We couldn't go two weeks without a milk market update so Chris has sent us one all the way from Ireland to keep us going till he’s back. Will and Ben then welcome James Allen from New Zealand based ag consultancy Agfirst Waikato who is currently the UK, alongside his wife Kerry Allen and Becki Leach, Senior consultant at Kite to discuss their respective commitments to the future of dairy. James firstly gives us an update on milk price in NZ and current farmer sentiment, moving on to discuss his Nuffield scholarship which is looking at the role of the rural/agricultural consultant and what this role might looks like in the future. He outlines what he’s learned so far from his travels in the US and UK and the importance of utilising the data available out there on farm, comparing and contrasting consultancy between the US, UK and NZ and the value rural professionals provide to the farmer. Kerry explains her work to influence the NZ school curriculum, changing the perception of agriculture to benefit students in over 100 schools, encouraging more young people into the sector and supply chain and to ultimately feed the world. Becki briefly touches on the news from AB Agri on the acquisition of NMR, which will help provide even more insight in helping dairy prosper for the long term.Please note: The information provided during this podcast has been

prepared for general informational purposes only and does not constitute

advice. The information must not be relied upon for any purpose and no

representation or warranty is given as to its accuracy, completeness or

otherwise. Any reference to other organisations, businesses or products

during the podcast are not endorsements or recommendations of Dairy

Consulting Ltd or its affiliated companies. The views of the presenter

are personal and may not be the views of Dairy Consulting Ltd. The

contents of this podcast are the copyright of Dairy Consulting Ltd.

With Chris Walkland away on holiday there’s no milk market report this week so Will and Ben go straight into the discussion on leadership and personal resilience with Chris Manley, Nuffield Scholar and Becki Leach, Senior Consultant at Kite. Chris outlines his Nuffield scholarship focusing on leadership, explaining where his interest first came from and how it developed. Chris and Becki discuss how this relates to leadership on farm and the importance of identifying leaders in your business & encouraging growth in others. They also discuss how this extends to personal leadership including managing your mental health and Chris explains the ‘#walkwithme’ campaign he started last year, encouraging the people to talk about their mental health and why he feels it’s important to normalise these discussions. He also describes how he came up with his own personal ‘tool box’ to strengthen his own mental wellbeing, creating simple, positive habits to keep himself mentally fit. Please note: The information provided during this podcast has been

prepared for general informational purposes only and does not constitute

advice. The information must not be relied upon for any purpose and no

representation or warranty is given as to its accuracy, completeness or

otherwise. Any reference to other organisations, businesses or products

during the podcast are not endorsements or recommendations of Dairy

Consulting Ltd or its affiliated companies. The views of the presenter

are personal and may not be the views of Dairy Consulting Ltd. The

contents of this podcast are the copyright of Dairy Consulting Ltd.

With a much more positive podcast this week, even including a little bit of positivity from Chris and his report, Will and Ben are joined Mary Dent, Yorkshire farmer and Eliot Greenfield, Consultant at Kite to talk about the next generation and what they have to offer to the future of dairy. Mary introduces her family farm and what brought her back into dairy farming after exploring a career outside the industry, including what transferable skills she brought back with her and how these are benefitting the family business. Eliot introduces Kites new Accelerator group and the importance of these networks to support the next generation to make the most of their enthusiasm and the new perspective they offer. Eliot also discusses with Becki the wealth of opportunities for young people across the agricultural industry and the positive impact the new generation will have.

Please note: The information provided during this podcast has been

prepared for general informational purposes only and does not constitute

advice. The information must not be relied upon for any purpose and no

representation or warranty is given as to its accuracy, completeness or

otherwise. Any reference to other organisations, businesses or products

during the podcast are not endorsements or recommendations of Dairy

Consulting Ltd or its affiliated companies. The views of the presenter

are personal and may not be the views of Dairy Consulting Ltd. The

contents of this podcast are the copyright of Dairy Consulting Ltd.

After another less than cheery milk market report from Chris this week, Will and Ben are joined by Phil Journeaux, an agricultural consultant and economist with AgFirst Waikato & John Allen, Director at Kite for an update on dairy in New Zealand. Firstly, looking back at last season for some context, Phil moves on to give some insight into outlook for this season, talking costs, inflation, interest rates and Cost of Production for NZ farmers. With John bringing it back to the UK, comparing the situation here and looking onto later this year in the UK, discussing volatility in the markets with Chris. We couldn’t cover all of this without discussing what farmers are doing to mitigate some of these negative impacts and the importance of business resilience and keeping a level head in down cycles.Please note: The information provided during this podcast has been

prepared for general informational purposes only and does not constitute

advice. The information must not be relied upon for any purpose and no

representation or warranty is given as to its accuracy, completeness or

otherwise. Any reference to other organisations, businesses or products

during the podcast are not endorsements or recommendations of Dairy

Consulting Ltd or its affiliated companies. The views of the presenter

are personal and may not be the views of Dairy Consulting Ltd. The

contents of this podcast are the copyright of Dairy Consulting Ltd.

