Agriculture news

Volac strengthens commitment to dairy industry £8m new facility launched at Felinfach Volac has opened a new £8m extension to its whey processing facilities at Felinfach, Lampeter. The investment supported by £1.5m Welsh Assembly funding, will help secure dairy farmers future and further strengthen the UK dairy processing sector. Read more...

The intake of sufficient colostrum of the right quality, at the right time, is the single most important factor governing the future survival and health of the young calf. Read more...

Nature designed a calf to drink milk from the cow on a little and often basis for the first few months of life, writes Volac’s calf rearing specialist, Maggie Gould. Read more...

Dairy calves achieve higher growth rates, more cost effectively, if they are reared on a high quality calf milk replacer, according to results from trials carried out at Teagasc Moorepark Research Centre. Read more...

Every time we finish a Great Volac Bike Ride it feels like it can’t get any better, but it does…… Read more...

Making best use of your resources in the coming months - your machinery, your man power and your money, will help you to maximize the value of your big bale silage, says Volac’s Jeannie Everington who urges all big bale operators to take up the following five point guide. Read more...

Last summer’s difficult grass silage-making season has resulted in many silages having lower energy values compared with the previous year, in many cases over 0.5MJ/kg DM lower. Assuming an intake of 10kg of silage dry matter, this is an energy deficit of 5MJ per cow per day, broadly equivalent to 1 litre of milk. Read more...

Whether you are rearing beef or dairy calves, you’ll want them to remain healthy and content, and to maximise their potential performance. Mortality is highest during the first six months of life; approximately one in seven dairy bred calves and one in 13 beef bred calves die in the rearing phase, according to Defra. Read more...

Farmers and contractors can make significant cost savings to bale wrapping this season by investing in the first pre-stretched film available in the UK and Ireland that can be used on a conventional wrapper without changes to gears or settings. This film is stretched during manufacture as well as on the wrapper, which means it clings even more tightly to the bale and gives an even better seal. Read more...

Conception rates to first service continue to decline and currently average around 40%. In fact, more than a quarter of producers responding to a survey carried out by Volac earlier this season said fertility was a real issue within their herd. Read more...