in-

vested in improving straw yards, -

ing yolks. In the last 12 months,

been 25.3 months. Average age

with 16.2 months average age at conception.

More heifers available

“We have increased the number of heifers entering the herd and now have the option of increasing herd size or selling heifers. We have also changed to sexed semen on heifers and are producing eight replacements from every 10 heifers entering the herd,” he added.

Huw Lloyd.

Improved lighting and increased space have improved heifer fertility.


HEIFER REARING

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Latest bull indexes show stability at the top

Independent breed adviser Kevin Lane reports on the latest bull placings from the AHDB Dairy August bull proof run.

BREEDING MATTERS

With DairyCo now subsumed into the AHDB (Agriculture

and Horticulture Development Board) the August indexes are

their new banner. However, while the name may have changed, the overriding theme is one of stability. Despite the popularity of genomics, the majority of semen being sold is still from proven sires, so we start with the list of bulls that have milking daughters. Gen-I-Beq Lavaman maintains top spot despite a small drop in £PLI but at £615 he is the only proven bull over £600. With strong positives for com-

ponents and almost +13 on fertility, Lavaman is a solid commercial bull and may also interest farmers looking for low maintenance ani-mals as he scores -4 for this trait. New into second on £595 is De-Su Ransom, who has added US daughters to his genomic proof. This son of Robust has a very high lifespan score of +0.7 and also a high fertility score of +10.3. His

of the top £PLI bulls, with solid

fat and protein percentages, low

lifespan, fertility and calving ease. He is sold by TAG (Trans-

America Genetics), a new AI company importing semen from the USA. Dropping one place to third with 145 UK milking daughters is Prehen Omen on £582. Omen of-fers particularly high components at +0.15% fat and +0.16% protein and he is the highest ranked Oman Justice son on the list. Also dropping one to fourth but increasing his index from £544 to £561 is Kings-Ransom Erdman who is a breed leader for lifespan at +0.7 and is the best bull in the top ten for maintenance at -19, indicating that his daughters are more compact cattle with a lower

feed requirement to maintain them. The second oldest bull in the top 20 is the consistent 11 year old Mainstream Manifold (£535), and with 1,760 UK milking daughters. He is the second highest milk and third highest fat kilos transmitter in the top 20 and also scores excep-tionally well for fertility at +12.3. Laurelhill Classic is also a standing dish at the top table and he increases his £PLI from £508 to £530 scoring +0.6 for lifespan and

at +15.8.


Top 20 daughter-proven Holstein bulls ranked in £PLI order August 2015Rank £PLI Bull name Rel Milk Fat Prot Fat Prot SCC LS FI dcE TM Sire Supplier

(%) (kg) (kg) (kg) (%) (%) (%)

1 615 Gen-l-Beq Lavaman 89 338 20.9 23.1 0.09 0.15 -4 0.1 12.8 1.9 1.39 Man-O-Man SMX

2 595 De-Su Ransom 71 259 18.2 14.9 0.1 0.08 -16 0.7 10.3 1.3 2.03 Robust TAG

3 582 Prehen Oman 88 243 22.1 21 0.15 0.16 -11 0.4 8.4 1.5 0.82 Oman BUL/AIS

4 561 Kings-Ransom Erdman 82 468 21.9 14.4 0.04 -0.01 -17 0.7 9.5 1.2 0.50 Planet BUL/AIS

5 535 Mainstream Manifold 97 769 31.0 25.5 0.01 0.01 -9 0.3 12.3 1.4 0.29 Oman SMX

6 530 Laurelhill Classic 88 312 11.3 15.9 -0.01 0.07 -15 0.6 15.8 1.4 0.33 Oman GEN

7 527 Seagull-Bay Supersire 78 908 37.2 27.7 0.02 -0.02 -6 0.4 2.8 0.9 1.55 Robust CBL

