Dairy Farmer Digital Edition May 2013

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Firstchoicethe silage inoculator

DAIRYPages 24-25

Tip of the month: oversized liners could be causing udder disease – p28

Vet’s ViewTackling displaced

abomasums

Pages 26-27

YOUNGSTOCKDramatic herd growthcalls for new calf unit

Pages 38-43

MACHINERYForage harvester andbaler developments

Page 20

Details on page 5

BREEDING

DAIRY SHOW

Report on the latestbull proofs table

May 2013 Volume 60 Issue 5FARMER

**DF May cover (NEW PLEASE USE)_Layout 1 26/04/2013 10:30 Page 1

1. Reist M et al, Vet Rec 2002, 151:377-380.Eprinex Pour-On for Beef and Dairy Cattle contains eprinomectin. EPRINEX® and the steerhead® logo are registered trademarks of Merial Ltd. ©Merial 2013. All rights reserved. Legal Category POM-VPS (UK), LM (Ireland). Advice on the use of this or alternative medicines must be sought from the medicine prescriber. Read packaging before use. For further information contact Merial Animal Health Ltd, CM19 5TG or call the Merial Customer Support Centre on 0800 592699 (UK) or 1850 783 783 (Ireland).

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Merial Eprinex WP_Merial Eprinex WP 26/04/2013 09:35 Page 1

1MAY 2013 DAIRYFARMER

LEADER

Dairy Farmer, Briefing Media Ltd, Unit 4, Fulwood Business Park, Caxton Road, Preston, Lancashire PR2 9NZ

Origination by Farmers Guardian, Briefing Media Ltd, Unit 4, Fulwood Business Park, Caxton Road, Preston, Lancashire PR2 9NZ. Printed by Headley Brothers, Invicta Press,Queen’s Road, Ashford, Kent TN24 8HH. No responsibility can be accepted by Dairy Farmer for the opinions expressed by contributors.

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© Briefing Media Ltd 2013All rights reserved. No part of this publica-tion may be reproduced or transmitted inany form or by any means, electronic or me-chanical including photocopying, recording,or any information storage or retrieval sys-tem without the express prior written con-sent of the publisher. The contents of DairyFarmer are subject to reproduction in infor-mation storage and retrieval systems.

At last the grass isgrowing but this seasonwe are a good monthbehind, with all theconcomitant feed bills.

But just when there were somereassuring signals to help calm thosefraying nerves, we run slap bang intoyet another potential disaster.Despite Arla Milk Link’s liquid price

up over 1ppl to more than 30ppl, andDairy Crest increasing by 1.5ppl toover 31ppl, a new problem springs outof the cheese market, and specificallyFirst Milk’s dire price warning.The co-op undoubtedly did the

industry a service by exposing thehuge challenges in that sector, but mayhave done itself no favours at all bydoing so. Its subsequent statement thatit may have to reduce its price by up to2ppl will, if enacted, devastate farmerconfidence in a business which seemedto be making progress. At the time of going to press, there

were some positive signs it might beable to convince retailers to stump up to

avoid cuts, but First Milk’s positionwon’t be helped by Dairy Crest’s latestannouncement of a lift of an extra 1pplfrom June for milk going into cheese.Dairy Crest is arguably the main

benchmark now on cheese, as the UK’sbiggest cheese maker – Arla Milk Link –has its price fixed on returns gleanedacross all of Arla amba’s variousmarkets and not specifically inthe UK.With an intake of 1.45

billion litres and almost40% going to cheese,the next few days willbe pivotal in FirstMilk’s history. With the big

players scrabblingto snatch anydisaffectedproducers, the starkramification of FirstMilk not keepingpace with upward pricetrends from others hardlybears thinking about!

EDITORa word from the

**DF May p1 Leader (NEW AMENDED VERSION)_Layout 1 26/04/2013 14:11 Page 1

2 MAY 2013DAIRYFARMER

THIS MONTH

CONTENTSmayVolume 60 Issue 5

On farm

RegularsComment

New products

Californianinnovation Group of farmers visitthe US to see what is

new in dairyingacross the pond 12-14

24-25 Vet’s View44-46 Milk Prices50 Workshop tips56 Finance

4-6 Latest news8-9 Cowmen Comment16-17 Potter’s View54-55 Good Evans

New dual-purpose grass mixture, the first specialist breeds catalogue and company’s merchandise goes online

Dairy marketplace48-49

DF May p2 3 Contents_Layout 1 26/04/2013 10:35 Page 1


THIS MONTH

If cows could talk they would choose...

T: +44 (0) 2870 [email protected]

The Cowcoon hybrid stall offersstability, comfort and control,in the gentlest of manners.

It’s more than a stall... it’s a cowcoon.

Adjustable Moovapillow brisket barrier

Pasture Mat - Premium pad upgrade

Flexible barriers reduce stress &increase comfort

Available in floor & post mounted

systems

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The Cowcoon hybrid stall offers

It’s more than a stall... it’s

The Cowcoon hybrid stall offers

caa cowcoon.It’s more than a stall... it’s

cowcoon.

r ooflnielbaliavAd etnuomtsop&smetsyyss

stabilityin the gentlest of manners.

erreutsaPPamuimerrePPreddearragpu

s rrs eiierrirrrabellebiibxeexlFFl&sserretsecudduerre

troffomocesaerrecni

, comfort and control,stabilityin the gentlest of manners.

ellebattasujjuddjAw ollollliilpavaooM

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e

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view our full product range online at

If cows could talk they would choose...

: +44 (0) 2870 [email protected]

view our full product range online at .wilsonagri.co.ukwww

NZ approach to grassland management,how moist blends are becoming a regular

part of rations and the latest grass kit

34-43

50

This month, Mike Donovanhelps you modify a trailer forbuffer feeding purposes

Buffer feedingWorkshop tips

Tractor cab issueGood Evans

54-55

Catch up with the latestfrom Roger Evans

Special feature

Forage

DF May p2 3 Contents_Layout 1 26/04/2013 10:36 Page 2

MAY 2013DAIRYFARMER

NEWS

4

First Milk warns overpossible drop in price

The industry hasonce more beenplunged intocrisis after FirstMilk’s outgoing

chairman, Bill Mustoe,exposed the currentdifficulties in the cheesemarket and warned hisorganisation may have tocut milk prices by between1.5ppl and 2ppl. At the time of writing

there was still no firmindication the co-op wouldnot have to reduce prices,despite industry efforts toensure it would not.The warning was seized

by furious industry leadersat an NFU organisedmeeting in mid-April to

discuss producerorganisations, with otherprice negotiators warningtheir efforts to increaseprices were being comp-romised by the news.

Worse situationFarmers For Action’s DavidHandley suggested theindustry was in a worsesituation than last year,when the liquid milk pricecuts were announced.Consequently, FFA has beenout picketing again in a bidto ensure such price cuts donot materialise. In his controversial state-

ment, Mr Mustoe said: “Themarket place for Cheddar isa problem,” and “there

continues to be largevolumes of Cheddarcoming in from Ireland atlower prices” which was“making the cheese marketas challenging as anythingI’ve seen in my career.”He went on: “Over the

last few months we havesupported members to thehilt in terms of milk price,but going forward returnsfor cheese need to movesubstantially and quickly.It’s no exaggeration to say Ithink we are coming to acrunch point for the Britishcheese industry.” First Milk may have been

the first to expose itself tothe difficulties, but it is notalone in failing to get price

increases from retailers – thereal reason for thedifficulties in the market. All retailers are playing

hardball on price negot-iations, despite low milkvolumes affectingcheesemaking figures (bothhere and in Ireland),imports being down, andthe attractiveness of otheroutlets for that milk as aresult of soaring butter andpowder markets.The impending disaster

comes at a time when liquidprices should be on the upon the back of very highcream prices (£1.75 per litrerecently), with both ArlaMilk Link and Dairy Crestannouncing increases.

Lifetime Profit Index scale revisedJCanada has revised theLifetime Profit Index (LPI)scale in the April 2013 evalu-ation, with the scale of exp-ression for each dairy breedhaving been halved in com-parison to the previous scale. The revised scale will not

compromise UK sire listingsfor Canadian proven bulls,which are expressed in UKPLI and PIN values. However, the scale of

expression will be reducedfor UK genomic tested bulls

and heifers, listed on aCanadian LPI basis, suchas in UK pedigree salebrochures and herdpromotional material.

AI companiesCanadian AI companies,choosing to list sires inmarketing brochures (April2013), will be using the newscale of expression. This willalso show a furtherreduction of 50 LPI pointsdue to the annual rolling

base change, as well as aone point reduction onConformation score,irrespective of any increasesor decreases in individualsire evaluations. In addition, the new LPI

expression will scale backthe perceived superiority ofyoung genomic sires incomparison to proven bulls,as well as high-rankinggenomic heifers whencompared to females on theLPI cow listings.

Princess Royal JSandy Wilkie, who spear-headed the Make Mine Milkcampaign, has been award-ed the RABDF PrincessRoyal award at BuckinghamPalace. Mr Wilkie spent many

years working for RobertWiseman Dairies and iscurrently sales andmarketing director withthe recently formed MullerWiseman Dairies. He ischairman of both the DairyCouncil and the MilkMarketing Forum.

DF May p4 5 6 News _Layout 1 26/04/2013 10:45 Page 1

MAY 2013 DAIRYFARMER

NEWS

5

FFA pulls outJLast year producer dairyfactions came together topresent a united front,which proved its worth inhelping arrest proposedprice cuts and set the indus-try on a better footing.Now, however, the

coalition has one lessmember after Farmers ForAction pulled out last week,seemingly following adisagreement with the NFU.

No consultationThe final straw, said FFAleader David Handley, waswhen the NFU gave proce-ssors more time to complywith the voluntary code,without consultation withother coalition members. It was reported the NFU

also irritated FFA because itrefused to send text alerts toproducers to indicate whereFFA is taking direct action. NFU president Peter

Kendall said he ‘regretted’the move but stressed thecoalition will continuewithout FFA.

rDairy Farmer and itssister publication,Farmers Guardian, arepleased to announcethey have been chosenas media partners forthis year’s Dairy Show.The show will take

place on Wednesday,October 2, at the Bathand West Showground,Shepton Mallet.This year the event

promises to be biggerand better than ever, withthe emphasis strictly onall things dairy. We willkeep you posted as theprogramme develops.

Dairy ShowDairyCo predictsindustry exodus JDairyCo is predictingabout 1300 farmers willquit the industry over thenext two years, reducingthe overall number of dairyfarmers to about 14,250. However, the effect on

rThe number of GBdairy farmers intendingto increase productionin the next two yearswas 32%, down from36% in 2012rThe proportionintending to retire orleave the industry in thenext 10 years hasdropped from 19% in2012 to 10% this year rThe proportion offarmers intending toleave the industry in thenext two years increasedfrom 7% last year to 9%(equating to 1050farms).

Survey conclusions

production will be offsetby those remaining andexpanding, it believes.That said, production

intentions expressed inthe organisation’s latestFarmer Intentions Surveyestimate GB milk volumesin two years’ time will bebetween 1% and 2% below2012/13 levels, at about10.7 billion litres.

VolumesFor this year it is estim-ating volumes will ‘at best’reach 11.5bn litres, andthat is ‘assuming theindustry is able to recoverin the upcoming year’. Thetwo-year estimate is basedon 8215 GB dairy farmers,weighted by country andherd size, and ‘reflects theintentions of the surveyrespondents, rather thanforecasts based oninvestment or businessplans already put in place’.

Longer deadline JDefra has extended its £5 million dairy fund tohelp farmers explore the potential of co-operation fortheir businesses until June 3. The fund’s objective

is to support growth inthe industry and to helpmeet the costs of setting upco-operative projects.


NEWS

MAY 2013DAIRYFARMER

6

Global market isstarting to settle JWorld dairy markets – asmeasured by the GlobalDairy Trade Index – havestabilised, albeit at a highlevel if the latest auctionresults are anything to goby. Cooling of the markets

is not necessarily a badthing, however, as sellerswere becoming increas-ingly worried dairysubstitution would start tooccur, which would tem-per demand.The latest prices saw

WMP settle at $5245, up$145 on two weeks before.

SMP was $4757, which is$385 lower. However, theprevious auction sawprices peak at over $5000 –the first time it had evercrossed that threshold.

Higher pricesThe NFU seized on thefigures to press for higherprices. Dairy boardchairman Mansel Raymondsaid: “Dairy farmers expectmilk buyers to seekmarkets which maximisethe value of milk and dairyproducts, in order to securefuture supplies.

“There is an insatiableand growing demand fordairy products globally.The GDT/Fonterra auctionalone has seen values ofdairy commodities rise byalmost 40% since earlyMarch.” Nearer to home, Euro-

pean auctions have seenGouda and Emmenthalvalues climbing, and theUK dairy indicators ofAMPE and MCVE havereached 32.4ppl and33.0ppl respectively forMarch, up 34% and 5% onthe year.

News in briefStudent of yearJOwen Ashton, a final yearstudent at the University ofAberystwyth, is the RABDFDairy Crest Dairy Student ofthe Year. He was presen-tedwith a £1000 cash prize byDairy Crest and the univer-sity he represents recei-ved£500 towards a dairy educa-tional project.The other three finalists

were Louise Hartley(University of Newcastle),Helen Machin (ReaseheathCollege), and James Purcell(Greenmount Campus).

Production downJMilk production in the2012/13 production yearwas 12,970bn litres, the thirdlowest year on record.

Cheese price in balanceJAmid welcome price increases, Dairy Crest is stillunable to reveal its thinkingon the highly sensitive milkprice for cheese, claiming tobe in negotiation with itssupply group DCD.Its reaction on the cheese

front is critical because ofFirst Milk’s recent state-ment that it may possiblyhave to cut the milk forcheese price by up to 2pplif retailers did not respondwith better prices. On the liquid front, Dairy

Crest has just announced a1.5ppl increase from June 1for producers on standard

liquid contracts taking theheadline figure up to31.5ppl. Arla Foods amba is

raising its price by 1.06pplas of April 29. This takesthe Arla Milk Link stan-dard litre price up to30.21ppl. And the prospects look

good for further incre-ments. Arla’s AshAmirahmadi said: “Themarkets continue to indicatea positive outlook over thecoming months and we willpass back further benefits toour farmers as soon as weare able.”

