CARA Wales

So often the case when cows are not milking well or milk butterfats and protein are poor the nutritionist gets the phone call to resolve the problem. The breeding advisor/technician is called when cows are not cycling, holding to services and the vet with issues such as ketosis, displaced abomasums, milk fevers’s, metritis etc etc.

Many of the issues raised can in fact be linked and one issue leads to another, yet on most dairy units the nutritionist, breeding advisor and vet never meet or know what issues they are having with mutual farms. Occasional but regular joint meetings can have significant impact on technical performance of a dairy unit.

An example might be significant incidence of displaced abomasums which is likely to be linked to dry cow management and nutrition. Low milk proteins, falling condition score and poor conception rates may be linked to energy levels of the milking cow diet. Working as a team on dairy units can result in problems being diagnosed quicker and therefore being resolved sooner. This has significant impact on dairy cow performance and therefore farm returns. Team approach avoids the SOS approach to managing a dairy unit and can lead to less vet visits to treat sick cows and by the breeding technician for repeat services.

The national minimum wage will increase from 1st October 2008. From this date, you will need to ensure that all staff are getting at least the new minimum wage per hour; appropriate to their age.  Below are last years rates and the new rates for this year:

National Minimum Wage rates from 1 October 2007

• Workers aged 22 and over - £5.52 per hour
• Workers aged 18-21 -         £4.60 per hour
• Workers aged 16-17 -         £3.40 per hour
• Accommodation offset -      £4.30 per day (£30.10 per week)

New National Minimum Wage rates from 1 October 2008

• Workers aged 22 and over - £5.73 per hour
• Workers aged 18-21 -         £4.77 per hour
• Workers aged 16-17 -         £3.53 per hour
• Accommodation offset -      £4.46 per day (£31.22 per week)

If you have any queries regarding payroll, please contact us and we will be happy to help.

The credit crunch seems to be the only news meriting any attention at present, but is this really having an impact on the agricultural sector? The major impact will be seen by new borrowers or those restructuring debt. In these circumstances, the cost of raising funds at bank level is increased, and therefore this will be passed onto the borrower.

In basic terms, although most owner occupier farmers have reasonable levels of security, new debt may not be at such good rates as previously seen. In order to prise as good a deal as possible out of the bank there are several things you can do to help:

1.       Ensure you ask for the correct amount of capital – asking for more at a later date is a sign of poor planning

2.       Structure the debt over the correct period – too quick a repayment period will see overdraft pressure

3.       Make sure you have an up to date balance sheet and farm valuation – security is still vital

4.       Always allow for some sensitivity and over spend in plans and budgets

5.       FINALLY … Show the bank a professionally produced business plan. (CARA does these regularly) 

Having all five factors above covered will gain respect and understanding from the bank manager and help in negotiating a competitive rate of borrowing.

As of midnight on the 1^st of September the whole of Wales has been included in the bluetongue protection zone.  This means that the area that covered the South East of Wales has been extended to cover the whole country.

The extension to the zone means that farmers are able to move their stock from Wales to all areas of England that are in the protection zone. Stock can only be moved to a “free” area if they have been vaccinated under a vet’s supervision, subject to a 60 day standstill or 35 days if a blood test establishes immunity. Stock can be moved into Wales from all areas in the protection zone as well as the free areas which will come as good news to many people wanting to purchase animals at any forthcoming Autumn Sales.  Farmers are however urged not to move animals from areas of higher risk unless needed.

Farmers have been urged to vaccinate their stock as soon as possible as September is a month of high risk for the disease and it was the month when the first case was reported a year ago. The vaccine is available by ordering it from your vet.

The vaccine comes in 50ml and 20ml bottles, and is available through private veterinarians via veterinary wholesalers.

The wholesale “list” price is reported to be £22.02 for the 50ml bottles and £13.10 for the 20ml bottles.

The final on-farm price is likely to be around £27.50-£33.00 for the 50ml bottles (55-66p per ml) and around £16.35-£19.65 for the 20ml bottles (82-98p per ml) plus VAT, to cover the overhead, handling and administration charges throughout the distribution process.

Farmers are reminded that the vaccine will require a 1 ml dose in sheep and two separate 1 ml doses in cattle.

From September 2008 tax codes for many employees are going to change. The personal allowance (free pay) in 2008/09 for people under 65 will increase from £5435 to £6035.  This means that employees are now able to earn £116 per week or £503 per month before tax and N.I. are applied.  The new emergency tax code will be 603L. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will be sending out a revised Employer CD-ROM; 2008 (August), which will include updated tools for calculating payroll.  If you use a payroll system, you should be sent an update in August.  If you have not received the update yet, contact your payroll provider. 

The new tax codes must be used from the first payday on or after 7th September 2008. The table below (taken from HMRC website) shows the changes that will need to be made to your employees’ tax codes. 