7 527 Roylane Flex 76 339 17.9 17.4 0.06 0.08 -11 0.3 10.6 1.1 1.71 Beacon SMX

9 524 Gran-J Oman McCormick 99 -84 19.0 4.9 0.29 0.10 -13 0.2 19.5 0.7 0.99 Oman GEN

10 517 No-Fla AltaEverglade 76 378 25.3 19.4 0.13 0.09 -9 0.3 10.7 2.0 0.91 Massey ALT/GG

11 516 Amighetti Numero Uno 85 305 31.4 9.8 0.24 0.00 -18 0.5 10.9 -0.6 2.15 Man-O-Man SMX

12 515 De-Su AltaMelhor 79 345 25.5 16.4 0.15 0.06 -22 0.4 7.7 0.9 2.50 Shot Al ALT/GG

13 512 Rosylane-LLC AltaBarney 71 552 24.7 19.3 0.04 0.02 -10 0.4 9.6 1.9 1.10 Freddie ALT/GG

14 502 D-Su Bookem 90 623 21.4 23.7 -0.04 0.04 -17 0.4 1.1 1.2 2.14 Planet CBL

14 502 ABS Simon 87 477 20.0 19.6 0.01 0.05 -8 0.3 9.7 2.1 -0.59 Oman GEN

16 500 Morningview Marcelon 78 622 25.4 16 0.01 -0.05 -25 0.4 12.7 0.1 1.51 Freddie BUL/AIS

16 500 Hammer-Creek O Man Kody 79 540 16.3 21.6 -0.06 0.05 -8 0.3 12.5 0.4 1.12 Oman CBL

18 497 75 447 27.2 20.5 0.11 0.07 -16 0.2 7.3 0.8 0.89 Goldwyn VIK/MOL /DOV

18 497 Genervations Latimer 75 447 14.4 16.5 -0.04 0.02 1 0.3 14.6 2.0 1.88 Freddie SRL/WFE

20 495 Mapel Wood Brewmaster 79 480 38.9 16.1 0.24 0.01 -21 0.2 4.7 0.1 1.74 Garrett SRL/MOL/WFE

20 495 Co-op RB Obs Indy 73 535 12.1 17.2 -0.11 0.00 -28 0.5 7.5 1.3 1.74 Observer BUL/AIS

AIS = AI Services; ALT = Alta; BUL = bullsemen.com; CBL = Cogent Breeding Ltd; DOV = Dovea; GEN = Genus ABS; GG = Global Genetics; MOL - Molecare; SMX = Semex; SRL = Sterling Sires; TAG = TransAmerica Genetics; VIK = UK Viking Genetics; WFE = Western Farm

Calving Ease; TM = Type Merit.

Freephone: 0800 783 7258 | www.cogentuk.comCogent Breeding Ltd, Heywood House, Chowley Oak Lane, Chester, Cheshire, CH3 9GA

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The highest milk bull in the top 20 sits in seventh, Seagull-Bay Supersire, offering +908kg with 37.2kg of fat and 27.7kg of protein. His £PLI climbs from

Roylane Flex, up from £484, who

to +10.6. Still in the top ten is Gran-J Oman McCormick, the breed

with almost 9,000 UK milking daughters. No-FlaAltaeverglade, a Mas-

to positive components and +10.7

In eleventh is Amighetti Numero Unoin the parentage lists of genomic

new entries who have added

Rosylane-LLC Altabarney has a

(£512) than his genomic figure

that expected.

Genervations Latimer who again

with £497 against a predicted £518 last time but with a higher actual

In 20th is Co-op RB Obs Indyincreased his daughter proof from

£495 up from £462 £PLI. He also

20. Another who has increased their £PLI from £483 predicted to £494 actual is Mr Robust OCD


Top 10 Holstein bulls with Genomic indexes ranked in £PLI order August 2015

£PLI

1 743 64 665

2 677 63

3 669 63

4 63

5 657 63 593

6 657 62 397

7 652 63

63 474

9 637 65 767

63 479

BREEDING MATTERS

Donatello

Stability of proofs

-eral index runs. These includes the likes of Welcome Oman Paco CRI, Farnear Haddy, Beyercrest Ramos Joe CRI, De-Su Freddie Denim, RMW Armitage and Ladys-Manor PL Shamrock. All these offer between £467 and £490 £PLI and

origin daughter proofs.