Milk Race makes return JThe Milk Race is backafter 20 years – albeit forjust one day as opposed toa multi-day tour of thecountry. Thanks to the efforts of

the Dairy Council – whichreceives no money for milkpromotion from farmers –the race is to make areturn to the UK sportingcalendar in Nottingham onSunday, May 26, 2013. It will constitute an elite

mens race and an elitewomens race, alongside afull day’s festival of cycling.The decision to bring

back the event and to re-

ignite the link betweenmilk and cycling was takenby industry bodies, theDairy Council and the MilkMarketing Forum.

HeritageNottingham was chosenas the location for the 2013event because of the city’sheritage in cycling – ithouses the headquarters ofleading brand Raleigh –and for its outstandingcommitment to communitycycling. � A new website www.themilkrace.com is nowlive.


Dare to be different.

Mastitis is a signifi cant problem on many dairy farms. Each infected cow stands out from the herd because of the impact of the disease on her future performance:

Yield reduction, with losses up to 1181 kg per case1

Premature culling, mastitis being the main cause in Great Britain2

Reduced fertility, with increased days to fi rst service, increased days open and increased services per conception in cows with clinical mastitis prior to being confi rmed pregnant3

What’s more it’s a unique combination of two active ingredients and a water-based formulation, providing an effective treatment against mastitis

Is it time you re-evaluated your mastitis therapy?

For further information please contact your veterinary surgeon or Zoetis UK Ltd, Walton Oaks, Dorking Road, Walton-on-the-Hill, Tadworth, Surrey KT20 7NS. Lincocin Forte S contains lincomycin and neomycin POM-V Withdrawal period: milk, 84 hours after last treatment. Meat 3 days. Use medicines responsibly (www.noah.co.uk/responsible) Date of preparation: 09/12 AH149/13

1.Ref: Wilson (2004) JDS 87 (7) 2073-2084 2.Ref:Milne MH (2005) Proceedings of the British Mastitis Conference, Stoneleigh, pp15-19 3. Ref:Leslie KE (2012) Vet Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice. 28 (2), pp 289-30 Barker AR et al (1998) JDS 81 pp1285-1290 .Schrick FN et al (2001) JDS 84 pp 1407-1412

16:00

Pfizer - Lincocin WP DF_Pfizer - Lincocin WP DF 25/04/2013 12:55 Page 1


COWMEN COMMENT

ROSEMARYCollingbornRosemary Collingborn and her husband Joe farm a closed

herd of 100 pedigree Friesian type cows, 60 young stock andbreed bulls for sale. She has served on the MDC Council,

Veterinary Products Committee and RSPCA Council.

“Some fieldshave beenpartially underwater summerand winter andare only juststarting to lookless like lakes

The editor has asked for a photoof our cows joyfully gambollingon their way out to grass. I’msure they will be out by the timeyou read this but, as I write in

early April, it’s only just drying out here andthe grass has not started to grow.

I have always said weather is the mostimportant financial indicator in farming.Last spring started off the best ever and thecows were out by February 10. That springwas followed by eight months of rain andthen we have had the coldest Easter sincerecords began.

Our clay farm is really wet and alwaystakes an extra week to dry up. Some fieldshave been partially under water summerand winter and are only just starting to lookless like lakes.

Today, there was a whirlwind of dustblowing around the milking parlour. Adrying wind would be welcome aftermonths of rain, if only it were warmer. Sincethis time last year, we have had far toomuch inclement weather and it has drivenmany fields into a dormant state – they havejust given up.

Last winter was always going to bechallenging for us at least – first cut silagemade a month late, part of the farm underwater and big bales being made indesperation on wet fields leaving big ruts.

Added to this, every farm bulk tank testedby our vets was positive for Schmallenberg,

ourselves included. Fortunately it onlyseemed to impact on the milk, rather thanon unborn calves. The cows have had todeal with all of this, plus very moderatesilage and a late turnout.

In spite of all, we have been pleased withthem. Milk yields could be worse, cellcounts have been excellent and our fertilityhas been improving. This has been mainlydue to the sterling efforts of our two bullsBrinkworh Rhydian and Brinkworth Rhys.Over Christmas, Brinkworth Rhys washaving to attend to six cows a day and stillmanaged to get them all in calf!

Expensive winterIt’s been a very expensive winter as wehave fed sugar beet all the way through,plus brewers grains at record prices. Ithasn’t been profitable – our margin overconcentrates (let alone anything else) hasbeen down £20,000 over the year so far andthe downturn started once the cows cameoff the soggy pastures in late October andonto winter feed.

We won’t be the only farm to haveenormous piles of farmyard manure whichshould have been spread last year. It wouldbe useful to have an EU derogation so wecould deal with it in a timely way. Currentruling is it must be spread within the year,even though vets recommend more than ayear’s storage.

Normally the countryside looks beautiful

**DF May p8 9 Cowmen _Layout 1 25/04/2013 10:55 Page 1


COWMEN COMMENT

Farm Facts

r FARM: Family run 185acres dairy farm in NorthWiltshirerHERD: Closed herd of100 Friesian type pedigreecowsrYIELD: 7874 litresrSOIL TYPE: Heavy on Oxford clayrRAINFALL: 749mmrMILK BUYER: First Milk.

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RE BUILDINGSLeaders in buildings & equipment

each spring with lush green grasseverywhere. Instead it’s alarming to seebrown, dead looking fields of permanentpasture, unsown winter cereals, or evenworse, failed ones. Some arable farmers aregiving up this year and just collecting theirSingle Payment.

Last autumn, we reseeded the fieldswhich had deteriorated most from thesummer thrashing. One of these has failedspectacularly, but my husband Joe andSteve, our number one helper, have justbeen on a DairyCo soil course and Stevewas immediately sent out to mole ploughprior to reseeding it again. Fingers crossed,as spring sown leys often fail round here.

Cash flow being tight, we were pleasedwhen our neighbour appeared to buy some

October-born calves. We agreed a price forthe Friesians well enough, but I was sure theAngus should be worth a bit more and myneighbour thought a bit less. As luck wouldhave it Joe appeared so we appealled tohim. As the bottom price we were workingon was £375, I wasn’t too pleased when hecame out with £350! However, matters soongot somewhat worse – our young and wellbred Friesian bull was in with the steers butexcluded as he wasn’t for sale.

“You know, your breeding bull isn’t goingto be much good,” said our neighbour.

“Why not,” I asked in alarm as it’s quite ahassle to register and DNA test a pedigreebull nowadays. “He’s been emasculated,”he replied. Sadly, he’s now been sold alongwith the other steers.

First day out. Despite theweather, the cows went out inearly April to fields with littlegrass cover.

**DF May p8 9 Cowmen _Layout 1 25/04/2013 10:56 Page 2


SPONSORED SERIES

milkwatchwith Boehringer Ingelheim

New computer programimproves lameness control

Calvings go well amid concerns about

As the usual time forfirst cut silage approaches, Milk

Watch farmer Roger Leachis dismayed at both thecondition and quantity ofgrass on Myerscough College’s Lodge Farm. Located near Bilsborrow

in Lancashire, he says thesevere easterly wind hasnot let up for more than amonth, leaving grass looking desiccated and inno condition to either cutor graze.He says: “Waiting for it

This month our two Milk Watch farmers are looking at the effectthis spring’s poor grass growth is having on their businesses.

to bulk up means we willreach heading date onabout May 15, so we’llhave to accept a poorerquality.”

CompromiseConfronting the compro-mise he will have to make,he says he is eking outsilage supplies in themeantime, which shouldlast until early May.“We also have some

wholecrop,” he adds, “sowe are using more of thisthan usual for youngstock

and beef, although its protein is lower so wehave had to alter the blendto make up for this –which means yet more ex-pense.“We’re also pushing back

the frontiers of sciencewith our lameness control,and the incidence has no-ticeably improved since westarted using a new com-puter program,” he says.“Every problem and

treatment is punched intothe computer, then eachcase is flagged up for a

two-weekly visit and theprocess certainly seems tobe getting on top of ourlameness.“Mobility scores have

improved across the herdand we’re now looking tolay rubber matting on theareas where the cowsturn,” he says.

ImprovementFurther improvementhas been seen in mastitislevels, as pathogens be-hind a recent outbreakhave now been identified.

James Willcocks says calving has gone well, with a good run of heifers.

Down on TregleathFarm, near Bodminin Cornwall, Milk

Watch farmer James Willcocks is marvelling atthe difference between onespring and the next and theeffect it is having on hisbusiness.He says: “Normally the

lows would be out by dayand night at this time ofyear, and a large percentageof their milk would be com-ing from grazed grass, butnow they’re only out forseven hours a day.”Grass growth is so slow

the grazing round is also

more than double its normallength, at 28 days comparedwith the usual 14, whilefields shut up for silagehave already been used forgrazing and grass silage hasbeen bought-in to supple-ment that in stock.

Performing wellBut amid the worries aboutforage production, thespring calving group, whichrepresents about half of the280-head herd, has beenperforming well as it approaches the end of thecalving period.“Calvings have gone well

and we’re still having agood run of heifers,” saysJames. “We’ve had 60

heifers out of the 108 so farcalved and we’ve had nomilk fever or retained

**DF May p10 11 Milk Watch (Signed Off)_Layout 1 26/04/2013 10:31 Page 1


SPONSORED SERIES

A word from the vet - mastitis

Advice on the use of Ubrolexin® or other therapies should be sought from your veterinary surgeon.Ubrolexin contains cefalexin monohydrate and kanamycin monosulphate. POM-V. Furtherinformation available from Boehringer Ingelheim Limited, Vetmedica Division, Bracknell, Berkshire,RG12 8YS, UK. Email: [email protected]. Date of preparation: Apr 2013.AHD 7564. This advertisement is brought to you by Boehringer Ingelheim Limited, VetmedicaDivision, manufacturers of Ubrolexin. Withdraw milk from supply for human consumption for 120hours after the last Ubrolexin treatment. Use Medicines Responsibly (www.noah.co.uk/responsible).

By Phil Elkins, Westpoint South WestrMastitis has generally beendivided into environmental orcontagious, and control is tar-geted according to this classifi-cation. Since the introduction ofthe five-point plan, the spreadof contagious pathogens has reduced significantly leading toenvironmental mastitis beingfar more common. Control of environmental mas-

titis is simple in theory – keepcows clean. A clean teat willhave 150,000 potential masti-tis-causing bacteria on its teatend compared to a million on adirty teat. Perfect teat prepara-tion will reduce the bacteria by90%, and udder cleanliness isthe primary control measure forenvironmental mastitis1. Control during the grazing

season relies upon good man-agement. We know bacteriasuch as Streptococcus uberis(SU) can survive on pasture forup to four weeks after a signifi-cant build up, so control relieson minimising any build up andresting the grazing area. Setstocking is a major risk for envi-ronmental mastitis in the graz-ing season as cows will oftencamp in certain areas leadingto a build up of pathogens.Historically, we have made the

distinction between environmen-tal and contagious on the basisof which bacteria are involved. Itmay be better to look at the way

the bacteria are behaving. Weknow bacteria traditionally de-fined as environmental such asE.coli and SU can cause pro-longed subclinical infections incows and may well be acting asa reservoir of infection. It is really important to look at

the mastitis and cell countrecords to find patterns. Bacte-riology is also really important,and as an industry it is drasti-cally under used. How can youmake a treatment or controldecision where frequently lessthan 5% of clinical or subclini-cal cases are tested? A good example is on a

client’s farm where milk samples are frequently testedfor bacteriology. The most frequent bacteria present (85%of cases) is SU, and we aretreating clinical cases with verygood success using Mamyzin. Ongoing control is based on

environmental improvementand removal of chronically infected cows.Reference. 1 Ian Ohnstad, Teat ClubInternational.

ut forage production

“Initially we were strug-gling to control the flareup,” says Roger. “But nowwe know the strains ofbacteria behind the problem, we’ve been ableto target them with theright product.

“Our vets have said weneed to use an antibioticcontaining kanamycin sowe’re using Ubrolexin andtaking other measures suchas spraying the beddingwith peracetic acid,” hesays.

Roger Leach is pleased they have got on top of the lameness outbreak.

placentas, apart from a cou-ple of twins.”

Mastitis rates and cellcounts have also been pleasing and have possiblybeen assisted by the recentdry clean conditions.

“We have had a couple ofcases of clinical mastitis inthe fresh calvers and noth-ing at all in the heifers,” hesays. “I’m convinced using ateat sealant in everything,including heifers, has beenimportant but we are alsoextremely quick to treat any-thing with mastitis.

“It will have an injectableand an intramammary an-

tibiotic and will also have ananti-inflammatory,” he says.

Additionally, the milkingroutine is rigidly adheredto, and having two peoplein the parlour is now con-sidered essential.

“We brought in a secondperson the winter before lastand we have kept themthere ever since,” he says.

“That means the persondoing the milking can con-centrate solely on that, andas a result teat preparationand post-milking treatmentis much more thorough andthe throughput is now farquicker.”

**DF May p10 11 Milk Watch (Signed Off)_Layout 1 26/04/2013 14:16 Page 2

MAY 2013DAIRYFARMER

ON FARM

12

US shows the way tohigh milk production

Westpoint Vets recently took a party of farmers to the central valley of California to find outwhat was new in dairying across the pond. Vet Matt Dobbs gives us his impressions.

They say for allnew innovationthe world fol-lows the US, andthe US follows

California, so the obviousplace to find out what isnew in dairying must beTulare County in Califor-nia’s central valley. This small part of Califor-

nia has the highest densityof dairy cows anywhere inthe world, with dairy afterdairy lining every road inand out of the small countytown of Visalia. But dairying is in the dol-

drums in California at themoment. Milk prices arepoor and feed prices high,and just to top it off theweather has been unusually

Youngstock rearing in dry lots – high growth rates ensure young heifers are big and fit enough to calve at 22months.

dry over the last few years. In addition there is great

pressure on the environ-ment in the state and partic-ularly water usage. Agricultural land prices

are now over $30,000(£20,000) an acre, and dairy-ing is giving way to highervalue crops such as almondsand cherries. Although there are some

very large new units milkingover 10,000 cows, somefarmers are moving out, pri-marily to states where corpo-ration tax and environmentallaws are more favourable.Key to picking a new desti-nation for a dairy is the abil-ity to grow cheaper forageas feed costs are the maindriver to profitable milk pro-

duction in these parts. The best dairy farmers we

visited on the tour knew thecost benefit of every aspectof their production inti-mately. From calf rearing toculling, the smart operatorsknew their costs and usedthem to make strategic deci-sions about business man-agement.

