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Newsletter October 3, 2023
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UK - 1,000kg milk solids per cow per annum is realistic target
Several key management and genetic factors have been identified in a seven-herd study carried out by Kite Consulting which the firm says could help other farmers efficiently achieve one tonne of milk solids per cow in the interest of sustainable dairy production, reports British Dairying. Most able to achieve this level of production suggests the report, are likely to be housed, tmr fed, year-round-calving herds.
Kite's Rose Jackson and Maimie French co-authored the report and say the seven farms in the study were not operating to unobtainable standards due to high investment, or business structure, but were all efficient, well-run units where the right kind of investment had been made for the long-term sustainability of the herd.
Genetics came out as a significant factor, being responsible for up to 50% of the cow's milk solids performance. "This is a significant percentage, particularly when considering the relatively low investment required to improve herd genetics," says Rose Jackson.
The study herds all ranked high for £PLI the report says, being in the top 15% and above and all were using sexed semen where Holstein was the sire. Six out of seven farms were using genomic data to help their breeding decisions, notably which cows to put to beef semen and which to put to sexed Holstein.
"In addition, all farms in this report are far exceeding their genetic prediction for total solids production, with the average ranging from 890kg to 1060kg of combined fat and protein per cow and this highlights the impact of controlling the cow's environment and nutritional factors," says Jackson.
The report notes that five of the seven farms included fat and / or protein figures as important selection criteria, these traits being highly heritable, and all of the farms were achieving a good rate of £PLI gain as well as production PTAs for each successive generation. The average herd £PLI ranged from £237 to £337 and the £PLI for heifers under 12 months old ranged from £409 to £473.
The report was sponsored by NMR and Sales and Marketing Director Ben Bartlett points out that focussing on total solids not only helps milk producers meet processors' requirements, but also contributes to improving the carbon footprint of dairy.
"While the report is not intended to provide a blueprint for every British dairy farmer, as there are plenty of other equally valid herd management strategies, there are some common themes relevant to all producers," says Bartlett.
See the full report: Efficiently Achieving 1000kg - Maximising Milk Solids for Sustainable Dairy Production
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UK - New anti-terrorism measures involve many farm chemicals
The Control of Poisons and Explosive Precursor Regulations 2023 come into effect on the 1st October 2023 across Scotland, Wales & England. Dr Graham Shepherd of G Shepherd Animal Health says, 'don't shoot the messenger' but be prepared for something new when you come to get supplies of some farm inputs. Dr Shepherd explains "The background and driving force behind these new regulations are the fact that homemade explosive devices were used in both the 2017 Manchester Arena and Parsons Green explosive attacks. The new regulations list various chemicals that could be used to make bombs and that could be used as poisons. They then state the responsibilities of those involved in the sale, purchase, import, possession, and use of these chemicals.
"Here is my summary, but obviously the Regulations themselves take precedent and full details are available on the government website. Basically, there are two lists of risky chemicals- Explosive Precursors and Poisons. What is more relevant to you is that they are both split into 'Regulated' or 'Reportable'.
"Farmers are classed as 'Professional Users' and can still be supplied with the Regulated chemicals after providing their supplier with a statement of legitimate use. Also, an authorised person is needed at each premises to be responsible for the chemicals at each premises and needs to provide a copy of photographic identification. Reportable chemicals do not need the declaration or ID, but you must report any thefts, disappearances or suspicious transactions."
Dr Shepherds interest with the new regulations is supply of dairy hygiene chemicals e.g. many acid cleaners are on the explosive precursor list. Normal dairy hypochlorite and many caustic cleaners are classed as reportable. In other areas of agriculture, these regulations include Formalin, ammonium nitrate and many crop agrochemicals. If in any doubt, consult the regulations and your supplier.
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UK - Get the full picture on heifer calves
A new service means dairy farmers can base decision on which heifers to rear on the most complete information, saving costs, reducing costly mistakes and ensuring the optimum genetic progress for their herd. "Only rearing your best calves is the foundation to a resilient herd," comments Rob Horn, Technical Sales Specialist at independent genomics and animal safety specialists Neogen who can now offer a combined genomic and BVD testing service from a single sample in the UK.
"With 50% of the genetics in any mating coming from the female, it is invaluable to be able to rank your females on genetic merit for the traits you have identified. But to get a complete picture of your calves' potential you also need to know the BVD status before you make decisions on which calves to rear."