Top genomic siresLooking at the genomic table, its important to remember that although these bulls have proof data that is identical in content to

of daughter records. Still on top and increasing the gap to the second ranked sire is Sandy-Valley-I Penmanship with a £PLI of £743 up from £724 in April. Now some £66 ahead of the

His milk, fat and protein, fertil-

the top ten with a score of +12 and

New into second with a £PLI of £677 is Stantons Checkers, a son of Rickland Predestine 669

29.9kgs at +0.25%, +0.7 lifespan,

of £669 is De-Su Firewall+0.18% fat and +0.06% protein, -25

He is a double genomic bull,

-

Moving up from 16th to fourth on £660 is a UK bred bull

Topcroft Pesky Trix. This bull is bred from a long-lived cow fam-

on the market and is also a double generation genomic bull, out of a

PES009 Boardshop drops to

same at £657. Also on £657 is newcomer Comestar Loic with the second highest weight of fat and protein in the top ten, his proof showing a huge 35.8kg of fat at +0.24% and 23.7kg of protein at +0.13%. Loic is

Flame (Numero Uno x Freddie) and he is out of a Sudan dam. In seventh from the same

-mer number one genomic bull comes a bit of an outcross bull in Apina Nadal

(Shamrock x Goli) and out of a -

a £PLI of £648 is De-Su Apex, another double genomic bull

A daughter of the number one proven Holstein sire Gen-I-Beq Lavaman.


BREEDING MATTERS

The number one young genomic Holstein sire Sandy-Valley Penmanship.

Genus ABS introduce TransitionRight GeneticsGenus ABS, has introduced a revolutionary genetic selection tool for dairy farmers—TransitionRight Genetics. TransitionRight measures health traits related to the transition cow period and scores sires with an economic ranking. It will be updated monthly. This patent-pending technology will allow Genus ABS customers to use TransitionRight to select genetics that minimize the need for preven-tive and reactionary measures often necessary during this time. Right before and after a cow gives birth, her health is impacted by a negative energy balance and immune system suppression. This can lead to serious health issues such as metritis, ketosis, mastitis, and other transition cow disorders. Prevention through genetics has not been available to help reduce multiple post-calving disorders—until now. “Producers have done their best year after year to manage health issues during the transition cow period with the various tools that have been available to them,” said Andrew Thompson, regional director, Eu-rope, Genus ABS. “Now, our customers can change their approach and start selecting TransitionRight Genetics to break this costly cycle.”

maintenance score. He is a maternal half-brother to De-Su Battlecry who sits in 20th. Staying in the top ten from last time are De-Su Octavian (£637) and Amax (£630) both increasing their £PLI from April. Octavian is the highest milk bull in the top ten at 767kg.

Aikman (Snowman x Baxter) out of a Texel Beauty Pioneer daughter.

Interesting bullsJust outside the top ten are some interesting bulls such as Sonray-Acres PRD Justice, another

-ing a nice balance of production,

Also of interest are three bulls on £619 £PLI; Sandy-Valley-I Picasso is a full brother to number one bull Penmanship. Mr Kool is the highest milk bull in the top 20 at 793kg and also has 53.6kg of fat and protein while Cookiecutter Harper is the highest fat transmit-ter with 36.4kg at +0.17%. The highest fertility bull in the

top 20 is Bush-Bros JC Justify in 20th with £613 who tops +12.6 on

28.7kg of fat at +0.22% and -24 SCC. The advice as always with young sires is to chose bulls with care, be aware of double genera-tion genomic sires and spread the risk by using a number of bulls.