IrrigationWith the help of extensiveirrigation, the warmerweather of the last fewyears has allowed Californ-ian forage ranches to makeup to eight cuts a year ofhigh protein crops such asalfalfa. This climate alsogives them the ability togrow very high DM/starch

corn silages (up to 50% DMand 40% starch). With theabundance of highenergy/high fibre by-products such as almondhulls and cotton seed, thenevery dairy opts to feed aTMR for high yields. The use of bovine soma-

totropin (BST) has droppedrecently owing to the grow-ing public concern of thehormone use in agriculture,with only 15% of farms and17% of cows using the prod-uct. Almost all Californianherds are milked three timesa day, with the fashion forfour times milking simplynot financially viable anylonger (unless BST is used).However, even without BST,average heifer yields are

**DF May p12 13 14 On Farm_Layout 1 26/04/2013 10:32 Page 1


ON FARM

13

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1. Mütze K, et al. The effect of dry cow antibiotic with and without an internal teat sealant on udder health during the first 100 d of lactation: a field study with matched pairs. J. Dairy Res. 2012 Nov; 79(4):477-84 2. Huxley J, et al. Evaluation of the Efficacy of an Internal Teat Sealer During the Dry Period. J. Dairy Sci. 2002; 85:551-561 3. Berry E and Hillerton JE. The Effect of an Intramammary Teat Seal on New Intramammary Infections. J. Dairy Sci.

2002; 85:2512-2520 4. Bradley AJ, Breen JE, Payne B, Williams P, Green MJ. The use of a cephalonium containing dry cow therapy and an internal teat sealant, both alone and in combination. J. Dairy Sci. 2010; 93 :1566–1577

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about 10,000 litres per 305dand cows are averaging 12-14,000 litres.One striking difference

from my last visit to Califor-nia 10 years ago was the re-duction in cow size. In themid to late 1990s the vogue

was for Canadian breedingand tall cows. But for thelast six to eight years thefarms have reverted to asmaller cow, but still withgreat body depth. With re-placement rates of 40-50%,the turn around on genetic

improvement is very quick,so changes in breeding pol-icy can see a total herdchange in less than fiveyears!Also the average style of

farms has changed – dry lotdairies are less common,

with producers preferringfree stalls (bedded withsand) for cow comfort andimproved heat abatement.The average herd size acrossthe state is 1100 cows (US av-erage 180 cows, with two-thirds of US farms still less

Most Californian herds are either kept in free stalls or dry lots – moststalls rely on copious sand bedding.

With 12,000 cows to milk you can not get a bulk tank big enough, somilk goes straight into the tanker.


ON FARM

MAY 2013DAIRYFARMER

14

Contract calf rearing hutches stretch almost as far as the eye can see – calves are usually taken in at just one day old and weaned at 26 days.

than 100 cows), although thenew herds are usually larger.Typically 2500 (or multiplesthereof) work well for labourefficiencies – a three-manteam can milk these througha single parlour in eighthours including wash up.The Wildenbergs farm wevisited was typical – 2200cows, milked three times,through a 60:60 rapid exitparlour.Contract calf rearing is the

norm in California but, un-like the UK, calves arereared away from the farmfrom one day old, usuallyreturning once the calfreaches 140kg. One calfrearer we met, who wasrearing more than 100,000calves at any one time, said:“Why would dairy farmerscontract heifers out for rear-ing after weaning? Fromthen on that’s the easy bit!” All calves are weighed,

electronically identified andblood tested on arrival at therearers. The blood is checked

for total protein, a measureof the success of passivetransfer of immunity fromcolostrum. Those with a lowtotal protein (indicating poorcolostrum management) aremanaged separately and aresubject to a higher daily rear-ing fee! Total protein is thebiggest indicator of futuregrowth performance – it issaid that those with less than5.5mg/dl total blood proteinat 48 hours could have up to50% less feed conversion effi-ciency.

WeaningCalves are abruptly weanedonce they are consuming0.9kg (2lb) of meal a day,which occurs, on average, byday 26. It takes a minimumof three weeks for the rumenpapillae to develop to ensurethe calf can survive withoutmilk, and this only occursonce water and volatile fattyacids from calf meal con-sumption are present in thedeveloping rumen. Calves

do not seem to suffer fromearly weaning, as calf meal isavailable from day one.The daily rearing cost al-

ters according to the marketprice of feed, and a target of0.9kg daily live weight gainis set. All calves are weighedoff the unit and each supply-ing dairy is benchmarked ac-cording to live weight gain.Those dairies consistently atthe bottom of the pile may beasked to find another rearer,as they are blocking calf pensfor potentially more efficientcalves.With the average dairy

cow surviving less than 2.4lactations, calf and heiferrearing is an important com-ponent of dairying in Cali-fornia. A study presented atthe Reno dairy conferencedemonstrated pre-weaningnutrition had more impacton future lactation perform-ance than genetic selectionfor production. The samestudy also demonstratedpost-weaning nutrition has

up to eight times more im-pact on future productionthan genetics. Although feed price is

high in the US, most Cali-fornian dairymen are accel-erating the growth of theirheifers with enhanced feed-ing so they calve, on aver-age, by 22 months, with theaverage age of first serviceless than 12 months. This results in lower

labour costs, less ill health,fewer reproductive cullsand most importantly addi-tional milk in the first lacta-tion. And although the feedcosts are $65 (£43) higherwith this intensive rearing,it gives a net benefit of $251(£166) per heifer.One producer said: “There

is milk in early lifecolostrum and nutritionalmanagement.” And despitethe gloom about milk prices,the Californian dairymenbelieved it was a key com-ponent to the future successof dairying in their state.


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Kubota WP DF_Kubota WP DF 25/04/2013 14:40 Page 1


POTTER’S VIEW

IANPotter

“All it takes isone anti with acamera and anagenda toportray theindustry as crueland the wholelot gets tainted.

This month, Ian Potter looks at the latest wedge that could split the industry and hemakes his case for supporting the ‘little’ man in a classic David and Goliath struggle.

Istart by focusing on the huge elephant inthe room – namely the threat from FirstMilk that, unless the price it receives forits cheese increases, it will be forced tocut the milk price paid to members.That’s the dangerous position we’re in

and it will have no option but to do sounless it can get more money out of themarket. It will have no alternative but to divert

even more milk to other more profitableoutlets (spot milk is currently at 40ppl) asopposed to turning it into cheese in thehope that, in three months’ time retailers,discounters and food service buyers will allpay a fair price for it. The phrase caughtbetween a rock and a hard place springs tomind. It’s easy to blame Irish imports as the

sole reason for the problem. Both SouthCaernarfon Creameries and ParkhamFarms (Peter Willes) have both partneredup with Adams Foods, who now pack andmarket their cheese. But neither of thesecompanies have milk prices at the bottomof the league table. With explosive world commodity prices

providing more profitable market outletsfor milk, and Irish cheddar imports down16.5% in the first three months of 2013, thetime has come for cheese customers torealise the price they pay for cheese issecondary to ensuring continuity of supplyfor the rest of 2013 and beyond. But will they? Hopefully, by the time this

article is published, the crisis will have beenaverted, and First Milk will not be droppingits price, but increasing it like Arla MilkLink and Dairy Crest. But on to other matters. The second

North of England UK Dairy Expo wasstaged at Borderway Market, Carlisle, inMarch and was well supported with morethan 300 dairy cattle on show.It is important the industry has successful

events such as this to showcase the bestanimals in the industry. Let’s hope theLivestock Event in July (formerly the DairyEvent) is a similarly successful show. Theoffer of free buses should help, althoughsome are viewing that provision as either ashrewd insurance policy to ensure highnumbers or an early sign of panic.

Teat fixingRegrettably, the Dairy Expo triggeredmultiple rumours of cattle which had been‘fixed’. This is where practices such assealing teats and balancing each quarter ofthe udder takes place. After the event rumours gathered pace

and, without going into detail, I wasconcerned to receive several calls frompeople who attended (includingconversations with representatives/members of two breed societies) who saidsome animals had been ‘fixed’.I tried to make contact with the judges,

who declined to comment, as well aschasing one of the show’s organisers –

**DF May p16 17 Potter _Layout 1 25/04/2013 12:09 Page 1


POTTER’S VIEW

Ian Potter

rIan is a specialist milkquota and entitlement broker.Comments please to [email protected]

twice. This set me wondering whyeveryone had seemingly gone to ground.Then one exhibitor started to trumpet hehad ‘got away with it’, while another hasstated he will not show his animals in GB ifhe can’t adjust and fix them, and will showin mainland Europe instead. That’s his call. Show organisers must realise farmers and

rule-abiding exhibitors are the eyes andears of the industry and it’s their duty topolice show rules and the integrity of theshow itself. All it takes is one anti with acamera and an agenda to portray theindustry as cruel and the whole lot getstainted.I now return to the raw milk selling case,

where the Food Standards Agency (FSA1 –abbreviation will become apparent later) isprosecuting the 70-cow family farmingoperation of Hook & Son for sellingunpasteurised milk.Following that article, the conspiracy

theorists sprung into action and severalreaders were quick to alert me to the factthat Tim Smith, the former CEO of the FSA,and more importantly Arla, could have aconflict if the Hooks successfully defendtheir case, and unpasteurized milk saleswere to take off. Jim Begg of Dairy UK has certainly

commented in regard to proposed legis-lation on a saturated fat tax that it was notthe answer and that consumers should beallowed to decide ‘as long as the risks arehighlighted on the packaging’ (as it is withunpasteurized milk). However, Dairy UKdoes not seem to follow the same logic onthe Hooks and unpasteurised milk. It’s acurious ambiguity.

So why do I abbreviate the FoodStandards Agency to FSA1? Cue a fewcomments now on FSA2 – the FinancialServices Authority. They have the sameinitials and, it seems, the same appetite topersecute the little man – in this case it hasattempted to close down Burnley business-man Dave Fishwick and his ‘Bank of Dave’. Mr Fishwick has set up his own bank and

FSA2 has effectively stopped his banktaking in deposits from locals on thegrounds he was operating an unregulated,collective investment scheme.

Filming progressHowever Dave is not only taking them on,he has captured the attention of Channel 4,which is filming his progress.On the face of it, it appears FSA2 is sat

back watching fat cat bankers who havecrippled our economy get away withrobbery, yet they take the easy option toclose down a community bank, thebrainwave of an enterprising northerner. It’s the same with FSA1 who, in the case

of the horse meat scandal, have chosen notto dig deep and hit the real culprits, but arepicking on the easy prey – the likes of theHooks.Meanwhile, The Mooman Film, which

films a year on the Hooks’ farm, has beenpremiered at the O2 Arena. Sorry, DairyCo,but this film does more for the image of realdairy farming than your recent YouTubeand website films.These are both real David and Goliath

battles, and I wish them success and hopethe FSAs’ bullies will stop harassing andpicking on the small guys!

‘Caught between a rock and a hard place’

**DF May p16 17 Potter _Layout 1 25/04/2013 12:10 Page 2


SPONSORED SERIES

with Micron Bio-Systems

Part three in this sponsored series sees our two contributors – New Breed UK’s Richard Rolfe and Mole Valley Farmers’ GrahamRagg – look at the prospects for alternatives to grass silage.

We may need to lookat alternatives to grass

What aseasonwe arehaving.Mole

Valley Farmers’ GrahamRagg thinks that whileturnout will have been de-layed by at least a month formany livestock farmers, therecent warm weather meansgrass will be starting to grow.Now is the time to apply anyfertiliser to make every daycount and help bolster dwin-dling forage stocks.

In the north, NewbreedUK’s Richard Rolfe says he

would normally have cus-tomers taking silage cropstowards the end of April,but with daytime tempera-tures of under 5degC in thefirst week of the month, it’staken a while for the grassto get growing again.

Forage stocks are startingto run low. “I have somecustomers feeding silagethat is three to four yearsold,” says Mr Rolfe. “So wereally need to look aheadthis season to make sure weare not caught out by an-other year like 2012.”

“Winter cereal acreagemay be down, but spring ce-reals offer a good opportu-nity to compensate for this,”suggests Mr Ragg.

Farmers in marginalmaize growing areas such asnorthern coastal regions

should consider switchingto wholecrop for ensiling.Further south, farmers inthe arable areas would bewell advised to increasetheir maize acreage to re-place any winter cereals thatwere not drilled.

Wholecrop“I have seen a big increasein the amount of wholecropbeing grown in the north-west, particularly in themarginal maize growingareas which have sufferedover the past two years,”says Mr Rolfe.

“Because wholecrop is har-vested earlier than maize, itprovides the opportunity toreseed in the back end of thegrowing season.”

Mr Ragg says: “Maize canbe sown when soil tempera-

tures reach 8-10degC, whichsome will already be seeing.It goes without sayingmaize planting will be laterthis year than last.

“Some farmers drilled tooearly last year (at the end ofMarch or early April) andended up re-drilling ascrops struggled to establishin the wet and cold weather.

“Because of this year’sweather, most growers willprobably have to wait a littlebit longer before sowingmaize this time.”

Mr Rolfe suggests gettingmaize in the ground earlywill benefit the bulk andmaturity of the crop. “How-ever, you need to wait untilthe soil reaches the righttemperature and there is nofurther risk of frost.

“Recent challenging sum-

Some producers will need to increase their maize acreage to make up for unsown winter cereals.

“We reallyneed to lookahead thisseason to makesure we are notcaught outRichard Rolfe

**DF May p18 19 Forage Watch (signed off) NEW COPY RUN IN_Layout 1 26/04/2013 12:35 Page 1


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mers have seen a reductionin the maize acreage in thenorth, though some farmersare taking the view that atsome point we must have agood summer.”Despite the nutritional as-

pects of lucerne, this is still amarginal crop. However,studies have shown that theinclusion of lucerne silage indairy cow diets can improveforage intake, and increaseoutput of milk protein withno change in milk fat.“Lucerne crops can be

sown when soil tempera-tures warm up,” advises MrRagg. “And while the croprequires careful manage-ment, if you follow the

guidelines there is nothingdifficult about it.”

