Dairy Farmer keeps you updated with all the latest news, views, insight, and information from the Dairy sector - from animal husbandry to milk prices and diversification.

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Dairy Farmer February Magazine Front Cover

Latest News from Dairy Farmer
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Can't get the staff? If we want to attract and keep good people in farming, we need to adapt
Dairy

Can't get the staff? If we want to attract and keep good people in farming, we need to adapt

Agricultural expert Paul Harris, of REAL Success, explores some of the common issues for farmers when it comes to recruitment, HR and succession

clock 21 February 2025 • 3 min read
Northern Irish dairy farm experiments with clover mixes
Dairy

Northern Irish dairy farm experiments with clover mixes

A simple, low-input system for an 80-cow herd produces a 73% milk-from-forage figure for Philip and David Clarke of Co Tyrone

clock 19 February 2025 • 6 min read
How to reduce pneumonia risk in dairy calves this winter
Dairy

How to reduce pneumonia risk in dairy calves this winter

Vet and youngstock specialist Kat Hart, of The George Farm Vets, provided some hints and tips as part of a webinar hosted by Galebreaker

clock 12 February 2025 • 5 min read
Dairy-Tech: Methane sensor trial
Dairy

Dairy-Tech: Methane sensor trial

Data from inexpensive methane sensors in the milking parlour at Newcastle University's Nafferton Farm is being used to look at the impact of selective breeding on emissions

clock 12 February 2025 • 1 min read
Decade-long journey of focused improvement on Somerset dairy farm
Dairy

Decade-long journey of focused improvement on Somerset dairy farm

RABDF/NMR Gold Cup finalist Will Venn has expanded cow numbers over the last 10 years and has aimed to make incremental performance improvements along the way

clock 12 February 2025 • 6 min read
Dairy-Tech: Team approach needed to improve mobility and foot health
Dairy

Dairy-Tech: Team approach needed to improve mobility and foot health

Developing a team approach and empowering that team to adopt a ‘measure, manage and monitor' mantra is key

clock 11 February 2025 • 1 min read
Foot Health: Top tips on foul in the foot and corkscrew claw
Dairy

Foot Health: Top tips on foul in the foot and corkscrew claw

Managing on-farm risk factors is key to preventing cases of both foul in the foot and corkscrew claw in the dairy herd

clock 10 February 2025 • 7 min read
How to prevent cystic ovarian disease in dairy cattle
Dairy

How to prevent cystic ovarian disease in dairy cattle

The disease mainly affects cows in the very early postpartum period, with older and high-yielding cows at greater risk

clock 03 February 2025 • 5 min read
Roger Evans: "It is a short-term view that spells hard times ahead for those of us who are farmers"
Dairy

Roger Evans: "It is a short-term view that spells hard times ahead for those of us who are farmers"

This month, Roger Evans discusses cheap food, recounts a tale about horse thefts and gives his thoughts on the debate around the right to die legislation

clock 27 January 2025 • 5 min read
Danish company looks at grass protein as a replacement for soya
Dairy

Danish company looks at grass protein as a replacement for soya

Protein extracted from organic grass has great potential as a climate- and environmentally efficient alternative protein source for animal feed and even human feed

clock 26 January 2025 • 3 min read
Dairy Talk - Claire Eastham: "We need to operate as the profitable business we all really know that farms can be"
Dairy

Dairy Talk - Claire Eastham: "We need to operate as the profitable business we all really know that farms can be"

Oh what a three months it's been; Inheritance Tax, BPS slashing, capital grants ‘paused', the removal of commercial vehicle status on double cab pick ups and let's not forget the Bovaer foray

clock 25 January 2025 • 3 min read
Dairy Talk - Glyn Lucas: "For me our national security and food security is one and the same"
Dairy

Dairy Talk - Glyn Lucas: "For me our national security and food security is one and the same"

Glyn Lucas, dairy sales manager for Harrison & Hetherington, discusses the role of beef from the dairy herd fitting into the food chain

clock 24 January 2025 • 4 min read
Family redefines dairy farm's success
Dairy

Family redefines dairy farm's success

The West family combine teamwork and a passion for excellence to create a thriving dairy enterprise

clock 24 January 2025 • 7 min read
Dairy Talk: Ifan Roberts – "I realised how fortunate I am to have such a great support network"
Dairy

Dairy Talk: Ifan Roberts – "I realised how fortunate I am to have such a great support network"

As I look back, 2024 was a year of lots of change for me, my business and farming in general in more ways than one

clock 19 January 2025 • 2 min read
Dairy Talk - Ben Yates: "We were relieved to have a clear TB test at the beginning of November"
Dairy

Dairy Talk - Ben Yates: "We were relieved to have a clear TB test at the beginning of November"

We were lucky enough to have a relatively quiet and drama-free Christmas period on the farm, with some drier weather helping

clock 17 January 2025 • 3 min read
Milk price stability on the horizon?
Dairy

Milk price stability on the horizon?

