Livestock News
Injecting slurry seed mix halves forage crop establishment costs
Added on Monday, 30 January 2012
The innovative technique of mixing seed with dairy slurry and injecting directly into the winter barley stubble has proven cost-effective at Aikbank Farm on the Brackenburgh Estate near Calthwaite. Farmers attending an RDPE Northwest...
Read Full Article CommentsBritish beef finishers making progress
Added on Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Beef producers across the country have made valuable progress in improving the financial and environmental efficiency of their enterprises in recent years by significantly increasing the proportion of stock finished at a younger age, the latest EBLEX...
Read Full Article CommentsYour profits are in your hands, says new DairyCo report
Added on Tuesday, 17 January 2012
The relationship between cost of production and profit is much stronger than many farmers realise, says DairyCo’s first Milkbench+ report. It shows that cost of production is the most significant factor in determining profit. The report,...
Read Full Article CommentsSustainable alternatives to mains water - boreholes, pasture pumps and rainwater harvesting...
Added on Friday, 13 January 2012
In December, Cumbria Farmer Network organised a NW Livestock Programme demonstration event at Lowgrounds Farm, Plumpton, looking at alternatives to mains water. Kindly hosted by James Turner, farm manager for the Brackenburgh Estate, the...
Read Full Article CommentsNorthwest Pig Group - licences, added value, handling and vaccination
Added on Friday, 23 December 2011
Following the successful meeting held in February, this second meeting organised by Myerscough College and the British Pig Association through the Livestock Programme was again very popular with 30 pig producers from across the region...
Read Full Article CommentsLivestock businesses benefit from £3m of grants - and more help is at hand
Added on Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Almost 1,000 farms in the North West of England have already benefited from more than £3 million of Performance Grants available under the RDPE NW Livestock Programme. Now producers in the region can apply for funding from a new £20m...
Read Full Article CommentsExport demand boosts cull finishing value
Added on Tuesday, 20 December 2011
High prices underpinned by strong export demand mean effective finishing will easily add £75-£100 to the market value of a cull cow this winter, calculates EBLEX. And with the market balance set to favour producers for the foreseeable...
Read Full Article CommentsPlain Farmers - Benchmarking
Added on Monday, 19 December 2011
Last month Plain Farmers, with the help of DairyCo MilkBench+ and the RDPE Northwest Livestock Programme, undertook benchmarking of their costs of milk production. This involved all members of the group submitting their figures before the...
Read Full Article CommentsFellside Milk Producers: monitoring, marking and robotic milking
Added on Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Twenty two farmers attended the Horse and Groom at Gosforth to hear about monitor farm progress, milkbench opportunities and the robotic milking progress seen since the group took a visit to a group member's farm in...
Read Full Article CommentsJohnes – is your herd affected?
Added on Tuesday, 06 December 2011
Hot on the heels of last week’s meeting at The Shireburn Arms, this meeting organised by Myerscough Vets in association with Myerscough College focussed on Johnes disease. Twenty six farmers turned out to hear the speaker for the...
Read Full Article CommentsLiver fluke - "What is it costing you?"
Added on Thursday, 01 December 2011
Live weight gain can be reduced by over 10% in ewes and up to 30% in lambs, which in a flock of 500 ewes could cost as much as £26,000 per year as a result of the direct costs of treatment, mortality and production losses. That...
Read Full Article CommentsBroadband: Is your business at an unfair disadvantage?
Added on Thursday, 01 December 2011
Do you struggle with the speed of your internet connection? Want to do more online banking, download information in seconds rather than minutes or quickly update content to your website. If you feel cut off from the rest of the...
Read Full Article CommentsAnimal Bytes: Reducing phosphorus is possible without impairing broiler performance
Added on Friday, 25 November 2011
Take Home Message: Dietary phosphorus can be reduced in the diets of 21-day-old broilers without affecting performance by reducing dietary calcium and including dietary phytase. Pollution relative to phosphorus excretion in poultry manure, as well...
Read Full Article CommentsHerd Health: Are your buildings fit for purpose?