FocusThe focus for the comingyear should be to replenishforage stocks and lookclosely at which crops aregrown. Make sure what youare planning fits with whereyou are in the country andassume the weather will doits best to disrupt the season. Protect what you grow.

“More farmers are seeing thebenefits of controlling maizeeyespot diseases to givehigher yields and increasedstarch levels,” says Mr Ragg. Also protect what you

have harvested – use a good

quality inoculant whichcontains two strains of lacticacid bacteria to cover thefull fermentation range,helping save considerabledry matter losses.A good additive will also

contain a stability compo-nent such as lactobacillusBrevis. This creates aceticacid on exposure to oxygenat the silage face which willretard yeast and mouldgrowth. Inoculants including en-

zymes will also aid digestibil-ity and energy potential,adding up to 1MJ/kg drymatter in published studies.

“Lucernecrops can besown when soiltemperatureswarm upGraham Ragg

**DF May p18 19 Forage Watch (signed off) NEW COPY RUN IN_Layout 1 26/04/2013 14:18 Page 2

MAY 2013DAIRYFARMER

BREEDING

20

Awesome Andy moves totop the bull proof charts

This spring’s chart topper not only boasts a massive PLI figure but is a daughter fertilityspecialist as well. Ann Hardy reports on the latest proof table.

There is a newnumber one sirein the DairyCoApril rankingsas US-bred

Whitman O Man AwesomeAndy edges up from fourthposition. This Oman x Zadeis the daughter fertility andlifespan specialist of thenew top 10, and has a mas-sive Profitable LifetimeIndex of £260.Guarini maintains his

strong showing with a PLIof £259 and, with an SCCIndex of -32, is the best cellcount improver of the breed.But it is the number three

bull which comes with a fan-fare for UK genetics, as Bal-lycairn Oman Pello joins awhole host of bulls that havedone well for Andrew Mc-

Collum’s Northern Irelandherd, and moves up to thirdposition with a PLI of £248.With a Predicted Transmit-ting Ability (PTA) which in-cludes 981kg milk, he is thehighest milk transmitter inthe top 60 and the leadingbull with a UK proof.

Second cropLong term top 10 bulls,Levi, Manifold and Jancenrank fourth to sixth, whilenew as a second crop bull isthe popular Ensenada TabooPlanet, whose 147 UKdaughters have combinedwith the thousands he hasinternationally to earn him aPLI of £239.UK-proven Cogent Twist

is the highest ranking Shot-tle son (PLI £236) and has

one of the highest fat PTAsof the breed at 40.2kg (0.2%).He shares eighth positionwith D Omar.The high daughter fertility

Gomez (FI 6.1) ranks 10th,ahead of the highest brandnew entry, De-Su Observer(PLI is £227). Observer is an early

Planet son and has already been used heavilyas a sire of sons on thestrength of his outstandinggenomic indexes for pro-duction, fitness and type.His Type Merit is 3.21which places him, by far,as the highest type sire inthe PLI top 50.

Top 10 daughter-proven Holstein bulls ranked on Profitable Lifetime Index (PLI) April 2013Rank £PLI Bull name Genomic Rel Milk Fat Ptn Fat Ptn SCC TM Sire Avail from Avail.

% % GB/NI sexed1 260 WHITMAN O MAN

AWESOME ANDY G 84 371 30.8 15.7 0.20 0.04 -23 0.44 Oman BUL N2 259 GUARINI - 75 588 23.8 26.1 0.01 0.08 -32 2.33 Goldwyn BUL/AIS N3 248 BALLYCAIRN OMAN PELLO G 91 981 38.3 31.4 0.00 0.00 -7 1.32 Oman GEN N4 243 MORNINGVIEW LEVI G 83 670 31.6 25.2 0.06 0.04 -17 1.34 Buckeye GEN N5 241 MAINSTREAM MANIFOLD G 86 977 37.4 29.7 -0.01 -0.02 -12 1.06 Oman SMX N6 240 LYNBROOK JANCEN - 75 408 31.4 23.4 0.19 0.12 -12 0.01 Oman BUL/AIS N7 239 ENSENADA TABOO PLANET G 97 949 30.9 25.8 -0.07 -0.06 -5 1.72 Taboo DD/WWS Y8 236 COGENT TWIST G 95 596 40.2 24.6 0.20 0.06 -10 1.23 Shottle COG Y8 236 D OMAR - 79 453 29.9 22.6 0.15 0.09 -23 0.52 Oman VIK N10 235 GOMEZ - 73 431 33.2 21.1 0.20 0.09 -8 1.22 Goldwyn SRL/WFE NSource: DairyCo - type indexes from Holstein UK. AIS = AI Services; AV = Avoncroft; BUL = bullsemen.com; COG = Cogent; DD = DairyDaughters; DOV = Dovea Genetics; GEN = Genus ABS; SMX = Semex; SRL = Sterling Sires; WFE = Western Farm Enterprises; WWS =World Wide Sires UK; VIK = UK Viking Genetics. PLI = Profitable Lifetime Index; SCC = Somatic Cell Count Index; TM = Type Merit; G= Genomic.

Awesome daughter Kenyon Hill Awesome 180.

**DF May p20 Breeding Proofs_Layout 1 26/04/2013 09:22 Page 1

Cogent WP DF_Cogent WP DF 25/04/2013 12:56 Page 1

MAY 2013DAIRYFARMER

BREEDING

22

0870 162 2000 or see www.genusbreeding.co.uk

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GENUS. LONG LIFE COWS.

German breeders put theirtrust in genomic selection

Dr Sabine Krueger is joint CEO of the RMV (Rinderzucht Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)herdbook in Germany. On a recent trip, Bruce Jobson was granted an exclusiveinterview with the only female CEO of a German herdbook AI organisation.

How many years have youbeen involved with RMV?

Ihave been employed atRMV for the past 20years. I have a goodgrounding within thecattle breeding industry

having started at RMV as aninseminator. We have morethan 120 employees and theherdbook offices are basedat Karow, and we have 200RMV bulls in our AI stud.

How has the GermanAI and cattle breedingindustry changed sinceunification in 1991? We have seen immensechange. Herd size in East

Germany was alwayslarger owing to the collec-tive farm system. The current average in the Eastis 200 head and, nationally,herd size is 62 cows. RMVhas 461 members and126,000 registered dairycows within the herdbook,as well as 180,000 milk-recorded cows.The type of cattle previ-

ously maintained werecrossbred types. The statefully controlled the breed-ing policy, which resultedin a mix of Holstein, Fries-ian and Jersey cattle. Theconcept was aimed at com-bining high milk produc-

tion from Holsteins, thestrength of the Friesiantypes and high compo-nents from the Jersey. Today, we have a modern

and pure Holstein breed,with many large herds aver-aging over 10,000kg milk at4% fat and high protein.National production aver-age on two million Holsteincows is about 8800kg at4.09% fat and 3.38% protein.

Integrating political andagricultural systems musthave been an immense task?Yes, we’ve made immenseprogress since unificationand have focused on

delivering the best possibleresults. The German evalu-ation system uses state-of-the-art technology and hasdelivered high reliability aswell as stability. Nine German herdbook

AI organisations have theirsemen exports marketedby German Genetics Inter-national (GGI) to over 70countries on a global basis.In the UK, Inimex Genetics(via Bullsemen.com) mar-ket our products. Germany now has the

second highest number ofHolstein bulls tested on anannual basis. We evaluated1128 bulls in 2011, only 50

**DF May p22 23 Interview (OK USE)_Layout 1 26/04/2013 09:25 Page 1


BREEDING

23

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sires fewer than the US.France tested 613 bulls fol-lowed by Italy and Hollandwith 418 and 403 respec-tively. Cattle breeding is or-ganised on a 16 state federalbasis and evaluations areundertaken independently.

Have genomic evaluationsinfluenced German breed-ing programmes?Genomics has changed theway all national breedingprogrammes select the nextgeneration of sires. Firstly,all young bulls with gEBVevaluations are designatedas being proven bulls underEU regulations. Technicallyand legally, on an EU basis,there are no more test bulls. Secondly, from a market-

ing perspective, there are nolonger limitations on thenumber of units of sementhat can be marketed fromgenomic young bulls – theyhave been designated asproven sires by the EU.Thirdly, at breeder level,

RMV members are using

more genomic young bullsthan previously. Genomicshas provided a degree ofgreater confidence owing toreliability increasing from35% to 65%-70%. All farmersare different, but on averagebreeders are using up to 50%genomic young bulls, someare using 80% and others inthe region of 30%.

German breeders must beconfident in genomics andthe evaluation system? Our farmers have beenmore confident followingpublication of the results inDecember 2012 of provenGerman bulls born in 2007. The 1286 German bulls

had an average genomicindex of 110.8 RZG, andwhen the bulls were provenin Dec 2012, the group hadan average index of 110.5, adecline of only 0.3 RZG. Thesystem is proving extremelyreliable for a number of rea-sons. We have over 25,000 AIbulls in the reference trainingset, including 8500 daughter

proven German bulls. Another important factor

is the European Genomic Al-liance which uses a combina-tion of direct genomic valuewith sire pedigree index, anddoes not use cow indices inthe reference training set.This has resulted in very stable and reliable proofs.We are in a transition stage

from the traditional progenytest system to the genomicsystem. Mating and selectionwithin Germany haschanged considerably. Over80% of matings are now contracted to young genomicbulls and 65% of dams se-lected are yearling heifers.

Has Germany developed

its own cattle breeding‘brand’ identity?Unquestionably, but I canonly speak on behalf ofRMV. We have focused onbalanced goals targetingproduction, high compo-nents, fitness, feet and legs,udder traits and longevity. In December 2012, Gold-

wyn x Oman son, Guarini,owned by partner organisa-tion RRB, was the highestlisted bull in the UK evalua-tions (DairyCo) with a PLIrating of +253 points. Gunnar(Goldwyn X Ford) is our topseller in Germany and has aUK PLI rating of +185 and2.26 UK Type Merit. We haveset a goal to test and produceworld class bulls.

Dr Sabine Krueger: some are using up to 80% genomic young bulls.

**DF May p22 23 Interview (OK USE)_Layout 1 26/04/2013 09:26 Page 2

MAY 2013DAIRYFARMER

VET’S VIEW

24

Although the incidence of left displaced abomasums may have decreased, right-sided onesseem to be increasing. Vet Chris Watson reports from his Gloucestershire practice.

What can we do to reduce RDA cases?

Searchingthrough theback of my carthis week Irealised I have

not used any calcium forover six months andstarted to ask myself whywe do not see milk feversany more.

Most of our dairy unitsare themselves now usingvery little calcium solut-ions as treatments andinstead have moved tousing ‘supplement’products to prevent thedisease. Stockpersons are getting

used to assessing the risk

factors for each cow –history, age, condition, sizeof udder etc, and are usingcalcium boluses or calciumrich fluids at or just beforecalving.

Dry cow dietsDry cow diets are alsohelping as they are moreconsistent with high fibrerations being the norm,and with magnesiumchloride added to both‘acidify’ the ration andhelp with calciummobilisation. The resulthas been quite marked.Prevention is very

successful and therisks are being

successfully and easilymanaged withoutproducing clinical disease.Gone are the days whenwe had down cows everyday to deal with. I had half expected there

to be a flush of left displac-ed abomasum (LDA) casesthis winter and spring asdairy cows have been onsome very dubious forages

and quite varied diets usingwhatever straights wereavailable at the right price.But I think I have done nomore than five or six LDAsall winter which is a verylow incidence. The lack of maize in

diets due to the poorharvest may havesomething to do with it.The few we have had have

“The key tosuccess isgetting an earlydiagnosis and apromptinterventionChris Watson

**DF May p24 25 Vet View_Layout 1 25/04/2013 11:03 Page 1


VET’S VIEW

25

While it’s invisible, it’s not inexpensive. Hidden ketosis hurts cow health, reproductive performance, milk production and quality. And it can lead to displaced abomasums, cystic ovaries, retained placenta and metritis, increasing culling risk. The effects could cost from £200 up to £500 per cow.

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et al.

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production. J. Dairy Sci.Cystic ovaries: Dohoo 1984. Subclinical ketosis prevalence and associations with production and disease. Can. J. Comp. Med.

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What if a third of your cows have a costly secret?

rMilk fever is fully preventableif you assess the risk and planyour approachrPick up problems in freshcalved cows earlyrEarly, effective treatmentgives the best resultsrAbomasal displacement often arises from common,fresh-cow problems.

Diagnostic facts

all been associated with diseaseissues at or around calving such aslameness, metritis, twins orretained cleansing. I still toggle most of mine

provided they are fit enough whichI think is the most importantdecision. Any animal that isclinically sick is not suitable andneeds to be treated first to improveoverall health before deciding onany method to correct the LDA.Technique should not overridegood clinical judgement of the cow.The key to success is getting anearly diagnosis and a promptintervention. Like all diseases withfreshly-calved dairy cows thesooner you spot the problem andstart treatment the more likely youare to be successful. I saw the lasttwo LDAs I did this morning at aroutine visit and after 10 days oneis over 40 litres and the other closebehind. A very satisfying result!

RDA increaseBut rather disappointing thisspring has been the increase inright-sided displacements (RDA)which are so difficult to treat.These cows are not necessarilyclose to calving and it is one of thefew abdominal conditions wediagnose in cows well on in theirlactations.

It is difficult to know what thepredisposing factors are for thiscondition though it ought to bedietary. The abomasum probablydilates due to high starch intakes andbecomes ‘unstable’ moving high ontothe right side of the abdomen andeven twisting to produce a torsion. Treating these cows conservatively

is the first option. This mainlyinvolves changing to high forage dietswith some pain relief and oral fluids.However if the abomasum then

torsions it becomes a surgicalemergency as the shock will kill themwithin 24 hours or so. The surgery isnot simple and needs two vets toperform safely.There is so much we do not

understand about how the abomasumfunctions and why we getdisplacements in practice. The scienceout there has always seemed toconcentrate on techniques for correctingthe problem rather than its causes andprevention.

**DF May p24 25 Vet View_Layout 1 25/04/2013 11:04 Page 2

MAY 2013DAIRYFARMER

YOUNGSTOCK

26

Specialist calf unit tomatch herd demands

With a dramatic herd expansion, there was a big need for more heifers at Balmangan Farmsnear the Solway Coast in south-west Scotland. Jennifer MacKenzie finds out more.