After a very gloomy report from Chris Walkland, we move into something more positive to help farmers with those ever-rising costs; Will and Ben are joined by Jocelyn Johnson, research scientist with STgenetics in the USA (parent company of Cogent) and Rose Jackson, Kite’s Head of Genetics to tell us all about the ‘EcoFeed’ index. Jocelyn introduces STgenetics and explains the driver behind looking for these genomic traits, how the index was developed and the opportunity it presents to help reduce costs as well as the carbon footprint. Rose explains the EcoFeed genomic traits (both cow and heifer) and the science behind it as a measure of feed efficiency. They discuss why these traits might be of interest to dairy farmers especially now we are starting to see the impact of the EcoFeed trial over here in the UK. With feed as one of the biggest financial costs and biggest impact in terms of our carbon footprint, they discuss how these genomic predictions translate on a practical basis to the amount of feed that a farm might save on an individual level and therefore how it might help to influence decision making on farm and therefore improve efficiencies. Please note: The information provided during this podcast has been

prepared for general informational purposes only and does not constitute

advice. The information must not be relied upon for any purpose and no

representation or warranty is given as to its accuracy, completeness or

otherwise. Any reference to other organisations, businesses or products

during the podcast are not endorsements or recommendations of Dairy

Consulting Ltd or its affiliated companies. The views of the presenter

are personal and may not be the views of Dairy Consulting Ltd. The

contents of this podcast are the copyright of Dairy Consulting Ltd.

This week after Chris’ milk market report, Will is joined by James Bolesworth, Managing Director at CRM AgriCommodities and Edward Lott, Kite Director for an update on feed markets, Cost of Production and milk flows. James gives an update on current commodity prices and a round-up of where the feed markets have been over the last few months. He shares his thoughts on the impact of the Russia/Ukraine situation, specifically looking at news from the weekend and how this has and could influence commodity markets further. James also outlines harvest prospects as we approach the season in the UK as well as further afield. Edward updates us on how forage is looking now a lot of the UK has seen some rain and the subsequent outlook on Cost of Production in the context of forage stocks and feed prices, milk price:feed price ration and impact on milk production. They also discuss other factors to be aware of in the markets and wider issues currently driving sentiment. Please note: The information provided during this podcast has been

prepared for general informational purposes only and does not constitute

advice. The information must not be relied upon for any purpose and no

representation or warranty is given as to its accuracy, completeness or

otherwise. Any reference to other organisations, businesses or products

during the podcast are not endorsements or recommendations of Dairy

Consulting Ltd or its affiliated companies. The views of the presenter

are personal and may not be the views of Dairy Consulting Ltd. The

contents of this podcast are the copyright of Dairy Consulting Ltd.

With discussions of a potential increase in levy rates on the table, Dairy Sector Council Member and Gloucestershire farmer; Mike King joins Kite’s Senior Consultant; Becki Leach to talk through how inflation has played a part in making this decision, the process for getting the increase implemented and realistically, how often the levy should be reviewed. With AHDB’s current priorities focusing on defending the reputation of dairy farmers and the health and welfare of animals, where should the next focus be in terms of spending and what happens if they don’t deliver with the extra funding. With Chris Walkland giving his weekly market update, you are in for a great listen! Please note: The information provided during this podcast has been

prepared for general informational purposes only and does not constitute

advice. The information must not be relied upon for any purpose and no

representation or warranty is given as to its accuracy, completeness or

otherwise. Any reference to other organisations, businesses or products

during the podcast are not endorsements or recommendations of Dairy

Consulting Ltd or its affiliated companies. The views of the presenter

are personal and may not be the views of Dairy Consulting Ltd. The

contents of this podcast are the copyright of Dairy Consulting Ltd.

This week after Chris’ milk market report, Ben is joined by Torsten Hemme, IFCN founder and John Allen, Kite Director to talk about the International Farm Comparison Network. Torsten briefly talks through the background to IFCN and the changes we’ve seen over time since it was established in 2000, as well as the main talking points and findings presented at the most recent researcher conference in Riga last week. John and Torsten discuss the challenges for world dairy and the outlook and trends from the varying markets across the globe. They also outline what they see as the key areas of research for the dairy industry and the importance of reconnecting farmers and consumers for the future of dairy. Please note: The information provided during this podcast has been

prepared for general informational purposes only and does not constitute

advice. The information must not be relied upon for any purpose and no

representation or warranty is given as to its accuracy, completeness or

otherwise. Any reference to other organisations, businesses or products

during the podcast are not endorsements or recommendations of Dairy

Consulting Ltd or its affiliated companies. The views of the presenter

are personal and may not be the views of Dairy Consulting Ltd. The

contents of this podcast are the copyright of Dairy Consulting Ltd.