Tel: 01244 659 622 Email: [email protected] Website: www.geno-uk.com

Semen available from Norwegian Red, Fleckvieh, Normande, Jersey, Holstein and Brown Swiss

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Resilient cull and calf marketsCull cow markets are currently stable and calf prices are up according to AHDB Beef & Lamb.

DAIRY BEEF

Cull cow market

Cull cow prices at GB auction markets have been remarkably

this year, with a good demand for cows in the domestic market driv-ing the trade. A stronger demand for cheaper cuts of beef post-Christmas sup-

months of the year. While this continued throughout the early summer in more recent weeks there appears to be some signs that pressure on the trade is creeping in. This is most likely linked to an increase in the supply of cows for slaughter, largely on the back of the challenging market conditions in the dairy sector. In addition, the export trade

of sterling against the euro, which is making it harder for exports to compete on the Continent. One euro is now worth less than 70p, around 8p less than at the start of this year and almost 18p below the most recent high in the summer of 2013. The recent uncertainty over Greek debt and its implications for the long-term stability of the euro have created pressure on the currency’s value. In addition, expectations that UK interest rates will start to rise in the next 12 months have added to sterling’s strength. As a result, UK beef

months of 2015 were back on the year earlier, despite only a small fall in production. The monthly dairy-sired cull cow average at GB auction marts in July was around 97p/kg, down 8p on the month earlier and be-low 100p/kg for only the second

in January. While prices have tracked around last year’s level

trade in the early summer and in June average prices were consist-ently ahead on the year. However, during July a notable change in the market became apparent, with prices starting to track below year-earlier levels. AHDB slaughter estimates for July suggest that cow numbers coming forward were ahead of the

up on the year earlier. Taking ac-count of data from the British Cat-tle Movement Service (BCMS), it looks like most of this increase can be attributed to a higher number of dairy-bred cows coming forward. Consequently, and with most of mainland Europe on holiday, it is no surprise that prices have started to come under pressure given the supply/demand factors. Looking ahead, the usual sea-sonal trend in both the dairy-sired and beef-sired market is for prices to come back in the last quarter of the year. In part, how the trade develops will depend on demand at home and abroad.

There is little sign of any

in some EU regions, and some economies are still not showing

Strong competition from pig meat on the ground meat and charcuterie markets, particularly in Germany, also has the potential to

have some adverse impact on the market for cheaper, commodity-type beef. Milk price developments will also continue to have an impact on the availability of cow beef in the coming months, particularly when producers look at housing options in the coming months.

Rearing calves

The market for Friesian/Holstein-cross bull calves has been consistently above year-earlier levels in 2015 so far and has been steadily moving up. In July, at £70 per head, the average price has increased over £28 since the low point in the year in February. At this price, they are trading notably up on the same month in 2014, when Friesian/Holstein-cross bull calves were making on average £35 per head. The low prices last year had been driven by the tighter speci-

conditions of early 2014. The market for continental-cross bull calves has also been relatively robust in the year so far, generally trading up on the year and strength-

ening as the year has progressed. In July, averaging £288 per head they have moved up over the course of the year to be around £30 dearer than

2% ahead of the previous year at 2.61 million head. With improved productivity last year and the then better outlook for the dairy sector, particularly in the early part of the year, dairy-bred female registrations were up 4%. In contrast, dairy-bred male registrations were back over 2%. Beef-sired registrations were also higher on the year earlier and it was

half of this year, the uplift has continued and beef-sired calf registrations are up 36,000 head on last year. This increase is on the back of another improvement in cow productivity following last year’s good summer. In addition to the increase in beef-sired registrations, there has also been an increase in registrations of calves from the dairy herd, up over 17,000 head on the year. With regards to male dairy calves, traditionally

