Dairy & Beef News

Even small amounts of spoiled silage will have a detrimental impact on how much cattle eat and how their rumens function.

Three finalists have been named for this year’s Royal Dairy Innovation Award and will be presenting their products to a panel of independent judges at the Dairy-Tech event on 1st February.

Lactalign, a device that counters the often costly impact of uneven weight and vacuum distribution of a milking cluster, has won a Gold Award in the Livestock Innovation category.

As weather patterns become increasingly extreme and unpredictable, input costs continue to rise, and farmers face ongoing pressure to reduce environmental impacts, approaches to managing parasites and disease will need to adapt. Livestock editor Sarah Kidby reports.

A new woodland restoration scheme has launched at the RSPB’s 1,200-acre nature reserve, Franchises Lodge, located in the north of the New Forest.  

Designed and built by Aberdeenshire farmer Gordon Stephen, the Calf Catcher makes it quicker, easier, and safer to carry out calf tagging and other routine tasks. Livestock editor Sarah Kidby spoke to two farmers who have used the innovative system.

Five finalists have been announced for the 2022 NMR RABDF Gold Cup award, including two dairy businesses in Scotland and three from the south and southwest of England.

Farmers should take extra care when transitioning between different silage cuts this winter to ensure milk yield and fertility aren’t compromised.  

With British farms continually squeezed by high input costs and low prices, selling ready-pasteurised milk straight to the consumer can substantially increase farm profits, according to Batchpasteuriser.com.

The UK’s top regenerative farming event for livestock producers is back with two events next year, following unprecedented demand from the inaugural 2022 event held this summer. 

The 75th British Cattle Breeding conference is being held from the 23rd to 25th January 2023 at Telford Hotel and Golf Resort, Shropshire, and will bring together expert knowledge, experience and opinion from across the industry in the UK and beyond.

The demand for pedigree Simmental females saw prices soar with Brandane Lu Lu setting a breed centre record price, while heifers commanded an average price of £5,202, up by £806 on the previous year.