The Dairy Mail - Volume 17, Issue 2, February 2010

Roll of Honour

The expected increase in international dairy prices occurred much sooner than anticipated, with increases that surprised everyone. Import parity on dairy products is already considerably higher than domestic producer prices.

Daar is 'n paar aspekte van melkboerdery waaroor daar nooit genoeg gesê of gedoen kan word nie. Kalfgrootmaak is een so 'n onderwerp. The Dairy Mail steek hierdie keer kers op by suksesvolle melkprodusente in die Oos-Kaap, vir hulle wenresepte. 'n Interessante aspek van hulle programme is dat hulle, anders as die algemene neiging, nie die koeie en kalwers by geboorte skei nie.

Clover verkoop Danone-aandeel

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Herstel nog nie volhoubaar nie

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Melkbedryf onder skoot in hofsaak

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Nuwe DG vir landbou

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Runderpes dalk uitgewis

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Dairy leaders upbeat

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Dairy prices shoot up

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Milk price boost welcomed

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Change to sustainable diets

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More melamine found in China

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Emergency dairy aid divided

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Ambient milk opportunities

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Irish milk campaign approved

Milk production during November 2009 was 3% less than during November 2008. Production during the first eleven months of 2009 was 3,8% less than during the same period in 2008. Fewer dairy products were imported during January-October 2009 than during January-October 2008 (-16,6%). Exports decreased by 2% compared to the same period in 2008. Producer prices were marginally higher than during the same month in 2008. The department of agriculture's farm requisite price index for April 2009 was 1,4% higher than during April 2008.

Vanaf 'n kalf se geboorte totdat die nuweling gespeen word, speel higiëne 'n belangrike rol om die voorkoms van kalfvrektes, infeksies en siektes uit te skakel. Die basiese beginsels van 'n skoon "kraamsaal", higiëne tydens voeding en skoon kalfbehuising behoort, nes goeie ventilasie en beskutting teen die elemente, 'n gegewe vir elke melkplaas te wees.

Neonatal calf diarrhoea is characterised by life-threatening dehydration which is commonly associated with significant losses in bicarbonate, sodium, potassium, chloride and nutrients (hydro-electrolytic deficits) and physiological imbalances (metabolic acidosis). In Canada, a retrospective study performed over a 20-year period, demonstrated a significant improvement in the recovery rate of calves with diarrhoea that were treated with oral fluid therapy.

Philip Blanckenberg, melkprodusent van Klipheuwel naby Durbanville, is einde verlede jaar by 'n Melkprodusente-organisasie Wes-Kaap (MPO WK) hoofbestuursvergadering, aangewys as hierdie streek se nuwe voorsitter.

Boere help mekaar

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Nuus uit MPO Noord

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Feeds Bill opposed

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Department meets with Milk SA

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Eskom prysverhogings bekyk

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Pienaar oor 2010

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SANCIDF mini-summit

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New at Agri Connect

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Make a date with the MPO KZN

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IDT training days for 2010

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Milk Producers' Organisation contact details

It is almost time for the All Africa Dairy School & Expo! The biennial AADS&E will be hosted at the Mentorskraal Country Estate near Jeffreys Bay from 12-16 April.

"Sustainability means being able to stay in business and pass the farm on to the next generation" - John Fiscalini, Fiscalini Farms California USA, quoted by Blake and Yaron.

Die Melkprodusente-organisasie (MPO) se Instituut vir Suiweltegnologie (IST) tesame met sy vennote, voorsien landwyd die nuutste inligting en tegnologie aangaande melkbeesboerdery aan kommersiële melkprodusente. By die suiwelinligtingsdae word tersaaklike en nuwe inligting aangaande melkgehalte, dieregesondheid, melkaantekeninge, voeding, weiding en melkwinning voorsien. Werkers van kommersiële melkprodusente word opgelei in melkhigiëne, melkwinning, hittewaarneming en dieregesondheid.

This time of the year many a silage bunker is already filled to the brim with a healthy mix of maize, oats, sorghum or hay silage. With the season for growing and cutting silage still in full swing, it is important to recognise the importance of practical silage bunker management.

In die Wes-Kaap word kuilvoer tradisioneel van kleingrane, en spesifiek wintergewasse gemaak, met hawer, korog, gars, koring en kanola die algemeenste gewasse. Tydens 'n kuilvoerinligtingsdag verlede jaar, het Piet Lombard en Lisa Smorenburg, albei verbonde aan die Instituut vir Plantproduksie van die Wes-Kaapse departement van landbou, sekere eienskappe van hierdie gewasse beklemtoon.

Die ekonomiese situasie van 2009 sluimer steeds voort in 2010, met tekens dat die ekonomie darem reeds begin draai het. Dit beteken egter nie dat 'n belegging in jou boerdery agterweë gelaat moet word nie. Dis in sommige gevalle selfs die beste tyd om 'n winskopie uit te soek vir uitbreiding of opgradering van jou melkstal en plaasopset.

In last month's article, the performance of perennial ryegrass at Cedara in KwaZulu-Natal was discussed. This month we will focus on George in the Eastern Cape. Table 1 gives the total annual yields of nine out of 18 perennial ryegrass varieties trialled at Outeniqua over three years in the national trials (2005-2007).

Two days of talking about and learning more about dairy goats and goat's dairy, kept milch goat enthusiasts busy during November at the Milk Goat Information Forum.

Producing a high quality food product begins at farm level. Milk quality cannot be improved after it leaves the farm and prevention is the only way to assure that milk is of good quality and flavour. Let us look at the common off-flavour problems and how they may be prevented. The department of dairy and animal science at the Pennsylvania State University, summarised the most common milk flavour problems, and some suggestions to overcome it.

The bacterium Histophilus somnus has been implicated as a cause of abortion. However, its status as a reproductive pathogen is somewhat controversial. Because H. somnus is a normal inhabitant of the female reproductive tract, culturing the organism in animals that have aborted is not unheard of. Consistently connecting it to reproductive inefficiency, however, has not been widely supported by research.

Daniel M Weary of the University of British Columbia in Canada, reports that recent research on calf behaviour suggests that we should possibly reconsider some of the commonly accepted calf-rearing methods.