Added on Thursday, 24 November 2011
Building design for optimum animal health was the hot topic for discussion at the most recent meetings of both the Stockport, and Burnley and Pendle Farmers group meetings organised by Myerscough College. Jamie Robertson from the University of...
Read Full Article CommentsSheep and beef farmers sought for Yorkshire Dales Efficiency Group
Added on Friday, 18 November 2011
SAC Consulting and Dalehead Vets have joined forces to run a new programme that will help sheep and beef producers in the Yorkshire Dales improve their efficiency. They are appealing for local farms to sign-up. The Yorkshire Dales Beef &...
Read Full Article CommentsYoung English enthusiasm meets Irish knowledge to tackle dairy details
Added on Wednesday, 16 November 2011
A recent trip by 13 young dairy farmers and farm managers from the Northwest Livestock Programme's Cheshire dairy monitor farm discussion group to the Irish Teagasc Dairy Research centre at Moorepark in County Cork, Ireland, sparked long...
Read Full Article CommentsBlood sampling suggests common cause to West Cumbria mineral deficiencies
Added on Monday, 14 November 2011
At a meeting of the Allerdale Livestock Group in October, farmers heard how the results of a trial undertaken on four Lake District farms into blood profiling of sheep for mineral deficiencies panned out. Funded by the Livestock Programme and...
Read Full Article CommentsRight attitude to reducing cell counts is key to profitable milk production
Added on Monday, 14 November 2011
Trying to condense a six hour presentation into two hours is no easy task, but it was successfully achieved by Dr Andy Johnson during his flying visit to Lancashire last week when he spoke to a group of dairy farmers at Ribby Hall Village, Wrea...
Read Full Article Comments"80% of copper deficiency in Lancashire due to molybdenum toxicity"
Added on Sunday, 13 November 2011
Twenty farmers attended November's Blackburn and Darwen Group meeting to hear speaker James Bretherton from AgScope. The topic for the evening was minerals and trace elements and understanding how the different elements work...
Read Full Article CommentsAberdale x Herdwick lamb trial results
Added on Saturday, 12 November 2011
Impressed with the quality of crossbred lambs reared in marginal areas (from the Herdwick draft ewe and Texel ram) - Innovis agreed to participate in a project to determine the potential of a Herdwick / Aberdale cross. A meeting organised by...
Read Full Article Comments£20 Million for Farming and Forestry Businesses - how to access new national grant scheme in the North West
Added on Thursday, 10 November 2011
This new scheme under the Rural Development Programme for England aims to help farmers, foresters and horticultural businesses in England to increase profits and reduce their impact on the environment. The £20 million fund to help...
Read Full Article CommentsPrepare now to minimise winter housing problems at lambing
Added on Friday, 04 November 2011
Preparing buildings and sorting out potential housing issues well before sheep need to be inside this winter will enable flock managers to maximise ewe and lamb productivity and comfort while minimising management problems, advises EBLEX's Dr Liz...
Read Full Article CommentsNorth West farmers benefit from over £5m - with more to come from Defra
Added on Thursday, 03 November 2011
RDPE has offered just over £4.5 million in Northwest Livestock Programme performance grants and, following the 30th September round closing date, there are a further 150 applications, to the value of approximately £850,000, which will be...
Read Full Article CommentsBusiness mentoring award offers 30k to entrepreneurial young farmers
Added on Thursday, 03 November 2011
Do you possess a passion for real food, demonstrate an inventive use of land or real estate and have an ambition to start or grow a business in farming, processing or retailing food? - well you might be interested in the Honor Chapman Mentoring...
Read Full Article CommentsMore milk from comfortably housed cows
Added on Monday, 31 October 2011
A cow has six basic needs - space, light, water, rest, feed and air. Out at pasture this isn't a problem but when housed how can you be sure all your cows are getting enough of...
Read Full Article CommentsBollin Farmers Meeting – Winter Dairy Cow Diets
Added on Monday, 24 October 2011
Keith Jamieson, the Senior Nutritionist with H J Lea Oakes, took the Bollin group through the expected dietary requirements for Dairy Cows over the 2011/12 winter: Grass Silage Analysis / Wholecrop Silage Analysis Keith took the...
Read Full Article Comments