Long line of youngstock tuck into their ration on the 450-calf unit.

Duncan Wallace: big benefits.

The need to rearmore replace-ments, with anemphasis onhealth and

welfare, was uppermost inestablishing a new unit for450 calves at BalmanganFarms in Scotland. The dairy business has

grown from a 60-cow herdestablished by Mac Wallacein the 1970s to a business inwhich he has now beenjoined by son Duncan,running 1350 cows in threeherds on 2000 acres.Numbers for the ped-

igree Holstein part of theherd at Balmangan havesteadily increased from 600cows in 2001 to today’s1000 cows, and while cattlehave been bought-in, theaim is to breed as many

herd replacements aspossible – both pedigreeand for the two 175-cowcommercial herds run ontwo of the business’ sixfarms.Duncan and Mac based

the design of the unit,which was constructed in2010, on that of a smallerbuilding at one of theirother farms.Duncan says: “We made

the decision to bring all thedry cows to Balmanganand calve them there, andrear all the calves in oneunit with all new facilities.It has had massive benefitsto all aspects of calf health,and helped in reducinglabour.”From the outset of the

planning, the Wallacesinvolved their vet JimmyMore of Solway Vets’member practice, GallowayVets, in Kirkcudbright.Ongoing health manage-ment is monitored underthe Calfstart programme,devised by Solway Vets, inwhich the vet works closelywith the client to manageall aspects of heifer rearingto maturity.Weekly meetings are held

with Mr More to monitorcalf health and disease, andmanagement is fine tunedaccordingly on acontinuing basis.

Health emphasis Mr More explains: “Theemphasis on healthmanagement is on nondrug based solutions andresponsible use of anti-biotics. Disease levels areminimal and pneumonia,scours and navel ill arevirtually unheard of.”The calf unit, which

comprises two buildingswith open sides facing eachother with 31 bays measur-ing 50ft by 20ft, has one of

the farms’ team of 14 full-time staff dedicated to therearing of calves.Duncan is involved with

the colostrum feeding. “Wegive the calves as much oftheir own dam’s colostrumas possible at the earliestopportunity after birth,aiming for four to fivelitres. They are then givena further three feeds ofcolostrum,” he says.They then move on to

powdered milk for up toeight weeks, and at 12weeks old are introduced toTMR. This includes somestraw and a home-madebarley mix which they arefed for four to five months.

**DF May p26 27 Youngstock_Layout 1 25/04/2013 11:06 Page 1


YOUNGSTOCK

27

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The young calves spend two tothree weeks in individual pensmade from recycled plastic fromSolway Recycling in Dumfries.“They are excellent for single penmanagement as they are easy towash and disinfect, easy to put upand they eliminate draft, which isimportant with such an airybuilding. We then lift the pens butkeep the calves together in onegroup for up to six months tominimise stress and keep them intheir peer group to make theexperience as good as possible forthem,” says Duncan.After six months they leave theunit and go to other farms wherethey graze and are cubicle trained.

Blood testsAs well as heifer replacements –about 300 a year are needed acrossthe three herds – Aberdeen-Angusand British Blue cross bull calves arereared and finished, and Holsteinbulls are either sold at two to fourweeks old or up to six months.Health protocols which have beenin place for several years include anIgG blood test of young calves forlevels of colostrum and immunity,and for the first seven days they areadministered anti-cryptosporidiumHalocur, as well as a pneumoniavaccination at three weeks of age.Weight gains are also monitoredwith the aim of 0.75kg a day.“Calf mortality has never been abig problem. Keeping everythingclean and disinfected is vital and sois good ventilation. One of the big-gest improvements we have noticedwith the new facilities is the lack ofpneumonia cases – it used to be aproblem but now we very rarelytreat a calf for pneumonia,” saysDuncan.

Weekly meetings are held on-farm with vet Jimmy More to monitor calf health and disease.

**DF May p26 27 Youngstock_Layout 1 25/04/2013 11:07 Page 2

MAY 2013DAIRYFARMER

CONFERENCE

28

US genetics hastended tobreednarrower andparticularly

shorter teats on our cowsand liner sizes have simplyfailed to keep up with thetrend. “There is a mismatch

between liner size and teatsize and it appears to be agrowing problem,” said vetJames Allcock from Lamb-ert, Leonard and May.“This results in high

mouthpiece vacuums and Ibelieve up to one-third of allnorth-west dairy farms maysuffer from this mismatch.”Speaking at the National

Herdsmans Conference, hesaid: “Instead of the lowvacuum of 5-10kPa at themouthpiece of the liner, weare seeing vacuums inexcess of 25kPa, and even insome cases towards the fullsystem vacuum of about40kPa.”Mr Allcock said this can

result in congested teatspost-milking which canappear purple and willhave become hard as thecirculation has beendisrupted. “If we are seeingthis on the outside, it is

likely it would be compro-mising the defence withinthe teat. The problem is wedon’t know how critical thebase of the teat is in adefensive role as opposedto the udder itself.”

VadiaUsing a newly introducedNorwegian device (calledthe Vadia) strapped to theshell during milking, he isable to measure the vacuumat the mouthpiece andfurther down in the milktube below the teat. Thevariation recorded allowsmeasurement of milk flowand periods of low flowsuch as in over-milking.In many cases Mr Allcock

found the lead-in timewhen the cluster goes on,but with no continuousflow of milk, is tooprotracted. He also saidoften the automatic clusterremover (ACR) activationtime is too late, with bothcases resulting in thevacuum pulling when thereis no milk flow. “If there is teat collapse

with no milk flow, themouthpiece pressure shootsup,” he stressed.One of the causes of the

slow initial milk release isthere has been no properpreparation to stimulate letdown. The lag time fromhandling the teat untiloxytocin has its effect in theudder needs to be 70-90seconds, he said, and oncemilk starts to flow it shouldcontinue to do so.Mr Allcock said: “If a cow

turns on milk flow quickly,it will be physiologicallydisposed to turn it offquickly too.”This means ACRs can cut

in earlier to reduce risk of

so-called ‘over-milking’. “Typically, ACRs cut in at

a flow rate of 350ml/min inthe UK with a reset time of15-20 seconds. Some arenow set to activate at600ml/min and in the US itis approaching 1litre/min inthree-times daily milkedherds.”LLM practice has just

launched its fully independ-ent Precision Milkingdivision to offer a milkingequipment diagnosis tofarmers using the newVadia equipment.

Over-sized liners could be causing teat damage

Liners which are too big could be causing untold teat damage. Peter Hollinshead reportsfrom the National Herdsmans Conference at Harper Adams University, Shropshire.

Lambert, Leonard and May’s James Allcock with the Vadia device.

**DF May p28 29 James Allcock_Layout 1 26/04/2013 10:37 Page 1


CONFERENCE

29

Dry cow period is critical timeJDry cows should be kept ata constant condition scoreand need priming for the nextlactation.That’s the opinion of

independent nutritionist BrynDavies who tells his 10,000-litre clients that the day theydry the cow off is effectivelythe start of her next lactation.He said: “The important

thing is cows do not lose bodycondition. It should be 3 atdrying off and should still be3 at calving.“It should be between 2.5

and 3 at first service, but youdo not want it to be below 2.5as the cow would not be

carrying enough condition forthese high yields.”He said he was generally

looking for a 55-day dryperiod and recommendeddairy cows should be eatingat least 6.0kg forage fibre inthe dry matter before calvingas this ‘trained’ them to eatthe same amount post-calving.“For the first 40 days dry, I

am looking to feed 110MJenergy at 12% protein with1000g metabolisable protein,coupled with high qualityminerals to protect theimmune system.

“But we want to add 2-

3kg concentrate in the lasttwo weeks prior to calving,preferably as wheat andsoya.”During these critical last

two weeks, he said it wasessential to maintain the rightcalcium balance.

Consistent“One way is to use a calciumabsorbent which takes up anyfree calcium in the diet anddrives the cow into ‘activecalcium absorption’. This isrepeatable and consistent.”Mr Davies recommended

keeping dry cows on their lasttwo-week diet right up to

seeing the calf’s front feetand then moving the cow onto the ‘high cow’ diet. He declared: “Most of my

clients will feed them the‘high cow’ diet with unchop-ped hay spread on top of theration. This is purely a meansof adding long fibre and helpstake the ‘fizziness’ out of thediet.”The effect of this, he said,

is to drop the diet from17%CP to 15.5%CP andenergy from 12.2MJ to11.8MJ, and this shouldcontinue for two weeks whenthe cow should be doingabout 33 litres a day.

**DF May p28 29 James Allcock_Layout 1 26/04/2013 10:37 Page 2

MAY 2013DAIRYFARMER

CONFERENCE

30

Are we adding too muchmineral to cow rations?

Lucerne, clover silage, foot care, mastitis and minerals all came under scrutiny at DairyCo’spresentation day at Reading University. Peter Hollinshead went along to find out more.

Many UKfarms arefeedingwell overthe

recommended level ofminerals which may beposing all sorts of problems,not only to cow health andthe environment but also byeroding dairy margins. Research on 50 farms

done by Prof Liam Sinclairof Harper Adams Univer-sity revealed that of the 10common minerals exam-ined in cow rations all werebeing overfed, and theworst case was that ofcopper which was beingsupplemented at more thantwice the recommendedlevel.“People are often feed-

ing more minerals than isneeded,” declared ProfSinclair. “They are led on by the

premise if you feed morecopper you will get betterfertility. Even if they arefeeding two to three timesthe recommended levelsthey won’t get betterfertility unless there aremajor issues with antago-nists in the diet,” he said.While he said copper

“People areoften feedingmore mineralsthan is neededProf Liam Sinclairsupplementation was abalance between deficiencywith the symptomaticstaring coat and spectacles,feeding excess could all tooreadily lead to toxicity.“One of the most comm-

on mineral problems foundwas copper toxicity. If youfeed too much it builds upin the liver until it can’tstore any more when it isreleased into the blood-stream and the cow dies.”He cited the recommen-

ded levels for an averagefarm at 11mg/kg DMration, with the UK maxi-

mum for inclusion of20mg/kg and the legal UKmaximum of 40mg/kg. Yetin the 50 farms they studiedhe said most – about 80% –were feeding above 20mgand 12% were feedingabove the 40mg/kg DM inearly lactation.He said the root of the

problem lay in the fact thecopper was coming from avariety of sources. “Wherethere have been problemswith copper toxicity, oftennobody knew where theexcess was coming from.”He said some came from

forage, some from concent-rates and some even fromother sources such as freeaccess minerals or boluses.

Forage analysisOne contributory factorwas the forage: “If youwant to know how muchyou are feeding then it isoften best to get a forageanalysis done. It will costabout £35, but will provideyou with information on awide range of minerals.”However, he did warn

the levels may vary fromfield to field and cut to cut,so care was needed toensure the correct picture

was ascertained.Although copper defic-

iency was not commonly aproblem, its supply can belimited where it is boundup by other elements,particularly molybdenum,sulphur and sometimesiron. So as well as thecopper levels it wasimperative to know thelevels of these otherminerals as well. However, he said as part

of his research he had feddiets with high levels ofmolybdenum and sulphurand found some intriguingresults. “With grass silage based

diets the cows ate less andthe body condition decre-ased, they produced lessmilk and the copper levelsin the liver came down. Butwhen we used maize silagebased diets we found thecows produced the sameamount of milk and theliver levels did come downbut at a slower rate. “We’re not sure why this

is, but if you have highlevels of molybdenum andsulphur it’s going to bemore of a problem withgrass silage based dietsthan maize ones,” he said.

**DF May p30 32 33 Conference _Layout 1 26/04/2013 14:19 Page 1

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CONFERENCE

MAY 2013DAIRYFARMER

32

Getting cows off the lameness escalator

“It’s all aboutspotting thesecows early toget them offthat escalatorDr Jon Huxley

Producers need topay moreattention towatching theircows as they walk

so they can spot potentialcases of lameness at theearliest possible stage.

That was the warningfrom Dr Jon Huxley ofNottingham University VetSchool, who said the earliercases are spotted andtreated the better.

He recommends mobilityscoring on a fortnightlybasis to identify score 2cows. Score 2 cows are theones which show anarching of the back with

different leg speeds andexhibit some difficulty inwalking, whereas score 3cows show a distinctdegree of lameness inwalking and are morevisually apparent as towhat they are.

Economic drainHe said once a cow is inthese categories they giveless milk (200-600 litres perlactation), take longer to getback in calf (20-40 days), aremore likely to be culled, andas such become aneconomic drain on farmprofitability.

“Lameness tends to be a

disease of the high yieldersand because they fall backto a more average yieldthey tend to go unnoticed,”he said.

His research has centredon claw horn lesions suchas sole ulcers, haemorr-hages and white lineseparations, and whileacknowledging the value ofprevention, his work hadfocused more on treatment.

“It’s all about spottingthese cows early to getthem off that escalator toscore 3 by treating themeffectively. If you don’ttreat them early and theyprogress to score 3 theywill take longer to recover,and even if you treat themperfectly, and they dorecover, they are morelikely to go lame again in

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the future,” he added.He said he understood

why there was lessimmediacy in treatinglameness than say mastitis,and that was why it wasessential to have the righthandling equipment in theright place so the job was asconvenient as possible.

In one herd which theyfollowed for a year, hisresearch team was lookingfor early signs of lamenessand once identified thosecows were treatedimmediately. This herdstarted the year with 37%of cows lame (30% score 2and 7% score 3) and endedup just 10% lame, but withno score 3 cases.

But one of the difficultiesin reducing lameness is inknowing which treatmentswork. His latest researchwas to allocate four differ-ent treatments randomly tocows to ascertain whichwas most effective. Thesewere trim only; trim andblock the other claw; trimand give a three day courseof non-steroidals; trim andblock the other claw andgive three day course ofnon-steroidals.

Although the analysis isnot yet evaluated, he gavea strong endorsement tothe value of foot blocks as ameans to aiding recovery.

“If I were you I would beinvesting in blocks – theyappear to deliver benefitseven on score 2 cows.”



