Dairy & Beef

Livestock farmers are being reminded to look into the causes of pneumonia and coughing in calves and youngstock and take steps to understand the mycoplasma status of their herd.

Three cutting-edge projects relating to robotics and automation will receive a share of £9.13 million through the government’s Farming Innovation Programme, aimed at boosting agricultural productivity, sustainability and climate resilience.

Popular healthy drinks brand innocent will no longer be offering its vegan coconut, almond and hazelnut-flavoured smoothies due to a continued lack of interest from customers, labelling the news “nutterly disappointing”.

Derbyshire-based meat supplier Loscoe Chilled Foods has confirmed it is part of the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) investigation concerning cooked meat and deli products being mislabelled as British on Booths supermarket shelves.

Dairy farmers are being encouraged to consider the dual benefits of an Aberdeen-Angus sire when selecting beef bulls for their herds.

Latest figures from Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) have revealed prime cattle prices reached record high levels at Scottish abattoirs in February, despite the trend being a reduction in prices for this time of year.

The latest round of the Rural Payments Agency’s (RPA) Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) offers grant funding for a range of equipment, including mobile sheep handling and herd monitoring systems, with MSD Animal Health also offering support to improve flock productivity.

Farming groups have criticised the government over plans to sign trade agreements with Canada and Mexico that will lead to low-welfare imports of beef and pork undercutting British producers.

It’s important to consider different groups of cattle when thinking about worm control at turnout, as the risk factors will be different for different ages and the different types of parasite, explains Professor Diana Williams, of the University of Liverpool.

The evaluation, carried out through Reading University, found that 17% of milking heifers exit the herd before calving down for a second time.

Emma Ledbury, who lost half of her dairy herd to TB last year, was overwhelmed by support from Clarkson’s Farm fans and resolved to donate some of the funds to the mental health charity RABI (Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution).

To support dairy farmers on the eastern side of the UK, T H White has opened a new base in Attleborough, Norfolk, extending DeLaval territory from Wales to the east coast.