By unlocking the export potential China offers the pig industry, not to mention the red meat sector as a whole, we could gain entry into a marketplace which comprises a fifth of the world’s population.Farmers Guardian
Dairy Farmer
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Top priority is to ensure enough grass for grazing
May 4, 2012
For one Cheshire farm, getting the most from grass means productive swards, tight stocking rates and an intensive reseeding programme. Jeremy Hunt reports.
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Cowmen Comment: We’ve set out on path to improve our herd health
1 May 2012
We kicked off this year with a detailed review of our herd health progress and put the focus on those three common problems of mastitis, locomotion and fertility.
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Good Evans: My locomotion score may mean Switzerland for me
1 May 2012
This month Roger Evans has been in party mode and as a consequence into full-blown networking, and who should he come across but the girl from animal welfare, which, in Mastermind terms, is his specialist subject!
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Potters View: Check your buyer is financially sound
1 May 2012
With the collapse of Farmright and the growing squeeze on other buyers, Ian Potter urges producers to make sure they are dealing with a financially sound milk business.
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Dairy Farmer May digital edition
1 May 2012
Don’t miss this month’s Dairy Farmer. Take a look at the digital edition today.
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Could you be the next Dairy Farmer of the Future?
2 April 2012
THE role of young people in the dairy industry is, without doubt, crucial to its future growth and success.
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Cowmen Comment: Even future of Brookfield herd came under question
2 April 2012
My family lived in Cardiff but always faithfully listened to The Archers - the everyday tale of country folk - which we then took to be an accurate reflection of country life.
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Good Evans: How I end up scraping out the cubicles by torchlight
2 April 2012
Despite last month’s letter Roger Evans remains unconvinced about Farm Assurance, but just at the moment with the electric tripped out he has other more pressing matters to resolve.
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Potters View: Why buyers need to weather storm
2 April 2012
As Tesco announces a drop in its price, Ian Potter warns it is a critical time for the industry and producers are starting to show their dissatisfaction with their buyers by giving in their notice.
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WIN a calving box CCTV camera - take part in the 2012 Scour Survey
30 March 2012
Take part in the 2012 Rotavec Corona National Scour Survey for the chance to win one of three versatile Omnisight calving camera CCTV systems.
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Dairy Farmer April digital edition
30 March 2012
Don’t miss this month’s Dairy Farmer. Take a look at the digital edition today.
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Cowmen Comment: We’re hoping to reduce our feed protein levels
March 2, 2012
Since the start of the year we have taken on a new trainee, hoping to train him to be a herdsman in the next three years.
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Dairy Farmer March digital edition
2 March 2012
Don’t miss this month’s Dairy Farmer. Take a look at the digital edition today.
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Good Evans: How do you keep the sand in your deep bed cubicles?
March 2, 2012
This month Roger Evans faces the problem of stopping his cows pawing out the loose sand from their freshly bedded cubicles, and attempts to match the canny tactics of his suckler neighbours.
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Lucerne offers home-grown protein source
March 2, 2012
New UK-friendly varieties are set to regenerate interest in lucerne as a home-grown protein source. Helen Mathieu, of British Seed Houses, offers pointers for managing the crop.
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Potters View: NFU should take lead in milk plan
March 2, 2012
Fresh back from attendance at this year’s NFU Conference, Ian Potter says it is time the industry looked to planning its future starting with producer groups.
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Take part in the 2012 Dairy National Mastitis Survey
2 February 2012
Take part in the 2012 Dairy National Mastitis Survey for your chance to win a Musto Snug Shore Jacket - worth £120
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Cowmen Comment: Our traffic cone chutes are admired from near and far
1 February 2012
The building industry is warning it faces the worst downturn for 35 years. One of the foundation blocks for the Celtic Tiger was the amazingly generous EU grants for agricultural buildings and milking parlours, which helped fuel their building boom.
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Dairy Farmer February digital edition
1 February 2012
Don’t miss this month’s Dairy Farmer. Take a look at the digital edition today.
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Dual cropping may be answer to combat adverse conditions
1 February 2012
Last year, maize produced some highly variable results owing to the abnormal weather conditions, but choosing a more robust variety or sowing dual crops may be one answer.