CONFERENCE

33

Targeted approachto tackling mastitis

“Strep uberisis holdingpeople backPeers Davies

Within thespace ofa coupleof years,dairy

farmers should be able toreduce the incidence ofmastitis on farm and attackclinical cases with pinpointaccuracy.Peers Davies of the

University of NottinghamVet School said: “Strepuberis is the most commonpathogen causing mastitison farm and we are seeingmore evidence of contag-ious spread.”

He explained some uberisinfections originate from theenvironment while otherspersist within infectedudders, and as there were‘several hundred’ differentstrains of the pathogen itinevitably made the taskmore difficult. “Strep uberis is holding

people back, if we canidentify how to prevent thenew cases and improve thespeed at which we getdiagnosis that will be a bigbenefit.“If the producer freezes

a sample we can get a

response back within 24hours for a similar price to astandard milk culture,” hesaid. Presently pathogen

identification in commerciallaboratories can only get tothe species level not thestrain type. The newtechnique will employ themass spectrometer atAndrew Bradley’s QMMSlaboratory in Somerset, andis the only one of its kindused in agriculture.“But it will take some

time to build the pathogenreference library needed toidentify most of the strains.“Then when we know

what strains are present wecan give a predictive route

of transmission and will bebetter able to tackle mastitisproblems,” he claimed.


MAY 2013DAIRYFARMER

FORAGE

34

With profitability heavily linked to grass use, DairyCo is challenging efficient grasslandmanagers to push their systems even further by following the NZ approach.

Growing extra leaf area

Grazingpaddocks at3 leavesinstead of2.5 has

grown another tonne ofgrass dry matter (DM) perhectare for a 510-cow herdin Gloucestershire.In practice it meant the

additional half a leaf on themilking platform produced500 tonnes of extra silagefor the clamp. The resultwas a saving of more than

£10,000 in feed costs for the2011 winter, says LydneyPark Farm’s herd managerKeith Davis.Keith points out the

bonus of delaying grazingis additional grass growthcoming from capturedsunlight – so it is free. “Thethird leaf on a grass plant isthe biggest and grows 45-55% of the total yield in asward. To grow that thirdfull leaf and increase yield,we lengthened the spring

and summer grazing roundfrom 20-21 days to 23-24days,” he says.

“In 2010 from January 1to July 1, we grew 6.7tDM/ha of grass. In the

Holding back grazing until there are three leaves should lift forage yields.

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same period in 2011, we grew 7.7tDM/ha. If we graze down to1500kg DM/ha and assume 80%utilisation (for easy maths), then wehave grown another 800kg of grassdry matter at no cost,” he says.Because of the extra silage, 2011’s

wheat could be combined instead ofbeing cut for wholecrop. Doing thissaved buying in 200t DM of whole-crop at £150/t DM worth £30,000.Putting the cost of making the silageat £100/t DM for 200t DM of grasssilage (£20,000), and this is whereKeith reckons to have saved at least£10,000 in winter feed costs.

Grazing roundChanges to the grazing round weremade following a DairyCo meetingfeaturing Dr John Roche of Down toEarth Advice in New Zealand.“That’s when I learned we were

grazing a shade too early at 2.5leaves. We were also going in tooearly at 2700kg DM/ha. John toldus to graze paddocks closer to3000kg DM/ha in May and June, atpeak grass growth.” However, Keith discovered

grazing just before 3000kg treads afine line between maximisingintakes and losing out on qualitydue to canopy closure. As Dr Rochemaintains when the grass plantstruggles for light it pushes the stemand this elongated plant is of poorer

quality. Furthermore, three bigleaves then flop over making it darkunderneath, and without light newtillers can’t grow. “The aim is to get most of the growth

before grazing a paddock and beforecanopy closure. Then make sure yougraze down to 1500kg DM/ha toencourage quality regrowth evenlyacross the paddock,” says Keith. Along with this, there is an

optimum stocking rate for profitdepending on cow size and feed

availability. Comparative stocking rateis measured in kg of cow liveweightfor every tonne of food dry matteravailable. Dr Roche’s studies showprofitability peaks at 77kg/t DM. “Weworked out our comparative stockingrate was 81-82kg – basically we wereoverstocked,” says Keith. That’s why Keith decided to try to

grow more grass, so he lengthened thegrazing rotation in early spring butshortened it again in mid-June whengrasses were at risk of heading.

SolutionsrLeaf 1 produces 10-15% of thegrass in a swardrLeaf 2 produces 30-40%rLeaf 3 produces 45-55%rBest quality grass is between2.5 and 3 leavesrLengthening grazing round to23-24 days grows extra half a leaf.

**DF May p34 35 Forage Leaves _Layout 1 26/04/2013 09:49 Page 2

MAY 2013DAIRYFARMER

FORAGE

36

Moist blendsbecome regularpart of rations

Moist blends are fast changing from mere stopgapfeeds to a year round addition to dairy cow diets.

With the latespring mostmilk produc-ers will beunder pres-

sure to grow enough forage tomeet everyday demands and replenish depleted stocks. But Staffordshire producer

David Pearce requires additionalfeed every season. With 300 high-yielding Holsteins and followerson 400 acres, he needs to supple-ment the grass silage and 70 acresof maize he grows each year witha consistent, palatable feed. “We are heavily stocked for the

number of acres we have here,and although we produce about2500-3000 tonnes of grass silageand 1000 tonnes of maize silage,we always need to purchase addi-tional feed,” explains Mr Pearce,

who farms in partnership with hismother, Margaret, at Shelton-under-Harley.“Traditionally we always used

brewers’ grains and caustic-treated wheat, but when SelcoPluscame on the market it appeared tooffer a number of advantages. Wehad our first 27-tonne load in Sep-tember last year and have takenthe same amount every threeweeks since. We simply tip it on aconcrete pad and it does not dete-riorate at all, even in warmweather,” he says.The moist blend from Feeds

Marketing (BOCM PAULS’ divi-sion) is made from the co-prod-ucts which remain following theprocessing of wheat for industrialuses. It contains wheat syrup anda unique preservative whichmeans it can be stored safely for

David Pearce (left) with Craig Fowler examining a sample of the SelcoPlus blend.

**DF MAy p36 37 Forage BOCMP_Layout 1 25/04/2013 11:26 Page 1


FORAGE

37

David Pearce says the blend does not deteriorate even in warm weather.

preservative which means itcan be stored safely formonths, and it is primarilyaimed at those with mixerwagons, says the company. “My first impression was

that it had a fresh, sweetsmell and was totally differ-ent to the products we hadbeen using,” says Mr Pearce.“It does cost more per tonnebut it does have a muchhigher dry matter content.”Unlike many UK farmers

who struggled to makegood silage last year, MrPearce was pleased withboth the quantity and qual-ity of what went into theclamp. This, he explains,was due to a change in theway of working.“In the past we have em-

ployed a contractor, but lastyear we decided to invest ina trailed forage harvesterand update the Krone discmower so we were able todo the whole job ourselves.This paid off last summerand despite the wet weather,we were able to producesome good quality silages.“We take four cuts off the

ryegrass-based mixtures.The

first cut was started on May12 and we produced 180acres of high quality mate-rial, with a second cut in thefirst week of July and subse-quent cuts in August andSeptember,” he says.

AnalysisAnalysis by BOCM PAULSshowed the first cut silageproduced 33% dry matter,with 13.2% crude protein, aD-Value of 76% and ME of12.2MJ/kg, while secondcut material analysed at 35%dry matter, 15.4% crude pro-tein, a D-Value of 71% andME of 11.4MJ/kg.“Our high-yielding cows

only go out for about twohours each day, so it is im-portant to get the nutritionexactly right,” Mr Pearcesays. “Cows receive 20kg offirst cut grass silage, 8kg ofsecond cut material and16kg of maize silage, whichanalysed at 27% dry matter,9.4% crude protein, 24%starch and an ME of11.5MJ/kg. This is supple-mented with 7.5kg ofSelcoPlus, 3kg of a 30% protein blend and 0.5kg

of straw to provide maintenance plus 26 litres.“Since replacing 10kg/

cow/day of brewers’ grainsand 2kg/cow/day of caus-tic-treated wheat in the ra-tion with 5kg/cow/daySelcoPlus, we have reducedfeed costs by £38 per daywhich is equivalent to £760per month at peak times. “Even during summer

when lower yielding cowsare at grass, this year wewill still save £28 per daycompared with our previ-ous system. Intakes haveimproved, milk yield has in-creased, and there has beena noticeable improvement incow health and fertility. BOCM PAULS’ Craig

Fowler says: “Last year wasa very challenging seasonfor forage production. Bylate summer the potentialshortfall in forage stocksand quality was becomingapparent, and we began see-ing a significant increase indemand for co-products tomaintain nutritional intakes. “The new manufactured

moist blends have been par-ticularly valuable to produc-ers. Where appropriate wesuggest co-products areused routinely as part of aplanned ration programme,not simply when there is noalternative,” he says. Details from Feeds Marketingon 08700 500 306, or visitwww.feedsmarketing.co.uk

**DF MAy p36 37 Forage BOCMP_Layout 1 26/04/2013 10:34 Page 2

MAY 2013DAIRYFARMER

FORAGE MACHINERY

38

Getting all geared up for coming grass crop

With the increase in capital allowances, you may be considering updating your grasskit. Steven Vale takes a look at the latest forage harvester and baler developments.

JFollowing a strategicagreement with the KuhnGroup, John Deere soldlimited quantities of its highcapacity 1400 Series largesquare balers in the UK andIreland, but these are nowfully available for the 2013season.There are three basic

models – the 1433, 1424 and1434 – producing bales80cm wide by 90cm high,120cm by 70cm and 120cmby 90cm respectively. Bale

length ranges from 60cmup to 300cm, and can becontrolled electrically fromthe tractor cab as an extraoption.IsoBus is standard on

1400 Series balers andallows the operator toadjust and control varioussettings from the tractor cab,including bale density andpre-cutter knife selection. The tractor’s existing

ISOBUS monitor can beused if available.

High capacity balers

JTHE model numbers ofNew Holland’s new rangeof BigBaler (BB) largesquare balers represent thebale dimensions.The first one or two

numbers in the four-modelrange – 870, 890, 1270 and1290 – represent the balewidth in centimetres, ‘8’ for80cm and ‘12’ for 120cm.The final two digits refer tothe bale height, either 70cmor 90cm.Baling capacity has been

increased by 20%, with baledensity up 5% over the old

BB9000 series. Plungerstrokes have also risen from42 to 48 per minute.Up front, a revised pick-

up reel has been introducedfor better crop flow, says themanufacturer. A crop rollerkeeps material pressed tothe pick-up and uses a twinset of augers to directmaterial into the pre-compression chamber.Sensors in this chamber

help the operator producean even-shaped bale bynotifying them of materialbuild-up on either side.

More even-shaped bales

**DF May p38 40 41 42 43 Forage Mach_Layout 1 26/04/2013 14:20 Page 1

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DF_05_P39_DF_04_P35 26/04/2013 10:41 Page 21

FORAGE MACHINERY


JCASE IH’s new four-model range of LB4 largesquare balers has newcladding which allows theentire front body section(and full width panels eitherside) to be opened upwardsfor easier maintenance. Man y improvements can

be found in the new pick-

up, which now has a 2.4mworking width. A swath wind guard is

manually adjustable tomatch crop conditions, andthis works with an addit-ional intake auger andcentral feed roller to ensurerapid material transfer withless wastage.

JKRONE’S Big Pack High-Speed baler has a biggerappetite thanks to a newoptional Active Pick-up. Thenew unit relies on the cam-less EasyFlow system.The main feature on the

Active Pick-up is the feedroller mounted above thepick-up reel close to the

feed rotor. It is equippedwith interchangeablepaddles for different crops.This new pick-up is

standard on the Big PackHighSpeed 890 and 4x4models, and will beavailable as an option onthe Big Pack HighSpeed1270, 1290 and 1290 HDP.

JTHE upper-cut choppingcylinder on JF-Stoll’supdated trailed FCT 1060forage harvester has beenrevised to create moredraught for better flow upthe spout. All functions arenow controlled in-cab viaelectro-hydraulics.

The 1060 can be specifiedwith a 1.8m or a 2.2m pick-up reel and with or withouta metal detector. Maximumpower required is 190hp.The larger FCT 1360 gets

a new chopping cylinder,which raises capacity by upto 25 per cent.

LB4 offers better access for easy servicing

Pick-up for different crops

Improved flow on FCT 1060



FORAGE MACHINERY

McHale round balers

MF adds extra density model

JReplacing the F500series, McHale’s latestrange of fixed chamberround balers comprisesthree models — the F5400,F5500 and F5600.

Bale sizes are 1.23m by1.25m and all machineshave a 2m pick-up reel and18 rollers.

The 5400 is the lowest

spec machine, withmanual greasing and noknives. The 5500 has 15knives, with a bank ofseven and a bank of eightwhich can be usedindividually, together (fora chop length of 65mm) ornot at all. The 5600 has 23knives for a chop length of50mm.JMassey Ferguson has

beefed up its 2170 largesquare baler with a newExtra Density version, the2170 XD. With a higheroutput, it produces fewer,heavier 1.2m x 0.88m bales,reducing handling time andtransport costs, it says.

The XD features six

double knitters and a 2.26mworking width pick-up reel.

An electronically control-led automatic knotterlubrication system is alsostandard, as is self-steering,independently-sprung axleswhich run on 500/45-22.5tyres rated at 60kph(37.3mph).

TFC Dairy Health“Providing dairy farmers with the worlds most effective, efficient,

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TFC Mastitis PreSpray SystemEnvironmental mastitis is the

main challenge to cowsTHE only effective PREVENTION system

ergonomically designed spray units and unique nozzle patterns,complete teat barrel coverage is achieved by four angled nozzles

ensuring precision, a robust, efficient, system every cow, every milkingNo ongoing costly maintenanceFull backup service if required

No chemical product tie inSimple!

The system is supported by respected veterinary professionalsaffordable, reliable and robust systems, individually tailored

and quickly fitted into all dairiesFor more information call 01244 291268 / 07857 610702

email [email protected] Dairy Health Systems follow us @tfcdairyhealth

GenerationPre Sprayer


FORAGE MACHINERY

Lely balersJProducing bales up to 2min diameter, Lely’s updatedWelger variable chamberround balers feature cam-less pick-ups with five rowsof tines, and 19 or 25 knifechopper options. Greasenipples are now in threebanks and bearings havebeen beefed up.

