TheDairySite Newsletter - 6 August 2010

TheDairySite Weekly Newsletter

Friday 6th August 2010

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Welcome to this week's newsletter Editorial: The Big Debate

This week has seen much debate on the cloning of animals and the use of their products in the food chain, as well as the status of GM products.

Such debates highlight significant differences between the EU and the US.

Cloning: The UK Food Standards Agency is investigating whether milk from the offspring of a cloned cow has entered the food chain.

Of eight embryos imported into the UK, there were four female cows. One is alive on a UK dairy farm. However, the Agency has confirmed that there is no evidence milk from this animal has entered the food chain.

The Agency has traced two other cows that it believes are being kept as part of dairy herds but at present it cannot confirm whether or not milk from these animals has entered the food chain. Local authority officials are visiting the farms on which these animals are kept.

Products from cloned animals or their offspring are not allowed to enter the food chain in the UK without prior authorisation from the Food Standards Agency.

To date, the Agency has not authorised the use of any products from cloned animals or their offspring in the food chain.

Back in July, the EU was pushing for a formal ban on the cloning of animals for food, as well as the importation of cloned animals.

GM: Despite the EU authorising six varieties of GM maize for food and feed uses last week, the US has retaliated over the EU's restrictions on genetically modified (GM) organisms.

The US accuses the EU of failing to comply with World Trade Organisation obligations, which are to provide for a science-based, timely and predictable process for reviewing ‘agriculture and food biotechnology products’.

Charlotte Johnston

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 4 new features this week:

How Much Does Deforestation Cost US Producers?
Destrucution of the world's tropical forests by overseas timber, agriculture and cattle operations is seriously undermining the US's competitiveness in these areas, explores a new report produced by the Avoided Deforestation Partners and the National Farmers Union. Summarised by TheCattleSite junior editor, Charlotte Johnston.

Effects Of Feed Composition And Management
In a total mixed ration (TMR) feeding system, forage and concentrate feed components are combined into a single feed mixture. The objective of this feeding method is to deliver, to each cow, a well-balanced ration that is formulated to maintain health and maximise milk production, say researchers at the University of British Columbia.

The Effect of Transport On Weanling Heifers
In the present study, the inflammatory, adrenocortical, metabolic and behavioural responses of weanling animals to transport were studied in 40 transported and 20 control heifers. The results of the study showed that transportation of weanling animals from Ireland to Spain affected live weight, haematological and some physiological variables of metabolism.

Milk Production In Finland
The amount of milk delivered to dairies in 2009 totalled about 2,215 million litres, which was 17 million litres more than in 2008 and 81 million litres less than in 1995. The production of organic milk has increased by 80 per cent from the beginning of the millennium to 29.4 million litres in 2009. The cows gave birth to 321,900 calves.