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Good Evans: Why I’m definitely not the biggest farm assurance fan
1 February 2012
This month Roger Evans tells us why we must all make a stand against the ever growing assurance industry, and why he thinks housing his down-calving heifers near the pub could definitely have its attractions.
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Potters View: How will Muller cope in the liquid market?
1 February 2012
This month Ian Potter puts a rule over the Müller deal and asks whether the future doesn’t lie with the no-middle-man co-ops after all?
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Dairy Farmer January digital edition
13 January 2012
Don’t miss this month’s Dairy Farmer. Take a look at the digital edition today.
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Breeding: Milk fat profile in the spotlight
January 13, 2012
Ann Hardy asks NML’s Ben Bartlett about the ramifications for the industry of being able to measure fatty acid profiles.
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Cowmen Comment: We’re learning how to get the most from our forages
January 13, 2012
The silage season finally ended here on November 25, with a very late fourth cut of bales. Luckily we managed to find three good days in a row and, as a bonus, managed to ted the grass prior to baling and wrapping.
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Good Evans: Please keep your hands off my heifer feed blocks
January 13, 2012
This month Roger Evans has not only had someone take his heifer feed blocks from the field but to top it all his wallet has gone missing, and he is left wondering just who you can trust.
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Potters View: PO could be answer to retailers’ armlock
January 13, 2012
This month Ian Potter casts his mind to what the New Year could herald - perhaps rationalisation among the processors and the establishment of a producer organisation as a counter to retailer power.
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Workshop Tips: Cutting frame means logs ready in no time
January 13, 2012
Some of the weekly jobs like cutting firewood tend to get left until the log pile is depleted. Mike Donovan gives us a simple idea to make the job quicker.
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Choose carefully who you sit next to at meal times
December 2, 2011
On my way in to write this article I managed to fall up to my knees into a deep, well-camouflaged hole which was full of dung. It took a long time to lose that special smell, and I intend to suggest politely to my husband when he comes in for lunch that a drain cover might prove useful.
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Good Evans: Will we soon be greasing up our old hedgeback ploughs?
December 2, 2011
With the world population notching up to seven billion, with another couple of billion predicted to come, Roger Evans questions whether we can still afford to leave land out of production, or whether like the WarAg we should be looking to every square metre. And then there’s his new loader.
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On Farm: Finding optimum cow loading to make best use of robotics
December 2, 2011
Putting too many cows through robotic milkers on one Lancashire farm meant cows were drying themselves off earlier than they should. Jeremy Hunt reports.
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Dairy Farmer December digital edition
1 December 2011
Don’t miss this month’s Dairy Farmer. Take a look at the digital edition today.
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On Farm: Rumen stability is secret for feeding high yielders
31 October 2011
Achieving rumen stability and raising forage intake are critical targets for winter at James and Anne Rogerson’s Game Farm, Singleton, near Blackpool - home of their high-yielding Avenham Holsteins.
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Good Evans: Unstoppable Honda reveals thousands missing on clock
31 October 2011
This month Roger Evans tells us about his all-important TB test and acquiring a new loader, and relates how he found his new (to him) car by, rightly or wrongly, giving eBay a go…
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Dairy Farmer November digital edition
31 October 2011
Don’t miss this month’s Dairy Farmer. Take a look at the digital edition today.
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Cowmen Comment: China gearing up to meet surge in demand for dairy
October 28, 2011
China has great potential now it has opened up to global commerce. To meet growing domestic expectations, its dairy industry is undergoing a revolution. Nuffield Scholar Scott Kirby has just returned from the country.
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Save Our Youngstock National Scour Survey
October 7, 2011
Complete the National Scour Survey and you could win one of 10 pairs of Aigle Parcours boots…. worth £120 each!
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On Farm: Top quality maize helps slash on-farm feed bills
30 September 2011
High energy maize has allowed Cornish farmers Andrew and Sally Kellow to increase ration quality and milk yields while at the same time as managing to slash feed costs. Ann Hardy reports.
