51AVÊÓƵ

Chair of the Ruminant Health and Welfare, Gwyn Jones, talks to Katie Fallon about the future of the livestock industry and the organisations ongoing priorities.

Farmers and growers are getting increasingly frustrated and concerned over the wet spring, which is on track to be one of the wettest in living memory, and if the situation does not change for the better soon, the inflationary repercussions will surely be felt later this year

Now is the time to make key decisions around grazing and silage management in order to mitigate the adverse effects of a late turnout and delayed nutrient applications

New NFU dairy board chair Paul Tompkins said that if farmers knew what was influencing their milk prices, they would understand the ‘risk profile' of their milk and be able to make ‘business decisions' based on that

That was the message from new livestock board chair and Gloucestershire beef suckler farmer David Barton, who added the ‘unpredictability' of this strain of bluetongue was worrying

The UK Government is being urged to rethink its ‘not for EU’ labelling scheme which is set to be introduced in October

Helen is a fifth-generation farmer who farms with her parents, David and Anne Shaw, husband, Craig, and their children, Alfred and Hattie, at Grey Leys 51AVÊÓƵin the Vale of York. The farm comprises 162 hectares (400 acres) of grass, maize and wholecrop for the herd of 240 pedigree Jersey cows and more than 200 followers

James farms Dairy Shorthorns east of Kendal, Cumbria, with his parents Kathleen and Henry, wife Michelle and sons Robert and Chris. The fifth generation to farm at Strickley, he is also vice-chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network

Dairy farms in Kansas and Texas have been affected

Outgoing NFU dairy board chair, Michael Oakes said: "They [the processors and retailers] need us and we need them. While we will not agree all the time, by any means, I think actually working together means we are so much stronger"