Cull Cow Prices at Auction

707580859095

100105110115120125130135140145150155

p/kg liveweight

Source: AHDB/LAA/IASS

Beef breeds

Dairy breeds

2014

2014

2013

20132015

2015

Calf Prices at Auction

020406080

100120140160180200220240260280300320340

2015 2014

£ per head

Source: AHDB/LAA/IASS

Continental x bulls

Holstein/Friesian bulls


DAIRY MARKET UPDATE

Latest milk production update

June’s milk production came in at 1,290 million litres, some was 49.3m litres (3.97%) higher than last year and 1,12.6m litres (9.56%) higher than two years ago. Cumulatively we have now produced 3,934m litres, which is 80.9m (2.10%) more than last year and 410.5m (11.65%) more than 2013. Despite numerous price cuts over the last few months, and a non-

pool prices—of around 22.5ppl, current production is running at 2% more over last year. It is around 8% to 10% higher than the long-term average.

Putting those volume increases into context

The latest company to drop its price prior to British Dairying going to press was Müller, with a 0.8ppl drop. It cited the marked drop in cream prices and over production as being the material factors. Cream was down 10% last month to the 85p to 90p per kg mark, and down 35% since last year. All in all the reduction in cream income to a processor is worth 3ppl since then. The 1.6 billion litres increase in volume over the last two years repre-sents an extra 80,000 farm tanker loads, and is the equivalent of more than 40 pints of milk for every head of population in the UK it states. Milk consumption only increased by 3.3% to 5.5 billion litres or 9.67 billion pints last year, equivalent to around 150 pints per person per year. To drink all of the surplus consumption would have to increase by 26%.

When might times get better?

With the GDT and EU prices deteriorating (EU quotations were down again this week, with SMP falling to prices below intervention, at €1660), so too is the mood of dairy farmers across Europe, many of whom are protesting in one guise or another—not least here in the UK with the milk trolley challenge. The question every farmer around the world wants to know is when might the situation change? Well no time soon, as can be seen from the GDT forward prices, the rate at which intervention stocks are building, and the AMPE futures. Currently there are nearly 2,700 tonnes of SMP in public intervention and at the beginning of August some 1,500 tonnes of that were intervened. Traders think the 109,000 tonne threshold will be reached in just a few weeks, when another tranche of intervention will open. These stocks are on top of the 26,500 tonnes of private storage (PSA) for SMP, plus the 80,000 tonnes of butter PSA. The higher the stocks the longer it takes for the market to recover, of course. On prices, the AMPE futures is showing no material lift from its 12p to 13ppl level until December. Currently the average non-aligned farmgate milk price is around 7.5ppl more than AMPE, which points to a continu-ation of the 20ppl level that many farmers are currently on.

Is it time to suspend the GDT?

If the recent Global Dairy Trade auctions haven’t been bad enough the latest one rubbed salt into rapidly deepening wounds. Overall the index fell 9.3%, meaning that the auction has fallen for the tenth consecutive time. The value of dairy commodities on the world stage right now is frightening—SMP prices fell by 14.4% to $1,419. Back in March the price

context SMP is worth £915. Its value is currently 27% of its all time high, with WMP 30% of its peak. And there is little cheer if we look at forward prices too. At these prices, and with these exchange rates the equivalent delivered returns to a UK farmer would be below 10ppl. If we just took the SMP and butter pries

9ppl. As a result Fonterra has reduced its forecast milk payout from $5.25 to $3.85/kg milk solids, equivalent to just 12.4ppl. Needless to say there are calls to suspend the auction. However, Fonterra has stated that it will not do that as it will “not solve the supply and demand balance”. Here in the UK United Dairy Farmers in Northern Ireland scrapped its milk auction in 2013, partly because buying activity exaggerated the highs and lows of the market.

BRITISH DAIRYING

The magazine is available to view on-line. In order to access this service you need to register.

