- EU looks set to start selling SMP stocks31 January 2018
The first tender of 2018 signalled a shift in the Commission’s selling strategy. This was confirmed at recent meetings where Commission representatives suggested they were now in ‘selling mode’. - AHDB at Dairy-Tech 201831 January 2018
Visit AHDB at Dairy-Tech, a new event focused on showcasing the very latest in innovation, technology and brand new concepts relevant to the dairy industry. - UK Feed Wheat and Barley prices now available30 January 2018
Monthly feed wheat and feed barley prices are now available on AHDB Dairy’s UK Feed Prices page. For December 2017 feed wheat prices ranged from £138-£152/tonne, with min and max both up £0.50/tonne from the month before. December feed barley was between £137-£137.50/tonne, up from £130/tonne in November 2017. - UK milk production stagnates30 January 2018
At the end of November UK milk production was running more than 7% ahead of last year. However, with volumes remaining static for the last month, latest milk production figures (up to 20 Jan) suggest volumes are now back in line with last year. - Yields driving milk production increase29 January 2018
As previously mentioned, GB dairy herd constricted marginally in 2017. Despite this, milk production increased 3% as yields* for each GB country increased in 2017.
For England and Wales, this reverses the trend seen in the past few years, with Scotland bouncing back after one year of reduced yields.
- Increasing cheese exports to non-EU countries25 January 2018
UK cheese exports for January-November 2017 totalled 153,000 tonne, 3% more than the same period in 2016, and 32% more than the amount exported five years ago. Back in 2012, nearly 90% of UK cheese exports went to EU countries. In the past five years however, that has started to shift, with only 81% of 2017 cheese exports (Jan-Nov) going to the EU. - Bumper Christmas sales for dairy24 January 2018
The dairy retail market saw a significant seasonal uplift in the build up to Christmas compared to last year. According to Kantar Worldpanel, the category was worth £2.4 billion in the 12 weeks to 31 December 2017, 7% more than a year earlier. - GB dairy herd constricts marginally in 201724 January 2018
The total GB dairy herd fell by 5k head in 2017, compared to 2016, due to reductions in England and Scotland, while Wales saw a slight increase. - Defra revisions push up end-of-year slaughter figures24 January 2018
Defra’s latest release of cattle slaughter statistics included significant upwards revisions to August 2017 - November 2017 figures, alongside its December numbers. These revisions added just under 24,000 cows to the total for 2017, and the same again for heifers. - New Dairy Knowledge Exchange Manager for AHDB 23 January 2018
Steve West has joined AHDB Dairy in its all year round (AYR) calving team as Knowledge Exchange Manager.