From the editor: A challenging summer for dairy farmers

Katie Jones
clock • 1 min read
From the editor: A challenging summer for dairy farmers

As we approach the end of another season, it always seems like a good time to look back and reflect before turning our attention to what lies ahead in the coming months.

There's no doubt the summer of 2023 has been a challenging one; the weather has been unpredictable to say the least. We've gone from one extreme to the other in terms of rainfall, making silaging and managing grazing particularly difficult.

No season is without its challenges though, and as we move towards the end of summer, thoughts will soon turn to autumn and winter jobs, and let us hope we get some decent weather to get the maize crops off.

Once again, I was excited to be involved in the #FARM24 campaign, which saw farmers from all over the country take to social media to showcase the wonderful industry we are involved in (for more on this, see pages 32-33).

As well as involvement from some high profile celebrities, MPs and farming influencers, the day also garnered incredible attention from the public, and we hope campaigns like this go some way to connecting the consumer with how food is produced on-farm. Thank you to everyone who showed their support and got involved.

And as we approach the end of summer, we say goodbye to the summer shows, but also look forward to some more industry-focused events. In particular we have UK Dairy Day and The Dairy Show on the horizon. I hope to see some of you at these events.

More on Dairy

Early-maturing maize variety boosts silage yields on Oxfordshire dairy farm

Early-maturing maize variety boosts silage yields on Oxfordshire dairy farm

Farming on the northern margins of the North Wessex Downs, Hamish McIntosh has always tried to maximise the contribution maize makes to his milking ration

clock 28 January 2026 • 5 min read
Colostrum management: Latest research on handling and storage for dairy farmers

Colostrum management: Latest research on handling and storage for dairy farmers

USA-based calf and heifer expert Dr Jim Quigley offers his perspective, after reviewing worldwide studies into best practice for calf colostrum handling and feeding

clock 27 January 2026 • 4 min read
Dairy Talk - Ifan Roberts: "As much as it is painful to see such turbulence, there is nothing that quite focuses one's mind on-farm than when times are lean"

Dairy Talk - Ifan Roberts: "As much as it is painful to see such turbulence, there is nothing that quite focuses one's mind on-farm than when times are lean"

Ifan Roberts is a new entrant who has established a contract farming agreement milking 500 block calving cows in Cheshire, and is aiming to improve the land farmed, encourage others to participate in the industry and deliver attractive returns to his stakeholders

clock 25 January 2026 • 3 min read