July 2011 Archives

If you’re looking to impress your guns or give someone a memorable shooting gift you could do a lot worse than this sporting box (£495) from “liquid deli specialist” (we love that description) Demijohn. Handmade in Cumbria from rosewood, this beautiful box comes with four decanters and sixteen glasses, which can be ordered with peg numbers on the base. Demijohn’s Angus Ferguson recommends filling the bottles with sloe gin, Bramble Scotch whisky liqueur, Seville orange gin and Rhubarb vodka. So do we. www.demijohn.co.uk

Do you know an outstanding herdsperson? The Royal Bath & West of England Society is calling for entries and nominations for its South West Herdsperson 2011 award.

This recognises excellence in dairy farming in a role which can so often be overlooked, says the society. Those in Devon, Cornwall, Bristol, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire are eligible to enter or be nominated.

The winner will be announced at the Dairy Show at the Bath and West Showground on 5 October.  The overall winner receives £500 prize money and a trophy. Entries close on 17 August and forms are available from www.bathandwest.com or by telephoning Julie Kitching on 01749 822235.

Innovation, enthusiasm and business management skills are all amply demonstrated in this year’s line up of winners in the Suffolk Agricultural Association’s Farm Business Competition.

Online recruitment and dating, golf course aggregates from root vegetable peelings and inspired irrigation and conservation all featured in the winning entries.

Top honours in the large farms class (400ha and larger) were taken by John Brown & Sons, Hawstead, Bury St Edmunds. Special awards in this class also went to A W Mortier (Farms) Ltd, Alderton, Woodbridge for best arable crop, to R H Forrest & Co, Stonham Aspal, Stowmarket for best livestock enterprise and E J Barker & Sons, Westhorpe, Stowmarket for conservation.

First prize among farms from 200-399ha was claimed by L W Rolph & Son, Grove Farm, Ufford while H K Merriam & Son, Starhouse Farm, Thornham Magna carried off the F W Barker Perpetual Challenge Cup and Tankard and first prize for farms of up to 200ha.

There’s good news for dairy producers thinking of diversifying - high quality farm based and regional produce is in big demand, especially ice cream.

Trade body The Ice Cream Alliance says business is booming and wants to see more farmers taking a share of this £1.3bn market, which includes supermarkets looking for regional produce.

Find out at the industry's trade fair, The Ice Cream Expo, which will be held in November at the Yorkshire Event Centre, Harrogate.

Animal feed use and human consumption of cereals in the EU will grow only slightly this decade but overall use is forecast to rise by about 9%.

This will take total consumption from 276m tonnes to almost 301m tonnes by 2020, with production rising at around 6% over the same period from 294.2m tonnes to 312.9m tonnes.

“Demand for cereals within the EU is being driven by a growing biofuels sector,” says HGCA’s Sarah Nightingale.

“While official targets have been set for renewable fuels, the sector has been affected by third country competition and the high price for raw materials this season. Over the next 10 years, cereal demand by this sector is expected to more than double.”

Their farmers have an average age of 57 but an increasing number is older than 75. Their farmland prices have risen by between 20% and 70% in the last five years with the most significant growth in regions with intensive field crops and/or livestock production.

A Rabobank report on the US land market concludes that recent land price rises are driven mainly by increased commodity prices, low interest rates and a limited supply of land for sale, but that the increases are not due to a speculative bubble.

The report expects US land prices to rise for at least another couple of years. Among risks for their future path it identifies the trend to absentee farmers, as land owned by ageing farmers changes hands to non-farming heirs. Interest rates, global commodity supply and demand, water availability, new environmental restrictions, reduced farm margins, biofuels policy and inflation are further important influences

Farmers wanting to fix the cost of fuel in advance of delivery during this harvest now have a more viable way of doing so through a service launched by AtlasFram Group.

The buying group has set up a contract with its fuel supplier, Watson Fuels, to provide members with a cheaper method of buying fuel in advance of delivery. Previously the premium demanded by suppliers to quote forward prices (up to 6p/litre) has made it unattractive for farmers, but the new deal has cut this premium to a minimum.

As with all things though, the devil is in the detail, and the exact premium is a closely guarded secret. AtlasFram say it is “only slightly above the spot market price prevailing at the time the order is placed”, therefore representing a “very low-cost insurance against potential fuel price rises during the contracted period”.

It is at least another option for farmers looking to take some of the volatility out of input prices and I struggle to see fuel prices going anywhere other than up in the future.

