December 13, 2006

UK cattle to rely more on purchased dairy feeds this winter

Dairy herds in the UK this winter are likely to depend more on purchased feeds, said feed manufacturer Mole Valley Farmers.

The company said there was a shortage of home-grown forage due to problems in the silage-making at many milking herds so that bought-in feeds had to be used instead. The shortage was arising from much lower grass yields, down by as much as 15 percent this year after an unusually hot, dry summer. The quality of grass silages was also lower, presenting additional challenges for dairy herds.

Mole Valley operates five feed mills in southwest England and the company also owns Southern Valley Agriculture, formed in 2005 when it purchased the southern business of Pye Bibby Agriculture.