 More information can be found on HMRC website: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/employers/epa-basicrate.htm

Thanks to everyone who entered our prize draw at the Pembrokeshire Show.  The winners are:

1st place (winning £50 worth of lab analysis) - Mr. and Mrs. Coney, Lower End Town Farm

2nd place (winning £20 worth of lab analysis) - Sarah Jane Thomas, Treventy Farm 

Click here to see pictures of our stand at the show.

The last couple of years we have seen semen companies trying to find different ways of maintaining and increase their market share in this declining market place. The latest method of enticing new customers is to offer aid with heat detection and ultimately getting the cow back in calf. Different services are being offered from daily on farm service to cow collars which record change in cow behaviour.

Let’s face it semen companies make their money from semen sales (with a very lucrative margin) and will offer all sorts of gimmicks to maintain and increase their market share. All you as a dairy farm need is a cow in calf calving every year.

There are all sorts of issues which affect fertility from nutrition, health, minerals etc however it is widely accepted that the major reason cows are not getting back in calf is poor observation in catching cows in heat. Over the last decade herd sizes have increased significantly and number of cows to a man ratio with it. This has resulted in less time being available to give to the routine of observing cows and heat detection. There is also the added problem of the modern dairy cow showing oestrus signs for a shorter period. Over 55% of cows remain on heat for less than 8 hours and 43 % show heat signs between midnight and 6 am.

Paying for a semen company to help with heat detection and ultimately get cows back in calf is money well spent so long as it works and the fertility does actually improve. Many farms have signed on to one of these new systems but are not monitoring whether the results are any better than before. If you pay a professional to do a job then the least you can expect is that the job will be done better than you can do it.

There are various fertility indices used by the industry to measure and monitor fertility:

                                                                                    TARGET

Calving index                                                              <370 days

Interval to 1^st service                                                  60 days

Conception Rate                                                         60%    

Services to Conception                                               1.65

Heat Detection Rate                                                   70%

Pregnancy Rate                                                           36%

80 Day Submission Rate                                             85%

100 Day in Calf Rate                                                   95%

200 Day Not In Calf Rate                                            6%

All these indices have their uses. The danger is that your semen salesman and/or advisor will select the index which shows him/her in best light and not what is really happening. For example take the first two on the list, these indices only evaluate cows that have been served and exclude cows with no service date.

Challenge your breeding advisor today to ensure that the service you pay for is value for money.  If you do not have a strategy and your fertility is poor maybe you should think of employing an external service today. To review your dairy cow fertility strategies contact us at CARA.

Once again we will be in attendance at the Pembrokeshire Show, 19th – 21st August. We will be sharing our stand with Edward Perkins as usual, offering refreshments all day and cheese & wine between 11.00a.m. and 3.00p.m. However, this year we will not be in the usual place. Our stand has moved, so you can find us next to the Y.F. C. Stand in the main alley next to the cattle/sheep ring.

On our stand this year, we have news of all the services that we offer. So, while we are happy to see you for cheese and wine, please try and read the boards whilst you are there. You might just find that we offer the service you have been thinking you need! Also this year on the stand we have an opportunity to try out our website and to look at some of the other computer packages we use.  

Please come along to see us and allow us to repay some hospitality!

From May 2010, fruit and vegetable producers in Wales will be eligible to apply for Single Payment Scheme (SPS) entitlements for the first time. This will include potato farmers.

The direct payments to fruit and vegetable producers will be at the average level per hectare of the SPS in Wales and will be based on production hectarage in 2007. The projected entitlement value is €249 per hectare or approximately £80/acre but is subject to change in the light of further work.

Applications would need to be lodged in May 2010 with payments due from the following December.  The Welsh Assembly Government is now working on setting up the scheme and needs information on potential claimants - in order to prepare IT and to make the Single Payment on the SAF in May 2010 without delays.

If you think you may be eligible, please contact the office for guidelines on how to proceed.

After what for most people has been a difficult silage season, we are seeing a huge variance in silage analysis. There are some high D-Value, high energy silages, along with some very fibrous, late cut silages. One common factor, with the lack of decent sunshine, appears to be low sugars in silages. This means that silages will have a poor fermentation and could therefore be unstable, or give low animal intakes.

In order for farmers to get the best performance out of their animals, be they beef, dairy or sheep, the first step has to be to get the silage properly analysed. This is something that we at CARA can aid with, along with our relationship with Frank Wright laboratories. We can send the sample away and have an accurate result back within 72 hours.

Using the analysis, it is then possible to device the exact requirements for the animals. With feed prices as they are, it is crucial to purchase and feed the correct ingredient at the correct rate in order to promote performance. Feeds can be compared several ways, most notably on a cost per tonne of dry matter, cost per megajoule or cost per percent protein basis. A good way of comparing is by using Relative Feed Values, (RFV).

RFV takes the energy value of cereals, and the protein value of soya, and compares this to other feeds to see which offers value for money. The table below shows a few examples of what different feed ingredients are worth. For more information please do not hesitate to contact the office.