Dairy Crest says trading in the first quarter of this year has “been in line with expectations”, despite an “increasingly tough trading environment”.

An interim management statement announced at the company’s AGM today (19 July) said total sales if its five key brands (Cathedral City, Country Life, Clover, St Hubert Omega 3 and Frijj) were up 5% on the same time last year and its dairies business had benefitted from higher than anticipated cream prices.

But, DC said strong competition in retail milk markets had reduced residential milk sales and input costs had also increased significantly.

“By focusing on our brands and by becoming more efficient we are dealing with those challenges and are soundly placed for the rest of the year,” Mark Allen, Chief executive, said.

Price comparisons are common among the major multiples but a West Yorkshire farm shop has scored a marketing coup with the news that much of its meat is cheaper than at the local Sainsburys.

So, customers of Hinchliffe’s Farm Shop at Netherton near Huddersfield pay less for their fillet steaks, bacon, topside beef, duck and rib eye steak, as well as many other meats, with the guarantee that much of it is produced on the farm or very locally.

Independent research for local food group Deliciously Yorkshire last year also found that the region’s farm shops provided better value on many products than the major supermarkets, with baking potatoes, tomatoes and leeks all far cheaper than in supermarkets.

“Farmgate milk prices remain rather firm……17% higher than a year ago. Meanwhile an increase in production costs has been observed as in other animal production sectors.”

This brief almost throw away comment was the only mention milk producers got at the end of a short report on the first meeting between experts of the EU Commission’s milk management committee and the advisory group on milk. The two met to discuss the situation and prospects for the dairy market on 7 July.

Well, milk producers here certainly aren’t enjoying a 17% increase in prices and have just also had the news that they are now firmly at the bottom of the EU producer price table, at 26.26p/litre in April against Greece's staggering 37.68p/litre.

The report kicks off with “a general consensus that overall, the dairy market appears in good condition” - well let’s see the benefits of it that at our farmgates then…..

Pig farmers and confidence might not be an obvious combination right now but the NFU wants many more producers to communicate their opinions on the future of their businesses.

The union’s annual confidence barometer survey has had only a handful of pig producer responses - which could mean many things. At least 50 responses are needed to make a statistically significant sample, so have your say here http://www.nfuonline.com/websurveys/fcons0611/fcons0611.htm

One of the first main standing straw sales in the south west set an expensive marker when Kivells & Husseys sold almost 2,400 acres of wheat, barley and oat straw in Devon recently.

Prices for 790 acres of winter barley straw ranged from £105/acre to £148/acre, averaging £131/acre, while 815 acres of wheat straw made between £60 and £145/acre near Broadclyst, averaging £88.15/acre.

Winter oat straw averaged £88.50/acre with spring oats selling from £72 to £90/acre.

In Cheshire, 291 acres of wheat straw sold by Frank R Marshall averaged £48/acre. The firm’s regular weekly produce sale saw new season small bale hay make between £175/t and £230/t, with new season big bale hay at £80/t to £142/t.

M&S is to become the first retailer to launch a brand of “healthier” milk from this October.

The milk is said to have at least 6% less saturated fat than standard milk due to a tailored dairy cow diet -trialled last year - that features the removal of all palm oil.

To support farmer suppliers who convert to the new feed regime, M&S will introduce a new payment contract for farmers who achieve the reduced saturated fat level. M&S says the contract will recognise any additional costs incurred.

“This provides a real opportunity to grow the volume of milk sold in M&S stores for the benefit of all M&S milk farmers,” Mark Robins, M&S milk supplier, said. “It also builds on the existing strength of the M&S Milk Pledge Plus model which offers a market leading partnership for the dairy farmers involved.”

Record high energy costs mean farmers should consider fixing electricity and gas prices now - there are plenty of deals to be had if you shop around, says rural surveyor Tom Rattray of Savills.

“Wholesale energy prices have jumped by 30% since December, and all the major suppliers are warning of imminent price hikes. People who have not checked their contract recently could find that they are paying significantly more than expected.

“Variable rates may look the cheapest right now, but with further price rises on the cards, farmers may prefer to minimise risk and opt for a fixed rate contract instead.”

“Some people may be locked into existing contracts - but most suppliers will let you change tariff without incurring a fee, as long as you stick with them. In some cases we have been able to cut energy costs by 22%, with suppliers paying any fees so our clients are not out of pocket.”