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As cooler temperatures arrived at the showground in Llanelwedd on day three, judge Andrew Cope, of the Huddlesford herd, Staffordshire, tapped out the Holstein champion, Erie W Brook Lustre, in the supreme dairy cow champions

With rising input prices set to stay, conventional farmers may be looking with interest at how their organic counterparts are faring.

DAIRY cooperative First Milk has seen turnover growth in an uncertain year alongside its largest-ever capital investment programme, with new long-term contracts secured with its largest customers, Ornua and Nestle.

With the UK gearing up for what could be its hottest day in history, and temperatures forecast to top 40degC this week, farmers have been urged to take precautionary measures to protect their stock against heat stress.

Dairy farmers have seen no ‘net’ benefit to their finances from record high milk prices with input cost rises cancelling out the price increases.

IT was the Holstein champion, Enchanted Beemer Abbiene which was awarded the dairy inter-breed supreme award.

A new program of support is available for farming families looking to reduce their carbon footprint.

Defra is hoping to change its ‘strained’ relationship with industry going forward, according to Jonathan Marsden, head of Defra’s Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) standards.

Labour shortages are already reducing dairy production and contributing to food price inflation.

Any compulsory bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) scheme introduced in Wales must be robust and provide accurate, timely information about a herd’s status at the point of sale, NFU Cymru deputy president Abi Reader has said.