Neogen has been designated as an accredited laboratory to test samples taken as part of the BVDFree England Scheme. If you want the results of testing for BVD virus transferred to the BVDFree database for use in the programme, then it is essential to use a laboratory such as Neogen that is designated to perform the appropriate test. "The Igenity UK Select genomic evaluation assesses Production, Management and Health traits. By including the BVD test, you enhance the overall data set for that calf, making it a more insightful and beneficial analysis. "Our BVD results are accredited meaning they can be submitted to national eradication schemes while you also benefit from the insight that genomic results can bring on the same sample."
Adding BVD status to genomic testing means more rounded decisions can be made. Ranking animals that are BVD clear and possess favourable genetic merit allows for balanced choices on breeding the next generation of replacements, selecting animals for beef, and determining which to sell or cull.
"Heifer rearing has long been an area where efficiencies can be made. Investing in combined genomic and BVD testing will allow farmers to ensure they are only investing in rearing heifers that will benefit the business, combining the best genomics with BVD free status. You can also make this decision at the earliest possible opportunity for maximum benefit," Robert concludes.
Neogen
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UK - Value tier dairy and red meat sales soar as cost-of-living crisis continues to bite
Supermarket private-label value items are performing well in both the dairy and red meat sectors, despite the cost-of-living crisis continuing to restrict overall consumer spend.
Products within a specific money saving/value for money supermarket own label range are known as value tier products. These items have performed strongly as trading down continues, as they often represent the cheapest items in supermarkets. Value tier products make up only a small part of red meat and dairy volumes, at 7.7% (Kantar, 52 w/e 06 August) and 2.4% respectively (Nielsen, 52 w/e 12 August 2023). Despite this, value tier volumes have grown massively in both categories, up year-on-year (YoY) for an impressive 47.9% for dairy over the same period. Milk and cheese value products also performed well, with volumes up by 56.3% and 56.7% respectively (Kantar, 52 w/e 06 August). Tom Price, AHDB Trainee Analyst said: "This YoY growth comes from consumers looking to cut back on spending due to price rises. Price has become more important to consumers; however, the data indicates that consumers do not want to fully remove their favourite meat and dairy products from their diet, but instead want to save money by purchasing value tier versions.
"By expanding the number of products on offer in the value tier and making sure this offering is tailored towards staples like mince, sausages and cheese, there is an opportunity to further expand retail sales of red meat and dairy. It's also important to remember that not all retailers currently offer a value tier range, so expanding tiers in all supermarkets could attract more customers. Adequately advertising these value tier ranges in supermarkets and communicating their in-store location to consumers will then ensure value tier products can be found easily."
Tom added: "Consumers care about quality and sourcing credentials even when shopping in the value tier ranges. Shopper focus has shifted away from just low prices, and instead towards value for money and product satisfaction. Campaigns such as AHDB's 'We Eat Balanced' messaging help to highlight the exceptional taste and quality of British meat and dairy and will encourage repeat customers in both premium and value ranges."
For more read ahdb.org.uk/news/consumer-insight-value-tier-red-meat-and-dairy-sales-soar-as-other-tiers-suffer
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UK - Britain to host global calf symposium
Optimising early calf growth and development is fundamental to long-living productive dairy cows and a symposium to be held in Nottingham will bring together an unrivalled programme of global experts to share emerging research and novel discoveries that will nurture the future of tomorrow's dairy herds. Hosted by Trouw Nutrition, the livestock feed business of Nutreco, and the University of Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, the 3rd LifeStart Calf Symposium will be held on 17th-18th October at the East Midlands Conference Centre. Presenters include many of the world's most renowned authorities on calf nutrition, development, animal behaviour and farm management.
The speakers include scientists and researchers from the University of Nottingham, University of Birmingham, University of Guelph, University of British Columbia, University of Vermont, and University of Florida.
LifeStart is a science-based platform designed to improve lifetime performance of dairy calves targeting the first months of life. LifeStart research has demonstrated that metabolic programming during the first weeks of life can have a big effect on organ development, leading to a more robust cow and increased lifetime performance. The event agenda includes optional on-farm workshops. Sessions will cover farm case studies, emerging insights into the optimal environmental conditions for calf rearing, and strategies for reducing risks on the farm. The application of precision nutrition to enhance calf rearing success will set the stage for a major technology announcement.
