TheDairySite Newsletter - 15 July 2011

TheDairySite Weekly Newsletter

Friday 15th July 2011

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Welcome to this week's newsletter

Editorial: Dean Foods $140 Million Settlement Over Collusion Allegations

Dean Foods, in the US, has reached a $140 million compensationagreement with dairy farmers.

In 2007, Dean Foods was charged with colluding to establish anti-competitive practices that suppressed farm milk prices in South Eastern states.

The trial will begin in the next month. If agreed by the court, Dean Foods will make an initial payment of $60 million upon preliminary approval of the agreement from the court and will make subsequent payments of $20 million in each of the following four years on the anniversary of the final approval date.

In Saudi Arabia, the government has ordered that the sale of fresh milk and fresh milk products must be governed by regulations, which stipulate that anyone who hikes prices or refuses to sell the products at the previously determined price will be considered violators of the regulations and will be punished.

Almarai, the region's largest dairy producer, has said that it will cancel a recent price hike for some of its dairy products to comply with the move. The company has said it believes that the rationale and justification for the price increase is still valid.

Almarai was due to add 14 per cent onto a two-litre bottle of fresh milk to compensate for the increase in the cost of milk production, particularly feed costs.

Meanwhile, in the UK, National Farmers' Union President Peter Kendall has said it is a scandal that UK milk prices are at the bottom of the European league table.

“It’s plain wrong that British dairy farmers are paid the lowest prices in Europe. They’re receiving around four pence per litre below the EU average, which is a disgrace. Something has to change.”

Charlotte Johnston

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 5 new features this week:

Impact Of Dystocia On Newborn Calf Vigour
The effects of dystocia on calves are discussed by Dr Ken Leslie, from the University of Guelph, Canada. Charlotte Johnston, TheCattleSite Editor reports.

Effective Cleaning & Disinfection On The Dairy Farm
Cleaning and disinfecting is imperative to maintain the well being and health of high producing animals, such as dairy cows. This is especially the case in intensive modern housing where high density and high productivity increases the infection pressure. Thorough cleaning and adapted disinfection decreases the pathogen level and prevents or breaks the disease cycle, writes Josephine Verhaeghe, from CID Lines.

Digestive Microbes Could Help Lower Methane Gas From Livestock
The discovery that a bacterial species in the Australian Tammar wallaby gut is responsible for keeping the animal's methane emissions relatively low suggests a potential new strategy may exist to try to reduce methane emissions from livestock, according to a new study.

World Agricultural Supply And Demand Estimates - July 2011
Meat production in the US is expected to remain stable next year, according to the latest USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates.

Feed Outlook - July 2011
US feed grain supplies for 2011/12 are projected higher this month, with higher beginning stocks and production for corn, according to the latest report from the USDA Economic Research Service.

Company News

Biomin Supports Traditional Breed Show
CZECH REPUBLIC - Traditional breeding event, Kralovice 2011, took place in the well-known exhibition area, Hadacka on 30 June.

Global Dairy Cattle Industry News