Dairy
MMN January 2025 – The Importance of Sugar in a Dairy Ration
The sugar content of dairy diets is often not given much consideration, with more focus usually given to energy, protein and starch levels. While the sugar content of the ration can vary greatly depending on the sugar content of the forage, it can have a big impact on rumen function and therefore milking performance. The…
MMN January 2025 – Milk Market Update
Dairy Commodity Markets Fonterra’s latest on-line GDT auction (7th January) resulted in a 1.4% decrease in the weighted average price across all products, reaching US $4,029/t. This follows a 2.8% drop at the previous auction on 17th Both butter and cheddar were up 2.6% and 1% respectively, while skim milk power and whole milk powder…
Mineral Requirements in Out-Wintered and Grazed Cattle
In a housed system, dietary intake of minerals can be regulated as the diet is formulated to provide the same quantity of minerals each day, depending on the stage of production and age of cattle. In an out-wintering system, dietary intake of minerals can be challenging as there can be changes in mineral availability from…
Green Bedding for the Dairy Herd
With the rising costs of sawdust and straw, it is worth considering alternative sources of bedding, one of which is recycled manure solids (RMS), also known as green bedding. Green bedding is made of slurry solids which have been dried down to a dry matter of over 34%. Depending on the system, most run with…
Agribusiness News January 2025 – Milk
2024 review: a year of two halves Rising prices for butter, cream, SMP and cheddar came on the back of low milk volumes both here and in the EU in the first half of 2024. Milk volumes rose in the second half of 2024 stimulated by milk price rises and lower feed costs. Milk price…
Agribusiness News December 2024 – Milk
Milk production data Milk production is full steam ahead, with volumes significantly ahead of this time last year. GB October deliveries were 2.6% more than October last year (1,029 mlitres versus 1,003 mlitres). This increase has been attributed to better grass growth and weather conditions, more autumn block calving herds and a favourable milk price…
Milk Manager News November 2024
Welcome to the November edition of Milk Manager News. If you prefer to download this document click the download button. Along with the regular articles on milk and cereal market updates, this month we also have articles on feeding silage to weaned calves, winter lameness management, the benefits of good ventilation, slurry storage contingency planning…
MMN November 2024 – Waterbeds – the Ultimate in Cow Comfort?
Ensuring good cow comfort is critical to welfare and productivity and a new type of lying surface is gaining momentum – waterbeds! First developed in Europe over 15 years ago, the first design had problems with poor drainage and insufficient cushioning for the cows’ knees. Fast forward a few years and there are now various…
MMN November 2024 – The Benefits of Good Ventilation
Many businesses have housed dairy cattle earlier this winter due to extended periods of wet weather, poached fields, limited grazing and variable (but often mild) temperatures. Protecting the herd from the elements shouldn’t be the only consideration when it comes to housing. The airspace within a shed will have a significant impact on animal…
MMN November 2024 – A Recap on Winter Lameness Management: Prevention is Better than Cure
The estimated average cost of a case of lameness in dairy cows is £180. Whilst we are all aware of the risks and costs of cattle lameness, it can sometimes be easy to fall into the position of firefighting rather than fireproofing when winter work starts to get busy. Housing cattle can often be more…