After milk prices plunged in 2023, last year saw a welcome recovery with many values approaching 50ppl, but can producers expect prices to continue rising?

clock 17 January 2025 • 5 min read
Dairy markets start off on a positive note but farmgate prices are set to slip
Dairy

Dairy markets start off on a positive note but farmgate prices are set to slip

Before Christmas, commodity prices were falling, and end-use buyers sensed the tables had turned in their favour once again

clock 17 January 2025 • 4 min read
Foot health: How to manage digital dermatitis
Dairy

Foot health: How to manage digital dermatitis

Housing hygiene and routine footbathing both play an important role in preventing digital dermatitis infections on-farm

clock 16 January 2025 • 5 min read
Dairy Talk - Robert Reed: "I hope 2025 is the year that our Government realises that they need a farmer every single day to live and eat"
Dairy

Dairy Talk - Robert Reed: "I hope 2025 is the year that our Government realises that they need a farmer every single day to live and eat"

As with all farmers, the weather is one of our biggest influences on nearly everything we do

clock 11 January 2025 • 4 min read
Navigating the maize maze
Livestock

Navigating the maize maze

With almost 70 varieties on the NIAB UK Descriptive list for forage maize and many new unlisted varieties in trials, selecting the right maize variety can be a potential minefield

clock 31 December 2024 • 4 min read
Dairy Matters - Dr Emma Gregson: "How the Bovaer bother should bring us together on sustainability"
Dairy

Dairy Matters - Dr Emma Gregson: "How the Bovaer bother should bring us together on sustainability"

Dr Emma Gregson, environment manager at Dairy UK, discusses the importance of taking action to reduce methane emissions

clock 21 December 2024 • 4 min read
New products to be unveiled at Dairy-Tech
Dairy

New products to be unveiled at Dairy-Tech

There will be a number of new products on show at this year's Dairy-Tech – we take a look at some of the innovations

clock 19 December 2024 • 7 min read
Technology has positive impact on cow comfort in the parlour
Dairy

Technology has positive impact on cow comfort in the parlour

For Peter Cope, a desire to continually look at ways to improve performance led to a focus on the milking process, with the adopted technology having a positive impact on teat health and cow comfort in the parlour

clock 19 December 2024 • 4 min read
Milk price increases suffer exhaustion
Dairy

Milk price increases suffer exhaustion

After a run of nine months of non-stop price increases by some milk buyers, the pace has slowed considerably to the point where mostly only milk buyers on time lags are left to announce changes

clock 19 December 2024 • 5 min read
Foot Health: How to identify, treat and prevent white line disease
Dairy

Foot Health: How to identify, treat and prevent white line disease

A focus on cow flow and suitable concrete flooring in high traffic areas can help reduce the risk of white line disease. Katie Fallon reports.

clock 29 November 2024 • 7 min read
Watch out for scour this Winter
Dairy

Watch out for scour this Winter

Variable silage quality and nutrition challenges could be a driver of scour among milking herds this winter

clock 27 November 2024 • 4 min read
Comte cheese production supports French farmers
Dairy

Comte cheese production supports French farmers

France has more Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheeses than any other European country and these products play an increasingly important role in the country's dairy industry

clock 24 November 2024 • 9 min read
Weighing up the benefits of pasteurising colostrum and milk
Livestock

Weighing up the benefits of pasteurising colostrum and milk

Pasteurisation is increasingly being used on farms to help calves get off to a good start

clock 24 November 2024 • 4 min read
Roger Evans: "That is one of farmers' weaknesses, their inquisitive nature"
Dairy

Roger Evans: "That is one of farmers' weaknesses, their inquisitive nature"

This month, Roger Evans discusses who is buying farms in his area, food security and the use of metric measurements for length and area

clock 22 November 2024 • 4 min read
Considering investment in slurry robots?
Dairy

Considering investment in slurry robots?

Robotic slurry scraping and collection are relatively new concepts, but for the right housing layout they can deliver savings and improved cow health

clock 20 November 2024 • 5 min read

 

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Meet The Editor - Katie Jones

Hailing from a family farm in Cheshire, my roots are firmly in farming and now living on a 300-cow dairy farm with my own family, I can appreciate the daily issues which affect everyone involved in the industry.

I believe the level of innovation and technology we are already seeing on dairy farms is something we should all be very positive about, as is the innovation we are likely to see in the future.

I also believe that, despite the challenges posed by the industry, there is a huge amount of passion, optimism and enthusiasm among the younger generations of dairy farmers.