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Good Evans: Why I’d like to see bit of generic milk advertising
30 September 2011
This month Roger Evans tells us why he’d like to see some of his levy money spent on milk advertising, and why, in a round about sort of way, his corgi dog is not currently in the best of books.
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Dairy Farmer October digital edition
30 September 2011
Don’t miss this month’s Dairy Farmer. Take a look at the digital edition today.
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Cowmen Comment: Blending in some Friesian can toughen up Holsteins
September 30, 2011
I’ve just helped load my favourite cow, Brinkworth Dora. She’s been classified Excellent seven times, won a gold ribbon award for 100 tonnes of milk and produced a heifer calf in her 12th lactation.
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Win tickets to The Welsh Dairy Show 2011
22 September 2011
5 Pairs of tickets to give away for entry to the show.
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Dairy Farmer of the Future 2011 - Finalists announced
August 26, 2011
The votes have been counted and we can reveal the three finalists.
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On Farm: Setting out to make best use of home-grown forage
22 August 2011
Despite vastly increased yields over the past few years, Cheshire producer Stuart Yarwood is still as committed as ever to taking a good proportion of that milk from forage. Jeremy Hunt went to find out more.
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Good Evans: Dog bites tanker man in case of mistaken identity
22 August 2011
A dog is often claimed to be a man’s best friend, but that is not necessarily the case down on Roger Evans’ farm - as the tanker driver is only too ready to affirm.
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Potters View: How liquid market is failing our producers
22 August 2011
This month Ian Potter looks at the liquid market, wonders at the growing rift between DC and DCD, and keeps DairyCo and Dairy UK firmly in his sights.
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Dairy Farmer September digital edition
22 August 2011
Don’t miss this month’s Dairy Farmer. Take a look at the digital edition today.
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Adopting the IT3 approach on farm
August 5, 2011
Cheshire farmer Alan Winstanley from Highfields Farm, Audlem, runs more than 400 cows doing 10,000 litres on three times a day milking.
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Cowmen Comment: I think we’re doing our bit as regards farm recycling!
August 5, 2011
The grass snake referred to in my last article materialised at last. When I couldn’t keep out of my office any longer, I noticed the waste cardboard in the corner was heaving up and down.
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Good Evans: It was an uncatchable calf so I simply left them to it
August 5, 2011
?Just as Roger Evans was fighting for breath and beginning to realise he was never going to be able to catch the latest spirited young calf, two burly rugby players fortuitously heave into sight.
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Have YOUR say in the Resflor pneumonia survey
August 5, 2011
Have YOUR say and win a New Zealand classic - ‘Swanndri Oilskin Jacket’…. Take part in the national pneumonia survey.
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Milk test is innovative route to boosting rumen efficiency
August 5, 2011
This week a leading UK feed company has launched a revolutionary approach to cattle rationing which it believes will be an all round winner.
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On Farm: Why once a day milking may be worth exploring
August 5, 2011
Put under some pressure by the shortage of staff, Trevor Grooms took the rather radical decision to go to once a day milking, and so far it seems to be working.
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Potter's View: Worth buying and tipping back in tank
August 5, 2011
This month Ian Potter outlines the benefits of advertising milk, how Dairy Crest’s middle ground activity is doing nothing to lift prices and why DairyCo’s image needs a little buffing up.
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Dairy Farmer August digital edition
1 August 2011
Don’t miss this month’s Dairy Farmer. Take a look at the digital edition today.
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Dairy Farmer of the Future 2011 - Shortlist
July 29, 2011
The entries for our Dairy Farmer of the Future 2011 have been whittled down to a shortlist of six, each with their own point of difference and striving to make a success of their farm business.
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James Willcocks - DFF2011 shortlist
July 29, 2011
Name: James Willcocks
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James Wilson - DFF2011 shortlist
July 29, 2011
Name: James Wilson
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Mike Colwell - DFF2011 shortlist
July 29, 2011
Name: Mike Colwell
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Neil Baker - DFF2011 shortlist
July 29, 2011
Name: Neil Baker
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Neil Ridgway - DFF2011 shortlist
July 29, 2011
Name: Neil Ridgway
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Tom Pugh - DFF2011 shortlist
July 29, 2011
Name: Tom Pugh
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Dairy Farmer July digital edition
11 July 2011
Don’t miss this month’s Dairy Farmer. Take a look at the digital edition today.