August issue will be available toread from the 17th

Go to the Home page at:www.britishdairying.co.ukto register

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If you are intending to exhibit or have a new product/service press release please note:

The September issue will be on farm prior to the event

Clients considering editorial and/or advertising should note the following production dates:

Advertisements confirmed on/by 21st August Copy date: on/by 27th August

Publishing date (posted) 9th September

Press releases for consideration should be sent to Mike Green at: [email protected] (Tel: 01257 232694)

to arrive on/by 27th August

For further information please contact: Malcolm Bridges 01438 716220 or [email protected]

www.britishdairying.co.uk

UK Dairy Day 2015Wednesday 16th September - Telford






Valve improves reliability with borehole water

two critical water

PRODUCT NEWS

Roundhouse Building Solutions (RBS) is celebrating the build-ing of its second Roundhouse 45 (RH45)—the largest of the three models—at Onstwedde in The Netherlands. But this is no nor-mal Roundhouse building. Due to a larger than normal overhang it is larger than the original and further innovation has seen the installation of a 2.5 tonne straw spreader that hangs from a gantry

-cilitates fully automated bedding. “The Roundhouse was origi-nally designed to enable farmers to manage stock in an easy stress-free manner. Normally farmers feed and bed the animals from the perimeter of the building with a

-

The RH45 is twice as big as the original 30m diameter Round-

is capable of holding double the number of animals. Normally the

Roundhouse with automated bedding

just over 300 beef animals at 500kg and 180 dairy cows. The new Onstwedde model has a diameter of 50m because of

-ly the roof construction has been completely redesigned because of the huge forces involved. “The farmer was impressed by the ease

says Marco Noordman of Dutch agents ID Agro. So far just three of the large Roundhouses have been built in

England with another due this autumn. The most popular model in the range is the RH30 and this building already houses milking

-

as a playground cover. Recently the company has launched the 22m diameter Roundhouse 22 for calves

“We are delighted with the way that farmers have embraced

and keep thinking of how they can get more out of the building.

testimony to the creative applica-

SilaPactor Welsh award

An implement which increases the density of silage by as much as 40% has received a major award at the Royal Welsh Show. The SilaPac-tor from Kelvin Cave has been awarded the prestigious Dr Alban Davies Trophy which recognises

to Welsh farmers. The SilaPactor is a four tonne implement mounted on the trac-tors three-point linkage and has 11 roller wheels over a width of three metres to consolidate forage in layers as it goes into the clamp. It has been proven to be far more

tractor alone.

clamp of forage is far more com-pacted so forage storage capacity

for Kelvin Cave. “Furthermore the

-ity of silage and substantially cuts

David Benson farms beef and sheep on the

famous Blencathra Mountain in the Lake

District, and needs robust machinery to cope

with the challenging landscape.

“I’ve had two Trima front loaders for two New

Holland tractors. The first was so good I’ve

recently re-invested in a new Trima X31. When

the new model came, we were more than

impressed. It’s shorter in length than other

loaders and offers fantastic manoeuvrability.

It’s ideal for working on rough terrain, and for

smaller spaces on the farm. We couldn’t do

the job we do without it.”

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David Benson with his new Trima x31 loader

Get the job done



PRODUCT NEWS

Two new feed additives claimed to improve dairy cow performance are to be launched by AB Neo—a division of AB Agri.

starter feed for calves which is claimed to be the world’s first accelerator for cows. Trials show

reduced growth check at weaning.

dence and severity of nutritional scouring and associated problems.

It is very easy for farmers to use

Enhanced lifetime performance for dairy and beef cattle is achieved

thereafter at 150g/head/day on top of starter feed.

ducer in Lincolnshire who has

calves. The accelerated group of calves clearly grew better and

farm challenges and produced

achieving rapid growth.”

“Our belief is that neonates hold the key to switching on lifetime performance and as we have

by accelerating baby animals we

lifetime performance.

present an opportunity to programme it for lifetime performance but without the correct neonatal

its true lifetime potential.

that calves eat it aggressively leading to accelerated growth which

higher lifetime performance with

quent milk yields and fertility.” For dry and transition cows AB

which is claimed to stimulate higher dry matter intakes and improve ration utilisation.

