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TheDairySite Latest News: United Kingdom

25 October 2021

UK warns of moderate to high risk of liver fluke infection for 2021 to 2022 season
Researchers from Northern Ireland's AFBI warn that cattle and sheep are at moderate to high risk of liver fluke infection during the autumn and winter seasons. ...

Opinion - push to change diets shouldn't harm public health
The British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) warns that government efforts to nudge consumers towards sustainable diets might back fire - and that changes to UK diets shouldn't harm overall health. ...

21 October 2021

UK launches £17.5 million Farming Innovation Program
As part of Britain's agricultural transition, the government has launched the Farming Innovation Program to support agri-tech innovation. ...

New podcast from QMS looks into meaty issues ahead of COP26
Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) has launched its six-part COP26 podcast series to bring together voices from across the industry to discuss what the red meat sector is and can be doing to positively influence the outcomes of the two-week conference....

20 October 2021

CIPD urges UK to provide more temporary visas to EU workers as “safety valve”
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), a human resources trade body, says that the UK should temporarily allow more young people from the EU to participate in its labor markets to fix staffing shortages....

Cattle research project helps slash costs and farming emissions
Results from a UK research project shows that the beef industry's annual feed bills can be reduced by as much as £12.5 million over 20 years thanks to improved genetic selection that targets feed efficiency. ...

19 October 2021

How farmers can tackle listeriosis
Clare Holmes from Northern Ireland's Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) has written a synopsis explaining the infection path of Listeria and how farmers can keep the infection at bay. ...

Major UK food systems report reveals lack of trust in global food
The UK recently published its first ever "Trust in Food" index, launched by farming standards agency Red Tractor and pollster YouGov, capturing the UK public's attitudes to food and drink. ...

18 October 2021

UK food industry voices support for new farm antibiotic database
The UK food industry has welcomed a call to action to UK cattle vets to spearhead uptake of a national dataset for farm antibiotic use. ...

"No checks on imports from the continent has handed the EU a nice Brexit dividend", says BMPA
The latest opinion piece from the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) notes postponing import checks from the EU leaves UK meat exporters at a significant disadvantage....

17 October 2021

RABI launches Big Farming Survey results
“We now need to create a better future for farming people” say RABI as survey suggests that farming community faces significant mental and physical health challenges. ...

15 October 2021

UK cattle vets to spearhead crucial antibiotic data collection
Cattle vets are being called on to spearhead efforts to populate the new national Medicine Hub with farm antibiotic data....

14 October 2021

EU to propose easing checks on British trade to Northern Ireland
The European Commission will put to Britain a package of measures to ease the transit of goods to Northern Ireland, while stopping short of the overhaul London is demanding of post-Brexit trading rules for the province....

12 October 2021

It's the perfect time to address soil compaction in grassland
Autumn is the time to address soil compaction, according to independent soil scientist, Chris Duller, who urges producers to repair any damage to grassland incurred through the previous grazing season....

UK reaches agreement with CO2 industry to ensure supplies
The carbon dioxide industry in Britain has struck an agreement to ensure businesses have a sustainable supply until the end of the year, even as energy prices spike, the government said on 11 October....

11 October 2021

Queens University researchers trial willow as climate-friendly feed
In the run up to Cop26, scientists at the Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) at Queen’s University Belfast are investigating a range of sustainable, natural resources with potential to greatly reduce agricultural emissions – by as much as 50%....

New research on persistence of highly contagious FMD
A major new study, featured on the cover of Science Magazine, undertaken by scientists at The Pirbright Institute, Oregon State University, Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute and SANParks, Veterinary Wildlife Services, Kruger National Park explores the...

09 October 2021

Opinion - Like butchers, UK government pragmatism is in short supply
The British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) writes that the UK's supply chain woes and labor crisis cannot be addressed with existing government strategy....

08 October 2021

Why grazing and grass make economic sense
The case for making milk and meat from grass could scarcely be stronger, according to dairy consultant, Tony Evans, from Andersons Farm Business Consultancy....

07 October 2021

UK labor crisis sours the dairy sector
Some British dairy farmers have been forced to destroy tens of thousands of litres of milk due to rising costs, labour shortages and an acute deficit of truck drivers which has strained supply chains to breaking point, farmers said....

06 October 2021

UK dairy farmers prepare for December Action Johne’s deadline
Following a successful third year of implementation of the National Johne’s Management Plan, the industry is gearing up to collect 2021 declaration forms ahead of the December deadline....

UK farmers call for urgent review of government's Future Farming program
The UK National Farmers Union (NFU) is calling for a review of Defra's future farming program for England as recent labor and supply chain shocks make reductions in the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) more daunting....

Epigentics: precise thinking
Nessa Carey of Synomics considers how epigenetics and the greater understanding of data can be used to support breeders and producers in ‘precision farming’....

05 October 2021

New research into parasite killing 3 million animals/year in Africa, Asia and LatAm
Insights into a parasite that kills 3 million livestock each year could underpin the development of much-needed new treatments for infection, according to The Roslin Institute....

UK public voices support to retain food self-sufficiency levels
More than 54,000 people in the UK have signed an open letter to Environment Secretary George Eustice that calls for the UK to retain its current level of 60% self-sufficiency in food production....

04 October 2021

UK pauses competition law for CO2 suppliers amid shortages
Britain has temporarily exempted parts of the carbon dioxide (CO2) industry from competition law to help provide further security of the gas's supplies to food businesses in the country....

03 October 2021

UK students gear up for this year's harvest festival
More than 50,000 students across the UK will take part in NFU Harvest Live this week, where they will be making meals with British produce and meet the farmers who grow their ingredients. ...

01 October 2021

Research from Pirbright Institute sheds light on FMDv in African buffalo
New research from Pirbright and other academic partners investigates the persistence and continued circulation of highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease virus in African buffalo. ...