A novel technology inspired by the discovery of how fat composition in milk provides natural metabolic signals to prepare the calf's rumen and intestinal tract for starter feed will be unveiled at the symposium. Scientists identified specific signals that play a role in avoiding digestive challenges such as acidosis, scouring and the weaning growth slump. Affecting more than 18% of dairy replacement calves, digestive disorders are a major cause of illness leading to problems with early life development as well as health and performance problems later in life. "Milk plays a communication role beyond its great nutritional value," said Javier Martin-Tereso, PhD, Manager of the ruminant team at Trouw Nutrition Research Development. "It brings signals from the mother that guide the calf's development. Expanding our understanding of this signalling role provided a blueprint for replicating this activity and led to a technology that will shift how calves are fed in the future, benefitting not only their performance but their health."
Research leading to the new discovery was primarily conducted at Trouw Nutrition's Calf and Beef Research Facility at Boxmeer, the Netherlands, with collaboration from academic partners. Delegates can participate in a University of Nottingham research farm tour or attend a workshop discussing Calf Development and Performance; Calf Behaviour and Management; and Sustainability, Economics and Practical application.
More information on the conference and registration details are available here.
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UK - John Deere and DeLaval form strategic partnership for sustainable milk production
John Deere and DeLaval joint to create the Milk Sustainability Center (MSC), a digital eco-system to help dairy farmers improve the efficiency and sustainability of their operations. The eco-system will be open for partners to join, with the objective of providing farmers with data needed for a holistic view of the dairy operations.
Dairy farmers will use the Milk Sustainability Center to monitor nutrient use efficiency (NUE) for nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, and carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), for their entire farm, specific fields, or their herd. The MSC will also provide data to allow dairy farmers to compare their performance to other dairy operations and identify key areas for improvement. MSC aims to serve dairy farmers independent of farm machinery brands and herd management software.
"Dairy farming is perhaps the most complex agriculture business today with no system integration between crop and animal performance.Dairy farmers often use five to seven different, non-connected software solutions to run their business," says Dave Chipak, Director, Dairy &Livestock Production Systems at John Deere. "The MSC will enable dairy farmers to calculate, benchmark, simulate, and optimize NUE and CO2e for sustainable and profitable decision-making."
After farmer authorization, data from DeLaval Plus and John Deere Operations Center will be automatically pulled into the Milk Sustainability Center. Manual data input will be reduced, ensuring high data quality, and ultimately helping an entire farm system - fields, cows, employees, advisors, machines, and other assets - work efficiently together.
MSC is cloud-based for desktop or mobile devices, built and powered by Dairy Data Warehouse BV (DDW), a Dutch based company in operation for the last 10 years offering data solutions for sustainable dairy. Dairy farmers, consultants, dealers, and other partners can also be invited to view their data in MSC.
The initial version of MSC will be released in Summer 2024 in North America and selected European Union countries and will be free of charge. A premium version with extended capabilities will be released at a later date.
DeLeval
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UK - Farmers urged to secure winter bedding supplies as sawdust shortage peaks
Farmers are warned to secure their bedding supplies ahead of winter, with producers reporting shortages of sawdust from suppliers. Dairy farmer James Weaver from Rooms Farm, Market Drayton, said he enquired about receiving his supply of fine sawdust after placing an order earlier in the summer. However, he was told that the supply was tight and that delivery could not be guaranteed. The shortage is thought to be on the back of an increased volume supplying biomass plants in Europe, with supplies dwindling over the last couple of years.
Weaver, who milks 300 Holsteins and usually stocks up with two artic loads of bedding before the winter, said he rang various other suppliers and was told a similar message. Commenting on the situation, he said: "Each of the companies said they were struggling to supply sawdust, and on top of that, the price had also increased significantly." To secure supply for his herd, Weaver started considering alternative options. "Trying to find a product that could guarantee dryness and security of supply was essential to us. We want to keep things consistent for our cows, and bedding is an important part. Without a dry bed for cows, bugs can soon spread, and we all know how much mastitis can cost and the knock-on impact it can have within a herd."
After speaking with friends and researching alternative bedding options, he settled on replacing sawdust with paper bedding, EnviroBed Premium, from Envirosystems. The premium version combines EnviroBed with high-quality sawdust dried to 95% for high absorbency. Weaver added: "We are already customers of EnviroSystems and trust their products. We use their bedding conditioner Cobiotex instead of lime, which has helped us cut our mastitis from 20 cases per 100 cows to 6. We have had one artic load of EnviroBed Premium delivered and are happy we've got the security of supply as having no bedding would be a nightmare," he said.
Liz Russell, Managing Director of EnviroSystems, said they had received increased calls and enquiries at recent events about EnviroBed on the back of the sawdust shortage. She said: "We've had years like this in the past, and we invented EnviroBed in 2001 because of a shortage of bedding. Over the past two years, the bedding shortage has been building and has now come to a head. Every so often, bedding shortages happen, and we're happy to be able to fill that gap for farmers when this happens. We encourage farmers to start thinking about their winter bedding supplies and, if they are struggling to secure supplies, to think of suitable alternative options."