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Cowmen Comment: It’s the sheer scale of things that really makes you think
July 1, 2011
Five miles out I smelt it. Two miles out I saw the haze - a mixture of dust and ammonia hanging ominously in the California sun, and then there it was. A 100,000 head of beef which is a lot by anyone’s standards!
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Cowmen Comment: Why we ended up cutting grass in front of the cows
July 1, 2011
First cut silage was completed on April 25 in excellent weather and without major problems other than a flat battery on the raking tractor.
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Good evans: Four extra cows created havoc in milking parlour
July 1, 2011
With a complete turnaround in approach, Roger Evans has managed to cut an hour off milking time but contrary to what you may think it wasn’t all down to squeezing 28 cows into 24 places!
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Infra-red testing makes for faster muck analysis
July 1, 2011
Research scientists have developed what is claimed to be the first fast and cost effective method to predict the nutrient content of manures, slurries and biosolids.
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Learning to fine tune the design in future buildings
July 1, 2011
Making a mirror image of a successful building is a clear indication the building is working well. Ann Hardy visits a Shropshire farm to hear the lessons learned during a decade of building and to discover why the ‘final design’ was one worth repeating.
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Workshop Tips: Herd expansion cost eased by simple DIY
July 1, 2011
Herd expansion requires a considerable financial outlay but costs can be curtailed by a DIY approach, as Mike Donovan explains.
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Cowmen Comment: Irish show us the way to control production costs
June 3, 2011
We’ve just come back from an Irish trip, arranged by Genus, to five progressive farms in Kilkenny which all relied heavily on grazed grass. The emphasis was on calving cows in February and March, and serving them in early May.
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Dairy Technology: Higher yields have role in tackling greenhouse gases
June 3, 2011
Being 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide, it is perhaps not surprising methane is listed as one of the major greenhouse gases and that farming is often cited as the main source.
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Good Evans: Disco was meeting place for local rat populations
June 3, 2011
There is a lot of talk about the price of milk at the moment, and quite rightly so. The unions want better contracts and others want new plants which give us access to better world markets.
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On Farm: Focus on milk pushes herd numbers to 700
June 3, 2011
To grow a dairy herd from 270 milking cows to 700 within three years is quite a leap, but for the James family partnership it represented a means of stream-lining a business that had become just too complicated.
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Workshop Tips: Set your stall out for easier calving
June 3, 2011
If you have to lend a helping hand at calving, you certainly don’t want to be chasing presenting cows around the farm. Mike Donovan offers us a solution.
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Dairy Farmer June digital edition
1 June 2011
Don’t miss this month’s Dairy Farmer. Take a look at the digital edition today.
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Breeding for long-lasting cows that stand the pace
May 6, 2011
Developing a herd of hard-wearing and productive cows on an uncomplicated feeding system underpins the day-to-day running of the Harrison family’s Crossrigg Holstein herd in Cumbria. Jeremy Hunt reports.
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Cowmen Comment: Suddenly all the cows want mattresses in their cubicles
May 6, 2011
At last the new shed is finished - two years behind schedule, but I do have excuses. All work stopped when the land next door came on the market, but since we acquired that it was a push to finish the project. Now attention is focused on other things.
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Cowmen Comment: You miss a good cattle dog when you haven’t got one
May 6, 2011
Paul Higgins is a fourth generation producer who runs 90 British Friesian cows at Long Marston, near Stratford-upon-Avon, but is now looking to expand his summer block calving herd to 100.
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Good Evans: Corgi acts as my plate meter for estimating grass growth
May 6, 2011
Finding a bit of winter kill in some of his best swards, Roger Evans is beginning to wonder if he were right to stop the tack sheep - but then he did have to put up with the vicissitudes of sheepmen!
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Workshop Tips: Right penning will make the job easy
May 6, 2011
Penning cattle away from home can be a nightmare if the right facilities are not available. Mike Donovan offers us some helpful tips.
