TheDairySite Newsletter - 8 July 2011

TheDairySite Weekly Newsletter

Friday 8th July 2011

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Welcome to this week's newsletter

Editorial: Keep One Eye On Your Cows, And The Other On The Market

This was the key message to come out of the European Dairy Farmers (EDF) Congress held last week in the UK.

President Jean Verdenal said that dairy producers should focus more on the market.

"Globally we must gain more knowledge about our markets - as they decide what the milk price will be."

EDF publishes the cost of production comparison data annually. Data is collected from EDF members across Europe.

The initial results show that the average dairy farmer is making a loss.

Although there are large variabilities across the countries, in terms of costs and milk prices, the average cost was €0.42 per kg of energy converted milk (ECM). Returns were €0.365 per kg ECM, making an average loss of €0.55 per kg ECM.

Whilst the average dairy farmer was not making a profit, they were earning an income on average of €0.59 per kg ECM.

EDF allows farmers to exchange experiences and knowledge from farmer to farmer, and the annual EDF Congress is an important part of this.

It gives members the opportunity to visit the best dairy farms in the host country, and take home ideas to improve their own businesses.

"We want the lowest possible costs of production - this way dairy farmers will be the last to lose, and the first to benefit from price volatility," said EDF Vice President and Congress organiser, Neil Dyson.

Charlotte Johnston

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 4 new features this week:

Improving Nutritional Qualities Of Straw With Urea
Straws are the main source of roughage for feeding ruminants in the tropics but do not supply sufficient nutrients even for maintenance of the animals. Efforts have been made in different parts of the world to improve the nutritional quality of straws, using various treatments. Among these, substantial research has been conducted on the urea treatment of straws, writes T Walli, Chief Technical Advisor at the National Dairy Research Institute, India.

Effects Of Stockperson Behaviour On Animal Welfare & Productivity
Speaking at a recent Boehringer Animal Welfare Forum, Professor Paul Hemsworth, fDirector of the Animal Welfare Science Centre discussed human - animal interactions in livestock production. Charlotte Johnston, TheCattleSite Editor reports from the conference.

Technologies & Practices For Improving Livestock Feeding In India
M Kurup from the National Games Village, Bagalore looks at improving livestock feeding methods in India, through forage from surplus land and enriched straw pellets.

MAF New Zealand Dairy Outlook
US dollar prices for dairy products have been at high levels over the course of the 2010/11 dairy season, well above the previous year but still below the levels reached in 2007/08. The strong demand driving this rise is likely to remain but additional supply in 2012 and beyond is expected to drive international prices down from current levels.

Company News

US Dairy Farmers Visit Czech Farms
CZECH REPUBLIC - Participants of Biomins's 3rd US-CZ Dairy Plan visited several farm in the Czech Republic as part of a week's programme, in the beginning of June.

Global Dairy Cattle Industry News