Trials have shown there is improved body weight during the postpartum period and a potential cost saving through reduced use of protected fat with milk yield or constituents maintained or improved and improved fertility associated with reduced body condition loss during the postpartum period.

ing the product for several months.

consistent even when changing silages and the appearance of the dung has also improved. “I have been able to reduce my

reducing yield or butterfat percentage in the milk and have also noticed that my cows maintain intakes and yield better through periods of potential heat stress.”

Boosting lifetime performance

A new grassland rejuvenator was launched at last month’s Royal Welsh Show by OPICO. The 3m Sward Rejuvenator is a grassland improvement machine which features an aggressive shattaboard with slicing plates, two rows of heavy duty harrow tines, an Air 8 grass seeder and a Prisma roller. The aggressive slicing plates and harrow action make the

restoration. It can also be used—without the seeder—for harrowing grassland to remove trash and stimulate grass growth, and for mole hill levelling. Furthermore, the action of the new heavy 600mm diameter Prisma

machine is ideal for both grassland rejuvenation and reseeding of cultivated land. The Sward Rejuvenator has a 3m working width and is available as a mounted machine (seeder not included), retailing from £11,620 plus VAT, or as a trailed model from £12,987 plus VAT (Tel: 01778 421111).

New grassland rejuvenation machine

RUMA medicine advice

The Responsible Use of Medicines

has launched revised guidelines for farmers and vets on the ‘Responsi

Production’. The new guidelines urge farmers to manage their units to reduce disease challenge and minimise antimicrobial use. More detailed advice is included in the vets’ guideline to help them work with their farmer clients to achieve this. More information on RUMA’s new look website at www.ruma.org.uk.

Fullwood take over

Fullwood has been taken over by

owned business specialising in the manufacture and distribution of industrial products. Together the

although at an operational level the company say it will be business as

ROBINSONS Quotations AvailableTel Lockerbie:- 01576 205905

Cheshire Office:- 01606 330227 Nationwidewww.rbscotland.com [email protected]

Robinsons Scotland LtdBroomhouses 2 Ind EstLockerbieDG11 2SD

AGRITUBEL SPECIAL OFFER

100’ Long x 50’ Wide x 14’ HighCubicle Shed with a 4’ 6’ CantileverEternit Fibre Cement RoofYorkshire Boarding to One Side and Two Ends

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15’ Diagonal Feed Barriers9 Head Spaces£160.00 + VAT

£15,800.00 + VAT

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Herd protection made simple

Bovela brings innovation to BVD protection: a L2D (live double deleted) BVD vaccine providing 12 months protection against both BVDV types 1 and 2 from a single shot. Bovela prevents the birth of persistently infected (PI) calves caused by transplacental infection. Vaccination

with Bovela can be done from 3 months of age. So now you can fi nally make BVD history. Ask your vet for more information.

A study from 2010 showed that a major hurdle to effective BVD vaccination is ease of use. Only 52% of the farmers in the study gave the two doses required for primary vaccination at the correct interval. Furthermore, just 24% completed the primary vaccination course at the recommended time prior to service leaving these animals and their calves without proper protection1.

Reference: 1. Meadows (2010) Cattle Practice 18(3): 202-215Advice on the use of Bovela or other therapies should be sought from your veterinary surgeon. Bovela lyophilisate and solvent for suspension for injection for cattle contains modifi ed live BVDV-1, non-cytopathic parent strain KE-9: 104.0–106.0 TCID50, Modifi ed live BVDV-2, non-cytopathic parent strain NY-93: 104.0–106.0 TCID50. UK: POM-V IE: POM. Further information available from Boehringer Ingelheim Limited, Vetmedica, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 8YS, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1344 746959. Technical enquiries: +44 (0)1344 746957. Email: [email protected]. Date of preparation: Feb 2015. AHD8395. Use Medicines Responsibly (www.noah.co.uk/responsible)


http://www.noah.co.uk/responsible

august 2015 vol 21, no. 10 - british dairying · august 2015, vol 21, no. 10 contents getting to...

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