Elho wrapperJAS well as mowers, rakesand a new straw baleshredder, Hutts FarmMachinery, the new importerfor the Finnish-made Elhorange of grasslandmachinery, also includes abale wrapper.

JClaas Jaguar SPFHdevelopments include newfeatures to the AutoFillautomatic wagon fillingsystem, which allowsoperators to pre-select thefilling strategy.Carried out via the Cebis

control terminal, the threefilling strategies include: � Front – filling from frontto rear� Rear – filling from rear tofront� Standard – partial fillingfrom the front first, thenchange to filling from rearto front.The company is also

offering forage harvester

operators new options intheir choice of automaticsteering system for theJaguar. The Auto Pilotmechanical steering system,in combination with therow-independent Orbismaize header, now enablesautomatic steering in rowwidths ranging between

37.5cm and 80cm.To achieve this, two

mechanical sensing barssimultaneously monitor twomaize rows and record theposition of the machineusing digital sensors,sending pulses to thesteering unit in the process.

Filling strategy options for wagons



FORAGE MACHINERY

JInnovative kernelprocessing technology is amajor feature of JohnDeere’s new 7080 Seriesself-propelled forageharvesters.The expanded range of

seven models’ line-up is asfollows: 7180 (380hp), 7280(additional 440hp machine),7380 (490hp), 7480 (560hp),7580 (625hp), and two wide

body models – the 7780(625hp) and 7980 (812hp).Based on a patented bevel

disc design, the KernelStarmulti-crop kernel processorfeatures contoured inter-meshing discs. The newly styled forager

range continues to use JohnDeere’s infinitely variablelength of cut (IVLOC)transmission.

JSpanning five modelsranging from 450hp to824hp, New Holland’s latestrange of self-propelledforage harvesters comeswith a new grass pick-upheader for better crop flow.Available in widths of 3m

and 3.8m, both pick-upsfeature a newly-developeddouble crop press roller,which keeps the grasspressed up against the tine

bands for better delivery tothe auger. To adapt todifferent crops andconditions, the roller heightcan be hydraulicallyadjusted from the cab.A new driver aid called

IntelliFill is an option. Using near infrared

technology and a 3Dcamera mounted on thespout, it moves the spout toevenly fill trailers.

Crop roller aids delivery

Kernel processing technology

TFC Dairy Health“Providing dairy farmers with the worlds most effective, efficient,

durable and reliable mastitis control systems” every cow, every milking

TFC Mastitis PostSpray SystemThe “QD0” is the most advanced automatic

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The QD0’s accurate detection system means you can rely on this robust,precision post sprayer to deliver precise, economical coverage

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No ongoing costly maintenanceFull backup service if required

No chemical product tie inThe system is supported by respected veterinary professionalsaffordable, reliable and robust systems, individually tailored

and quickly fitted into all dairiesFor more information call 01244 291268 / 07857 610702

email [email protected] Dairy Health Systems follow us @tfcdairyhealth

In the UK



MILK PRICES

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01328 701992 | [email protected] | www.greencrop.co.uk

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MILKpricesTesco lifts itsgroup priceby 1.19p/litreJTesco has increased itsproducer milk price by1.19ppl from April, and theretailer says it remainscommitted to setting a fairmilk price based on infor-mation from the datasetof consenting TSDGsuppliers. The result of the latest

figures shows the averagecost of milk productionwithin the group has risenfrom 31.08ppl to 32.27ppl.The change has primarilybeen driven by the incre-ase in the cost of feed, aswell as the significantreduction in milk volumecausing overhead contri-butions to increase on apence per litre basis. With suppliers who

co-operate with Promarreceiving the additional0.5ppl, the increase takesour standard litre (4%b/f& 3.3% prot, Bactoscans of30,000/ml and SCCs of200,000/ml, 1mltrs/yron EODC but before

seasonality, profile,balancing, capitalretentions or annualincentive schemes notdirectly linked to dairymarket price movement)price up to 32.77ppl for‘core’ suppliers in ArlaFoods (before its 0.25pplhaulage charge), MullerWiseman and First Milk. As a further commit-

ment, the retailer is alsooffering a £40 bonuspayment for everyAberdeen-Angus calfusing specially selectedsires. The £1m investmentoffers TSDG farmers asignificant additionalincome stream, with thepayments available for allAberdeen-Angus calvesborn between Jan’14 andJan’15. The payments are being

offered following theretailer’s commitment tosource all its Finest rangebeef from the Aberdeen-Angus breed.

**DF May p44 46 Milk Prices_Layout 1 26/04/2013 11:13 Page 1


Milk price analyst StephenBradley on the latest milkindustry developments.

News in brief...

United price down

First Milk increase from April

Fresh Milk rise

Co-operative Dairy Group up 0.35ppl

JThis month our milk pricetable confirms milk pricespaid for Feb’13 supply. WithUnited’s monthly milkauction now consigned tothe history books, Februarywill probably be the lastmonth where the finalJanuary auction will haveany impact. This saw the co-op cut its base price by1.15ppl, taking our price forthe month down to 28.09p.

JMuller Wiseman suppliersin the Co-operative DairyGroup (CDG) are to receive0.35ppl increase in milk pricefrom April 22, taking our stan-dard litre to 31.85ppl. This is the retailer’s second

milk price increase in 2013

taking the total for the year to1.35ppl following the 1ppl in-crease from Feb’13. The late month increase will

see 0.105ppl in April (account-ing for nine of the 30 days)with the remaining 0.245pplshown in next month’s table.

JFirst Milk has increased itsmilk prices from April 1, withsuppliers in the liquid pool re-ceiving 0.5ppl. Those supply-ing through the cheeseschedule have seen their priceimprove 0.4ppl with the bal-ancing pool disbanded.This is the first lift in milk

price for liquid suppliers in2013 and takes our standard

litre supplier price up to29.65ppl. Following the 0.5ppl increase

from Jan’13 our supplier in thecheese pool sees the price in-crease to 28.90ppl, with ourHighlands and Islands supplieralso receiving 0.4ppl to29.36ppl. All the above pricesinclude the company’s 0.5pplproduction bonus.

JThe Fresh Milk Company,Caledonian Cheese, has con-firmed it is lifting its price by0.16ppl from May 1. The in-crease, via higher constituentpayments, takes our standardlitre price to 30.11ppl, whilesuppliers on the profile optionwill see the price increase to30.59ppl. This is based on ourlast league table 12mth rollingprofile payment to Feb’13 of0.48ppl.

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MILK PRICES


Notes to tablePrices paid for 1mltr producer supplying milk of average constituents 4% butterfat and 3.3% protein, SCCs of 200,000/ml and Bactoscans of 30,000/ml on EODC excludingcapital retentions and MDC levies. SAPP = Seasonally Adjusted Profile Price. (i) Jan’13 prices before seasonality. (ii) Feb’13 prices before seasonality. (iii) Seasonally adjustedprofile price for Feb’13 taking into account monthly seasonality payments and profiles of supply. ** Seasonal adjusted profile supply for 1mltr supplier (using monthly RPAfigures) for Feb’13 = 2,724ltrs/day, flat supply =2,740ltrs/day. (iv) Table ranked on the seasonally adjusted price for the 12mths to Feb’13. § SAPP reflects 12mth profileadjustment of -0.28ppl. ¢ SAPP reflects 2,723ltrs (Aug to Dec’11 daily average) paid as ‘A’ ltrs with the remaining ‘B’ ltrs paid @ 95% of the ‘A’ price (ie constituents plusMarket Related Adjustment) for Feb’13. • Just 1 'B' litres/day applicable for Feb’13 with daily volume of 2,724ltrs/day being 1 litre above the 'A' volume of 2,723ltrs. 0.5pplproduction bonus for Milk Link, First Milk and Glanbia Cheese not applicable for Feb’13 SAPP with daily production not within our 3% tolorance of Feb’12 based on RPAmonthly figures.••* No balancing charge from Jul'12 through to Feb’13. ∞ Price before seasonality includes 12mth rolling profile payment of 1.06ppl to Feb’13 (unchanged onprevious month). ∞^ Price before seasonality includes 12mth rolling profile payment of 0.45ppl to Feb’13 (unchanged on previous month). ± Price before seasonality includes12mth rolling profile payment of 0.5ppl to Feb’13 (unchanged on previous month). # Constituent payments priced by volume. ≠ Seasonality built into monthly base price. ArlaFoods – AFMP Asda and Non-aligned prices merged into Arla Foods AFMP Standard from Oct'12. (••••) 0.04ppl decrease reflects the first 6 days of Jan'13 not picking up the0.23ppl cut effective from 7th Jan'13. ¶ Price includes Regional & Support Premiums. ‡ Non-seasonal price includes 12mth average rolling profile of 0.48ppl to Feb’13 (down0.02ppl on previous month). Tesco milk prices include the 0.5ppl bonus for co-operation with Promar costings. Milkprices.com cannot take any responsibility for losses arising.Copyright: Milkprices.com

Jan'13 Feb'13 Feb'13 12mth Diff4.0/3.3 4.0/3.3 4.0/3.3 Ave Feb'13Before Before 1mltr Feb'12 vSeas'lty Seas'lty SAPP Jan'13 Jan'13(i) (ii) **(iii) (iv) (i) v (ii)

D.C – M&S ∞ 32.15 33.47 33.55 31.79 1.32D.C – Waitrose ∞^ 31.97 31.97 32.01 30.81 N/CMüllerWiseman – Sainsbury's Central Scotland 31.59 31.59 31.59 30.74 N/CMüllerWiseman – Sainsbury's England 31.59 31.59 31.59 30.74 N/CD.C – Sainsbury's 31.44 31.44 31.88 30.63 N/CMüllerWiseman – Tesco Scotland 31.58 31.58 31.58 30.49 N/CMüllerWiseman – Tesco England 31.58 31.58 31.58 30.49 N/CArla Foods – AFMP Sainsbury's ••* 31.47 31.47 31.47 30.35 N/CCadbury – Selkley Vale Milk 32.21 32.21 32.21 30.09 N/CArla Foods – Tesco ••* 31.33 31.33 31.33 29.94 N/CMüllerWiseman – The Co-op Dairy Group 30.50 31.50 31.50 29.68 1.00Arla Foods – Standard (former Asda) ••* 30.38 30.38 30.38 29.02 N/CWyke Farms 29.25 30.25 30.25 28.95 1.00Caledonian Cheese Co – Profile ‡ 30.24 30.35 30.37 28.95 0.11Parkham Farms 30.23 30.23 30.73 28.86 N/CD.C – Davidstow ∞ 30.10 30.10 30.54 28.83 N/CBlackmore Vale Farm Cream 29.20 29.20 29.20 28.72 N/CBarber A.J & R.G 30.10 30.10 30.10 28.69 N/CYew Tree Dairy 30.50 30.50 30.50 28.67 N/CCaledonian Cheese Co 29.74 29.87 29.87 28.46 0.13Meadow Foods Lakes ± 30.00 30.00 30.50 28.40 N/CArla Foods – Standard (Former Non-Aligned) ••* 30.38 30.38 30.38 28.39 N/CMeadow Foods – Level 30.00 30.00 30.00 28.36 N/CMeadow Foods – Seasonal 30.00 30.00 30.00 28.36 N/CPaynes Farms Dairies 30.20 30.20 30.20 28.32 N/CWensleydale Dairy Products 29.48 29.48 29.48 28.28 N/CMüllerWiseman – Aberdeen 29.50 30.50 30.50 28.14 1.00MüllerWiseman – Central Scotland 29.50 30.50 30.50 28.14 1.00MüllerWiseman – England 29.50 30.50 30.50 28.14 1.00Grahams Dairies 30.00 30.00 30.00 28.11 N/CJoseph Heler 28.99 28.99 28.99 28.07 N/CD.C – Liquid Regional Premium ∞ ¶ 29.85 29.85 30.29 27.92 N/CSouth Caernarfon 29.28 29.28 31.28 27.89 N/CArla Foods – AFMP Standard ••* 30.38 30.38 30.38 27.81 N/CSaputo UK – Level supply # 28.95 28.95 28.95 27.69 N/CBelton Cheese 29.05 29.05 29.05 27.57 N/CGlanbia – Llangefni (flat) 29.10 29.10 29.10 27.52 N/CArla Milk Link Rodda's ¢• (••••) 29.05 29.01 28.51 27.48 -0.04Arla Milk Link – London Liquid (••••) 28.64 28.60 28.10 27.48 -0.04Arla Milk Link – West Country Liquid (••••) 28.64 28.60 28.10 27.48 -0.04Glanbia – Llangefni (Constituent) 29.02 29.02 29.02 27.41 N/CSaputo UK – Seasonal # 28.65 28.65 28.65 27.39 N/CArla Milk Link – Manufacturing ¢• (••••) 28.65 28.61 28.11 27.13 -0.04First Milk – Liquid § 29.15 29.15 28.37 27.02 N/CFirst Milk – Highlands & Islands § 28.96 28.96 28.18 27.01 N/CFirst Milk Balancing § 28.50 28.50 27.72 26.60 N/CFirst Milk – Cheese § 28.50 28.50 27.72 26.59 N/CUnited Dairy Farmers ≠ 29.24 28.09 28.09 26.44 -1.15Average Price 29.96 30.07 30.06 28.54

Latest milkprices from


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Genus Powerstart WP DF_Genus Powerstart WP DF 25/04/2013 12:58 Page 1


DAIRY MARKETPLACE

NEWThis month, we feature the firstspecialist breeds catalogue and anew online merchandise shop,plus a dual purpose grass mixture.

productsJProven and young siresfrom eight dairy breeds areincluded in a first specialistbreeds catalogue from Cogent Breeding.The catalogue has more

than 40 bulls including Ayr-shire, Brown Swiss, DairyShorthorn, Friesian, Jersey,Montbeliarde, NorwegianRed and Swedish Red, withabout half potentiallyavailable as sexed semen.� Details: To obtain a copycall 0800 783 7258.

