Maize growers have faced significant weather challenges this season and drilling dates were delayed on most farms, with some reported issues with pre-emergence herbicide treatments

Herd numbers have more than doubled over the past decade at Kaemuir Farm, near Falkirk, increasing the emphasis on forage production for the Orr family and prompting an investment in an umbilical slurry handling system

Dairy technology can produce a wealth of data, but records must be correctly utilised if they are to improve profitability

The Holstein, Ayrshire, Dairy Shorthorn and Jersey each have their breed merits and are milked as one herd on the McLean family's Priestland Farm

With a total commitment to dairy farming, the Higgins family are looking at ways to take their business forward and are hoping the AHDB Strategic Dairy Farm programme will help facilitate this

A focus on the milking routine can be a useful tool to help reduce mastitis incidence and vets can play an important role in this

Growers will need to pin down costings and consider benefits before committing to either of the maize under-sowing/winter cover options within the English Sustainable Farming Incentive

Electronic identification is set to become mandatory for cattle, with introduction timescales expected to vary across the UK

Managing lameness is an all-year-round task, with care needed to ensure problems do not arise when cattle are at grass

Venereal campylobacter infection is thought to be more widely prevalent in cattle than confirmed case numbers would suggest