Livestock

Michael Oakes is the NFU dairy board chair, a position he has held since 2016. He is a tenant dairy farmer based just outside Birmingham, milking a herd of 180 pedigree Holstein cows with milk sold to Arla.

Higher milk yields have led to a gradual increase in twin pregnancies among UK dairy herds. Andy Hayton, of Sandstone Vets Group, explains the associated risks and how twin pregnancies can be managed for better results post-calving. Katie Fallon reports.

This month, Roger Evans delves into the world of politics, talking specifically about trade deals with countries around the world and the impact these could have on our industry. He also discusses the changes in farmers’ work clothing preferences.

A former Northern Ireland Government vet who resigned from her job after raising concerns about animal welfare has received an unreserved apology and a major payout.

For mixed farmer Tom James, sustainability falls between social, economic and environmental pillars with the environmental aspect, he says, gaining the most momentum in the industry since the late 1990s because of its emotive credentials.

Recent investment in a new housing facility and milking regime is helping to drive herd performance and efficiency for the Laird family at Blythbridge Holsteins

VIRTUALLY the entire milking portion together with heifer calves from the Stardale herd of pedigree Holsteins went under the hammer on-farm at Barton, Preston, on behalf of J. Burrow and Son.

Having taken over the farm tenancy taken on by his father in 1966, Bruce Mackie farms some 30 miles north of Aberdeen, where he milks 250 cows through four Lely robots on an organic system and produces yoghurt on the farm under the Rora Dairy brand.

A growing number of farmers in Northern Ireland are moving towards autumn- and winter-calving as a way pf maximising milk from grazed grass, particularly at the end of the cow’s lactation. Richard Halleron speaks to a farmer who is doing just that.

Emily Hughes is proof that having no agricultural background or farming experience is not a barrier to a career in the poultry industry. Katie Fallon reports.