Livestock

Block calving 430 cows means a lot of calves have to be attended to all at once, and to ensure full attention a strict colostrum protocol has been adopted on one Welsh farm. Debbie James has the story.

Production in December was 1228 million litres, which was down 13.00m litres and 1% on last year. It was also within 1% of 2017.

Livestock market turnover neared £1.6 billion in 2019, with numbers sold rising across nearly all categories and an increase in buyers returning to the ring.

British beef farms are among the world’s least profitable, an international study of performance has showed.

Stockpiling animal medicines is unnecessary, costly and, in the case of prescription only products, illegal, the Animal Medicines Training Regulatory Authority has warned.

Around a third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted – a fact that I still find hard to comprehend, says Peter Maddox, WRAP director.

Straw prices are rising in anticipation of a small harvest this year, but merchants have warned against any panic buying.

Any farm-built invention or installation that improves the lives of the stock and owners has to be commended. For one farm improving foot health, that meant building its own foot washer.

Farmers, including NFU president Minette Batters, have taken to social media to vent their fury about ’unbalanced’ reporting in an episode of the BBC’s Countryfile.  

NOTHING seemed to dampen the spirits of exhibitors or spectators at this year’s UK Dairy Expo held at Carlisle, and judging commenced under the watchful eye of a packed ringside. Hannah Noble reports.