She added: "When looking at alternatives, make sure you know exactly what you are buying and check aspects such as the dry matter and what is actually contained within the product. We pride ourselves on producing a dry product that has a neutral pH of 7.4, is soft on the skin, reducing the risk of teat irritation that can commonly be observed with strong alkaline bedding, such as lime-based products. The neutral pH means it can also be incorporated into slurry storage and AD systems," she said.
"To be on a winter contract where prices are frozen over the period and to secure supply before charges increase on 1 November, orders must be in by 20 October. We can deliver in artic loads, 56 bags on a pallet or in tall tote bags, so can accommodate a range of farming systems and those where storage or access may be tight," she said.
Contact the team on 01772 860085.
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UK - Trident MicroNutri brand launched at Dairy Day 2023
Re-brand supports continued growth in the supply of ruminant feed additives
AB Agri has introduced the brand Trident MicroNutri as the new name for its rapidly expanding ruminant business, supplying feed additives across GB & Ireland. The brand was introduced during Dairy Day 2023 at Telford, Shropshire on 13 September. Previously operating under AB Vista GB&I, the rebrand to Trident MicroNutri will help support the continued growth of the business, specialising in the supply and distribution of industry-leading ruminant feed additives, helping to improve animal performance and maximise ROI.
The move also sees the operation become more closely aligned to the existing AB Agri ruminant B2B business, Trident Feeds, in a move that promises to further support and enhance customer and supplier experiences. "Following research with our customers, the new re-brand promises to help further enhance the overall customer experience, based on our core values of scientific knowledge, technical expertise and setting industry standards," explains Marie Stephenson, Head of Commercial for AB Agri.
"The move also helps us to draw on the Trident brand values of responsiveness, reliability and trust, and we feel this will help to further improve brand knowledge at farm level, increasing the team's visibility on farm," she adds. The team will continue to work alongside partners including AB Vista to develop and distribute new products and services, while the support of Trident will help to deliver even more comprehensive, effective and sustainable solutions for diverse operations.
TridentMicroNutri
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The second video from the series "From Vet to Farmer" By Predicta has been released
These short 2-minute videos highlight common problems experienced by Dairy Farmers and 3 simple tips given by a professional in the field of how dairy farmers can work on these issues. This video highlights ways of improving your herd's fertility or rather "The high fertility cycle". Dr.Joachim Kleen from Alta Genetics is being featured in the video. If you have a topic you would like to see in the next video we invite you to send an email to inquiries@dairydatawarehouse.com with your topic of concern.
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YOUNGSTOCK HEALTH & WELFARE AWARD
Sponsored by Volac International
WINNER - Charlotte West, of Stocken Farm
Milking 400 cows and calving all year round, judges were impressed with Charlotte and her team, taking the opportunity to travel to New Zealand and the USA and bringing back what she had learned. Not afraid to say where the issues are - leading a calf team that constantly look for ways to improve processes and subsequent health & welfare benefits clearly evident.
Highly Commended - PJ & PE Ashley & Son - Ruth & Stephen Ashley
Highly Commended - Messrs Munday & Munday - David, Debbie & Danielle Munday
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UK - Celebrity farmer Jimmy Doherty urges agricultural workers to stay safe on farm
Jimmy Doherty, is asking agricultural workers to keep safety in mind when working on the farm, teaming up with SP Energy Networks. Key safety tips include guidance on safely navigating machinery under overhead powerlines and how to safely exit farm vehicles if powerlines fall.
Jimmy’s top tips are: Look out, look up! Tell others about potential hazards; have the national 105 electrical emergency helpline number close to hand; beware of fallen powerlines; and there’s advice on exiting the cab safely. For further information and details on SP Energy Networks farm safety advice, please visit spenergynetworks.co.uk/pages/safety
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HIGH FEED EFFICIENCY AWARD WINNER
Sponsored by KW Feeds
WINNER - Mark Lovatt, EA Lovatt & Son, of Sutton Lodge Farm
Exceptional feed efficiency, massive forage intakes and yield from forage achieved. Cow comfort and health are paramount here with good fertility and very low lameness incidence. "An easy winner for the category." Said one of the judges. Meticulous forage management from field to cow is helping Mark Lovatt achieve exceptional milk yields.
HIGHLY COMMENDED - Tom Gethin, of D&S Gethin
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