Livestock News

A trade mission led by AHDB is set to showcase British red meat to buyers from Asia, the Middle East and North America, who will meet with farmers and UK exporters at the Great Yorkshire Show to discuss potential business opportunities.

Farmers are being encouraged to assess the risk of abortion in their sheep ahead of the next tupping season and work with their vet if necessary to minimise lamb losses next year.

A new initiative to breed sheep with naturally low methane emissions has been awarded £2.9m funding through Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme and will see farmers, researchers and businesses come together to make a positive contribution to UK agriculture’s journey towards net zero.

A sale of 145 pedigree and pure-bred Hereford cattle at Shrewsbury Auction Centre last Tuesday (27th June) attracted great interest among breeders in England and Wales, with a cow and calf pair from the esteemed Santa Maria herd bringing in the top price at 4,100 guineas.

Farmers, breeders and smallholders in the East of England will have the opportunity to buy and sell pedigree Southdown sheep at a new early breeders sale taking place for the first time at Thrapston Livestock Market on Saturday 29th July.

Livestock farmers will continue to have uninterrupted access to key cobalt salts as emergency authorisation for cobalt in livestock feeds has been granted for England and Wales following approval in Scotland.

UK dairy cooperative Arla has warned of further food price increases and a possible risk to food security if labour shortages are not addressed as a matter of urgency by the government, with a recent survey highlighting a serious and imminent risk to milk production.

At the Down to Earth South event last week (21 June), British farmer-owned dairy co-operative First Milk announced a new partnership with dairy manufacturer Yeo Valley, which will see the creation of a new regenerative milk pool in the Southwest of England.

Farmers are being urged to carry out regular faecal egg count (FEC) testing before drenching lambs to get an accurate estimation of worm burden across groups, as a more targeted approach to parasite control can save producers time, money and labour.

The pedigree herd of Santa Maria Polled Hereford cattle from Llandysul in Ceredigion will be offered for sale at Shrewsbury Auction Centre on Tuesday 27th June, presenting buyers with a unique opportunity to acquire purebred stock with premium genetics.

Sheep farmers are advised to be on high alert for a spike in the worm burden of lambs as recent wet weather is expected to cause a dramatic rise in the number of worm larvae on pastures.

After a late start to the blowfly season, recent hot weather has increased the risk to ‘high’ throughout the UK – and this will quickly rise further if there is any rainfall in the next few weeks.