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Have YOUR say in the Cobactan mastitis survey
5 May 2011
Have YOUR say and win a New Zealand classic - ‘Swanndri Bushshirt’…. Take part in the national mastitis survey.
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Dairy Farmer May digital edition
1 May 2011
Don’t miss this month’s Dairy Farmer. Take a look at the digital edition today.
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Could you be the next Dairy Farmer of the Future?
8 April 2011
THE role of the next generation in the dairy industry is, without doubt, crucial to its future growth and success.
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Why we must improve on silage making techniques
1 April 2011
Promar’s dairy consultant Derek Gardner suggests that with concentrate prices going through the roof, there is a real need to start addressing the decline in milk from forage.
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Cowmen Comment: Rampaging heifers soon make mess of my garden
1 April 2011
As I write it’s very wet and muddy. Young stock feed is short but we’re not the only ones round here buying in as the shortage is so severe you have to take what ever there is regardless of price.
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Good Evans: We seem to be falling badly behind with our spring work
1 April 2011
The sun has started to shine, the rain has stopped and Roger Evans is itching to get on with the land work… as soon as the ground dries up that is.
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Can we offset the squeeze on milk margins?
11 March 2011
In this webinar on March 30th, Peter Hollinshead explores how we can set about achieving this goal with our three distinguished speakers. Read on for full details of this event.
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Health and fertility traits play growing role in sire selection
2 March 2011
To produce today’s long-wearing type of animal, leading cattle breeders - the Sanders family from the Isle of Man - firmly believe that PLI is proving a useful selection tool for them, particularly when used in conjunction with fertility index.
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Good Evans: Our little Corgi pup comes up against the Great Dane
2 March 2011
The newly-acquired Corgi pup has Roger Evans marvelling at its courage to take on life’s panoply of challenges, including cats and rats, but has it met its match when the Great Dane looms into sight?
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Huge potential to get more production from your grass
1 March 2011
With a grass production target of 18tDM/ha by 2020 and a stocking rate of 3.3LU/ha, the Moorepark Animal and Grassland Research Centre, Co Cork, believes it is on track to meet these ambitious targets.
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Extending grazing season with NZ shoulder grasses
1 March 2011
The recently introduced NZ shoulder grasses, which will grow at lower temperatures at either end of the season, are starting to get a foothold in the Republic of Ireland where milk production depends on good grass growth.
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Potter's View: What we need is some fresh ideas
1 March 2011
Despite a dearth of fresh ideas at the NFU conference, Ian Potter has come up with one of his own to short the market and tackle the crippling effect of too much processor power.
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Good Evans: I’m really best out of the way when inspector calls
February 4, 2011
This month Roger Evans plays host to the farm inspector, ponders how he ended up with no less than five extra Christmas turkeys, and annoyingly goes and undermines his self-prescribed udder mint treatment.
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Potter's View: Milk market failing to function normally
February 4, 2011
Despite the recent price hikes, the milk market still fails to function in any normally predictable fashion, as Ian Potter tells us.
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Bovine TB: Latest TB proposals set to hit contiguous herds
January 7, 2011
Now the Christmas season is behind us it may no longer be a case of love they neighbour, especially if some of the more draconian measures for the control of TB come into effect, as south-west producer Pat Bird tells us.
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Good Evans: You can guess the dog’s intention by his barking
January 7, 2011
You never know how any farm dog will react to visiting strangers, but Roger Evans has a pretty shrewd idea and on hearing certain tones is out through the kitchen door pretty smartish before damage is done.
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Potter's View: Levy proposals are raising the hackles
January 7, 2011
By no means all AFMP members are over the moon about the prospect of chipping in £70m interest free for Arla’s new super dairy, as Ian Potter tells us.
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Radical approach limits protein to fresh calvers
January 7, 2011
The accepted approach to fresh-calved cows is to feed them plenty of protein and get them climbing to high peak yields, but research at Hillsborough in Northern Ireland is suggesting this only exacerbates the problem of negative energy balance and its dire consequences.
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Trials show cross-breeding can help increase fertility
January 7, 2011
Research in Northern Ireland is showing that using the Jersey can help arrest the declining fertility levels of the Holstein but the ultimate may be a second cross with the Scandinavian Red.