JJohn Deere’s new Remote Display Access(RDA) system availablecommercially later thisyear has been awarded aSima 2013 silver medal.Allowing remote access

to the on-board GreenStar2630 display unit, theoperator working on atractor, combine harvester,self-propelled sprayer orforage harvester canreceive immediate, real-time assistance from thefleet or farm manager, ordirectly from the dealer.RDA is a new addition to

John Deere’s FarmSightinitiative, which connectsequipment, owners,operators, dealers and

Sima medal for John Deere’s RDADairy breedcatalogue

consultants in order toenhance productivity,increase efficiency and

reduce overall input costs.� Details atwww.JohnDeere.co.uk

World Wide Sires launches page on social media site JUK cattle breeders, WorldWide Sires, has launched aFacebook page to keepdairy farmers up-to-date with the latestcattle breeding information.Hosting a wealth of the

latest cattle breeding news,including up-to-the-minute

company information aswell as production data forthe company’s portfolio ofdairy and beef bulls, it alsofeatures new sires and theirprogeny and details of thecompany’s range of provenand genomic young sires.Special offers and

promotions and anupdated list of events,shows and farmer meetingsbeing attended by WorldWide Sires across the UKwill be included.� Details: Go to www.face-book.com and search forWorld Wide Sires UK.

JHarbro’s exclusive nextgeneration of targetedcopper supplementation,Cu-tek, is being used in se-lected Grampian mineralsfor dairy and beef cattle.The blend of copper

sources is now enhancedwith the addition of a newslow release copper. The product’s more effici-

ent copper absorption giveshealth benefits and permitsa lower inclusion level. � Details at www.harbro.co.uk

Targeted copper

NEW DF May p48 49 New Products (USE) _Layout 1 26/04/2013 09:29 Page 1


DAIRY MARKETPLACE

SEE US AT CORNWALL SHOW WITH IAE

New products are featured in each issue of Dairy Farmer. Please send details and pictures toJennifer MacKenzie at [email protected], or call 01768 896 150.

GOT

A NEW

PRODUCT?

Hymax mixture added to Monarch rangeMerchandisegoes online

JDual-purpose grass mix-ture Hymax, combininghigh dry matter yields overa three to four year periodwith a good ground coverscore, has been added to theMonarch range of ley mix-tures from Limagrain UK.Comprising more than

80% tetraploid hybrid rye-grasses, the mixture has thepotential to produce multi-ple cuts of silage in additionto being suited to grazing.High tetraploid content

makes it ideal for over-seeding, while vigorous

early spring growth meansHymax leys can be grazedearly on before being ‘shutup’ for silage.The mixture has DM

yields comparable to Italian

ryegrass leys and is suit-able for all farming systems.� Details at enquiries@ lima-grain.co.uk or http://www.limagrain.co.uk/products/monarch-range.html

JFans of the John Deerebrand have a new onlinemerchandise shop.An improved user

interface and updateddesign gives customersaccess to the collection ofmore than 1000 itemsincluding office accessories,watches and radios, work-wear and numerous othergifts and items.� Details atwww.JohnDeere.co.uk

NEW DF May p48 49 New Products (USE) _Layout 1 26/04/2013 09:34 Page 2


WORKSHOP TIPS

WORKSHOPtips with Mike Donovan

About Mike

r Mike is a machinerycolumnist offering tipson building or modifyingfarm equipment. Sign upfor his free newsletter atwww.farmideas.co.uk

Buffer feeding trailer

There is littledoubt the longwinter will havedepleted foragestocks on many

farms, and reducing accessto spring grass and addingbarley straw is one planwhich should allowan increasedacreage of silageto be cut.

For a start, itmay be possi-ble to keep drycows on a slightlydifferent diet with lessgrass available, or even keepthem inside until they calve.

This regime may helpkeep dry cows in fit, ratherthan over-fat, conditionwhich should make the sub-sequent calving less prob-lematic.

Outside straw feedingneeds nothing too complex,and the home-built trailer Iwant to show you thismonth has been doing thejob on this Cheshire farm fora decade.

Richard Thelwell hasmade a couple of

these trailers,which cameinto theirown when hewas buying in

silage. Insteadof double han-

dling, he took thefeed trailer to the vendorand then had it alreadyloaded.

Mr Thelwell built thesetrailers on simple lines, anddecided not to get too wor-ried about either drawbarsor wheels as he finds the

herd is able to work theirway around the problemswithout difficulty. It cer-tainly means the design canbe simple, and uses materi-als which are easily avail-able, such as wheels from aredundant forage harvester.

The trailers work betterthan a ring feeder, as thesetake time and effort to movefrom one grazing field to an-other. Ring feeders damagegrass swards, while the mo-bile trailer moves on beforethe damage is done.

The base and sides of thetrailer are made with quar-ter-inch plate, on a framemade from heavy four-inchchannel, including the later-als going across the floor.The drawbar is a length ofheavy seven-inch box withthe ring welded on the top-side, eliminating the needfor a stand. The feed bars

are welded to four-inch bytwo-inch angle, which is ontop of the side plating.

Building the trailers to a robust standard will givethem a long working life.

This month, we take a look at modifying a trailer for buffer feeding needs.

TOP TIPrUse materials which

are easily available, such

as wheels from a

redundant forage

harvester

The trailer is used to buffer feed cows as spring grass supply is limited.

This trailerdesign hasthe drawbarclose to theground so itcan be easilysteppedover, andthis meansthe pick-upring is on thetop side.

Ensure wheels are close to thetrailer body, and with tyres whichare suitable for field work.

**DF May p50 Donovan_Layout 1 25/04/2013 12:24 Page 1

DAIRY FARMER MAY 2013

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Health is the number one priority for efficiency. Seagold willfine tune your management by boosting health.

Only the best for discerning customers. Feed Seagold all yearround to reduce vets bills and increase fertility.

Prices start at £650 per ton subject to transport. No limestoneor brick dust carriers.

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DF_05_P53_DF_05_P53 26/04/2013 12:29 Page 22


GOOD EVANS

GOODEvansThe day I got trapped inthe Renault tractor cabThis month RogerEvans tells us howhis pride took abattering when hewas forced to asksomeone to let himout of the tractorcab.

Sometimes the price we all receivefor our milk seems precarious.The two major processors whichsell milk into the liquid marketare busy flexing their muscles as

they seek to recruit dairy farmers to supplythem. In a trial of strength they are unlikely to

try to reduce milk prices. But the questionis what will happen when they thinkthey’ve got enough milk? The only guide we have is the 4ppl cut

they tried to impose last year. For all theirfine talk, that’s probably where they wouldlike prices to be now. They gave away theprofit they made on putting milk ontosupermarket shelves to the supermarketsin their determination to fill new factoriesto capacity. There’s still nearly two years togo on those flawed deals, so paying theprices they are paying now will be painful. The cheese market is stalked by Irish

cheese which was made with milk theyonly paid 23p for. It’s all a bit scary. Afriend did some shopping for us while wewere in the snow. Next day, I’m in thefridge for some milk and I spot a differentcheese to our normal choice. I get it out tohave a better look. It says it’s packed inLeek, Staffordshire. I know where Leek is. I used to play

rugby there. I know it’s a good place to goand buy freshly calved cows and heifers. Iknow the Irish Dairy Board has a cheesepacking plant there. Down among the smallprint – very, very, small print – it says ‘fromaward-winning creameries around theworld’. You have to be a very fastidiousshopper to actually spot that. Irish cheeseimports into this country are up 12% thisyear. Apparently, the cheese in our fridge isfavoured by pilgrims, pilgrims with Irishaccents, but it doesn’t say that anywhere.I have to tell you the following story with

care. I have to make sure I put the rightperspective on it. Everyone, the Governorof the Bank of England, the Prime Minister,the Chancellor of the Exchequer (espec-ially he), search in vain for the sight of thegreen shoots of recovery which wouldprove their economic policy is on the righttrack. I know all three of them read DairyFarmer so I need to tread carefully. So herewe go. We are thinking of changing a tractor.

Very quickly I try to put this in toperspective. The tractor we are thinking ofchanging is 26 years old. The one we arethinking of buying is 13 years old. We’vesold one tractor for quite good moneywhich was of an age which made itcollectable. We’d already sold the mixer

**DF May p54 55 Good Evans _Layout 1 25/04/2013 12:26 Page 1


GOOD EVANS

wagon, which is where the 26-year-old hadspent its recent life. We’ve got quite a tidymain tractor, so our big tractor problem isthe number two tractor which carries thestraw chopper. The straw chopper is difficult to put on

and off and we have to use it twice-a-day,every day. The hydraulics have to beworking well to drive the straw chopper sothe 26-year-old won’t do it and youwouldn’t be able to keep the front wheelson the ground anyway. In addition, itstyres are so bald if you drove it in the snoweven an Apache tracker couldn’t tell whichdirection you had gone. So I come back onto the yard late one

afternoon with a load of silage on the veryold tractor and there, on the yard, sits the13-year-old for us to try. The difference between the two tractors

is like chalk and cheese. For a start the‘new’ has all the bits the other tractor needslike lights, wipers and heater. So I walk allaround it, give the tyres a kick for goodmeasure, and then I get on it. I start it up. It’s only done 5000 hours

and, compared with what I’ve just beendriving, it is like new. I work out how you

change gear and I just drive it in a circlearound the yard. Perfect. My mind is madeup, just screw another grand out of thesalesman and we’ll have it. I go to get offbut can’t open the door. Try the other andit’s the same. The latches won’t budge oneither. Time for some serious thought. Some 50 yards away, round a couple of

corners, my son and grandson are milkingand they could easily let me out. I decidefairly quickly whatever options I come upwith this will be the last one. This is thesort of clear thinking which sets me asidefrom lesser dairy farmers. Stephen who works with us is on holiday

and I know he used to drive one of thesetractors with a previous employer. I phonehim. He tells me he is sitting on a setteedrinking cider, and I tell him I’m sitting ona Renault and can’t get off. He can’t adviseanything and before I can bat an eyelid Iget four texts from other people offeringadvice. All to no avail.Eventually I give in and phone my son

and he lets me out, with an eloquent roll ofhis eyes. When I go to the pub that nightthey all know about it. Turns out there’s aknack to it, just like life itself really!

“My mind ismade up, justscrew anothergrand out of thesalesman andwe’ll have it

**DF May p54 55 Good Evans _Layout 1 25/04/2013 12:27 Page 2


FINANCE

New rules will in future restrict income tax relief previously available for such things as businesslosses and loan interest payments. Sam Kirkham of Taunton-based Albert Goodman reports.

to restrict loss relief wherethe business is not beingconducted on a commercialbasis or where there is anon-active individual. How-ever, the new rules are set torestrict relief further.From April 6 the above re-

liefs, among others, are re-stricted to an amount whichis the greater of £50k or 25%of total income.For example, David’s total

income in 2013-14 is £100k.He makes a loss on his farmof £70k in 2013-14 andclaims the loss against hisother income. His relief limitis £50k, as this is the greaterof £50k and 25% of his totalincome (£25k). Relief isgiven in 2013-14 for £50kand the balance (£20k) iscarried forward to futureyears.Where an individual has

more than one relief toutilise they will need to pri-oritise the reliefs to claim.For example, John has totalincome in 2013-14 of £100kso his relief limit is also£50k. He has a combinationof payments and losses hewants to claim relief for asfollows:� Qualifying loan interest£10k� Property losses £5k� Farming losses £70kHe applies the reliefs in

2013-14 as follows:� Qualifying loan interest£10k� Property losses £5k� Farming losses £35k.He chooses to prioritise

the loan interest relief first ashe cannot use this relief inanother year. His farminglosses carry forward to useagainst income in futureyears from the same trade.Even the most successful

farming business has a trad-ing loss from time to time.However, these new ruleswill mean, at a time wherecash flow is crucial, seriousrestrictions will be placedupon it by the delay of taxrelief. The first accounting pe-

riod to be affected is the firstone ending after April 5,2013. Therefore there is asmall window of opportu-nity to plan for the newrules. Planning could in-clude introducing a newpartner to the business ortransferring the business toa company.Where a business consists

of multiple activities, plan-ning will be need to identifywhether these all form partof the same trade. If so, itwill allow the profits andlosses from the individualactivities to offset each otherbefore the limit is applied.

The latest guid-ance on the newincome tax relieflimit was issuedon 28 March.

The new rules took effectfrom April 6 but the legisla-tion is still draft and subjectto further amendment.Before April 6, where an

individual had a loan usedto invest in their businessthey could receive unlim-ited tax relief for the interestpaid on the loan. Wherethey made a trading lossthey could offset this againstother income in the same orpreceding tax year to re-ceive immediate tax relief.

There isalreadylegisla-tion in

place

rWhile the new rules are aimed at high earners, they will hitthose in businesses with modest earnings, leading to thembeing taxed on more than they actually receive and resultingin cash flow difficulties for many.

Expert opinion

“Even themost successfulfarmingbusiness has atrading lossfrom time totime

Further clamp down on tax relief

**DF May p56 Finance _Layout 1 26/04/2013 12:20 Page 1

Visitor Registrationis now open forCropTec 2013

Hse Ad - Croptec WP AF_Hse Ad - Croptec WP AF 26/04/2013 10:29 Page 1

STEP THIS WAY.

With the dairy industry reviewing the use of some antimicrobials in food producing animals, it is likely that the antimicrobial landscape is about to change. You may therefore want to reconsider your routine intramammary treatment for clinical mastitis. Ubrolexin® provides equivalent cure rates (using fewer tubes)1 than the 2nd most commonly used intramammary tube,2 a tube that contains cefquinome, one of the antibiotics under review.3

Ubrolexin® can get you where you want to be. Without compromise. Talk to your vet.

References: 1. Bradley A.J & Green M.J Journal Dairy Science 2009, 92:1941–1953. 2. GFK data, 2012. 3. Vecqueray R. Proceedings of NEDPA, March 7th 2012.

Advice on the use of Ubrolexin or other therapies should be sought from your veterinary surgeon. This advertisement is brought to you by Boehringer Ingelheim, makers of Ubrolexin. Ubrolexin contains cefalexin monohydrate and kanamycin monosulphate. UK: POM-V. Further information available from Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 8YS, UK. Email: [email protected]. Date of preparation: Mar 2013. AHD 7548. Withdraw milk from supply for human consumption for 120 hours after the last Ubrolexin treatment. Use Medicines Responsibly (www.noah.co.uk/responsible).

17:26

Boehringer WP DF_Boehringer WP DF 26/04/2013 09:36 Page 1

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Dairy Farmer Digital Edition May 2013