Dairy & Beef

New Innovative Farmers research is investigating the use of hay bales for winter mob grazing in a bid to boost soil health, biodiversity and animal welfare while cutting housing and labour costs.

GEA, one of the world’s largest systems suppliers for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical sectors, has acquired South West dealer Venture Dairy Services in a deal which will consolidate its presence in the region and improve its offering to dairy producers.

A seasonal study, carried out on Islay as part of the RHASS Presidential Initiative (PI), has demonstrated that treating livestock ‘as little as possible, but as much as necessary’ for liver fluke can deliver a multitude of benefits for both animal and environmental health.

Farmers are being reminded of the risk of botulism after the disease was found to be the culprit behind the sudden death of over 100 dairy cows at a Jersey farm in December 2022.

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.