Agribusiness News February 2024

Welcome to the February edition of Agribusiness News.  If you prefer to download this document click the download button.

N e w s  i n  b r i e f

Health can be Wealth

Since the introduction of the Scottish Bovine Diarrhoea Scheme in 2010, incidences of BVD have fallen from 40% down to 9%, equating to a significant cost saving of between £20-£70 per cow, proving that ‘Health can be Wealth’.  To capitalise on this success, through an industry-led partnership of livestock producers, vets and research bodies, the Scottish Government is now looking to eradicate BVD from Scotland.  While this is viewed as an ambitious target, given that the BVD status for an individual animal or holding can be looked up on the ScotEID website, with time, it should be an achievable one.

With pressure on dairy margins continuing and tough times ahead, this month’s Input Costs article highlights the importance of good calf management,  and how a bit of TLC can boost calf health, reduce costs of production and boost milk yields in the first lactation.

Following the Australian Trade Deal last year, all eyes have been on the potential risk to the domestic sheep market from the Land Down Under.  However, with Australia firmly focused on expanding their trade with China, New Zealand’s low prices are of greater concern, especially as we head towards the peak demand periods around Eid and Easter.

On a more positive note, with the DUP ending its two year boycott of Stormont over post-Brexit trading agreements; this paves the way for new legislation to be put into place aimed at removing checks on goods moving both within the UK and remaining in Northern Ireland.  This will pave the way to significantly reduce the current administrative burden when exporting goods to and from Ireland.

And finally, while new tenancies are like hens teeth, this month’s Management Matters article discusses what landlords are looking for and how you can get ahead of the competition by planning in advance.

Next Month

• Graze-Up
• Changing Weather Patterns
• Forestry Update

This month’s editor: Christine Beaton