TheDairySite Newsletter - 12 June 2009

Friday 12th June 2009

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Welcome to this week's newsletter

Editorial: Picking up the Pieces in the Aftermath of DFB Crisis

Thousands of dairy farmers were affected when Dairy Farmers of Britain (DFB) went into receivership last week. This week, the industry began picking up the pieces. The National Farmers Union (NFU) took the earliest opportunity to meet with PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and DFB to ensure the smoothest transition through the situation.

Speaking to an audience in Parliament, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said that the event had come as "very unwelcome news" to farmers, adding that many will have lost significant sums of money.

Meanwhile, PWC, the Receiver, held a series of meetings around the country to inform farmer members of the situation and their plans. With the support of DFBâ€™s bankers, HSBC, trade has continued. It was also announced that farmers who remain with the business will receive a payment for their milk in the middle of this month and again at the end.

Later in the week, the Tenant Farmers Association called on all major banks to support dairy farmers affected by the collapse of DFB by granting free overdraft extensions. And, on announcing their acquisition of Llandyrnog Creamery, Milk Link said it was working closely with relevant DFB Council members recruiting farmers to supply milk to the creamery.

Adam Anson

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 4 new features this week:

Trends in Dairy Cattle Breeding and Genetics
The number of tools to develop a productive and profitable dairy herd that is genetically superior continues to grow, writes Dennis Johnson, Dairy Production Systems, WCROC, in this University of Minnesota Dairy Extension report.

Feeding Legumes to Cattle - Alberta
Legumes can be a valuable part of a cattle feeding programme. In fact, legumes can actually improve animal performance by encouraging intake, by providing greater feed efficiency and by fostering a better use of forage nitrogen content, writes Juanita Kopp, Government of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.

Russian Dairy and Products Semi Annual Report
Milk production is forecast to increase one per cent in 2009 reaching 32.8 million metric tonnes (MMT) as dairy operations continue to replace low yielding cows with imported pedigree animals and higher quality genetics, reports this USDA Foreign Agricultural Service GAIN Report.

World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates - June 2009
Total U.S. meat production for 2009 and 2010 is reduced from last month as higher forecast feed prices are expected to reduce prospects in the pork and broiler sectors, according to the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, produced by the USDA's World Agricultural Outlook Board.