RWN News Digest
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If nothing else, the extreme pressures facing the Dairy Farming Industry this year, have highlighted the need for dairy farmers to maintain a focus on what drives the profitability of their business.
For the vast majority of Dairy Farms profitability is driven by total litres of milk produced from the farm as a whole, and in particular from yield per cow. Cow yields are determined by sound nutrition, technical efficiency and attention to detail. Faced with the every day pressure of work as well as limitations of cash flow it is important to not lose sight of these facts. In times of crisis, spending more time managing the business as well as investing in sound nutrition can often be the most cost effective way to increase profitability. Many Dairy Farms throughout the UK are re-evaluating their traditional approach to feeding and also the way in which they source both their animal feed inputs and their nutritional advice. Increasing we see an increased reliance on total mixed rations as farmers adopt more flexible feeding systems in a bid to increase milk output and reduce labour and other fixed costs per litre. As the range and complexity of nutrition inputs available increases along with genetic merit and milk yield of modern cows the need for better nutrition advice increases dramatically. Yet both the quality and the quantity of specialized nutrition advice available from traditional sources is fast drying up as feed manufacturers restructure and rationalize. High quality nutrition advice from people with practical experience and a regular on farm presence is fast becoming a rare commodity. Perhaps this explains the success of RWN since the launch of the business in 2001. Many farmers are increasingly recognizing the advantages that come from sourcing all their feed inputs through an independent nutrition supply company such as RWN. Our focus is on increasing milk yields and profitability of our customers by the use of sound nutrition. RWN supply a full range of well researched, proven, quality animal feed inputs sourced from a wide range of suppliers at competitive prices. Our nutritional expertise is free of charge to our customers. Having the best products for the situation fed in the most appropriate combination to give the best return to the farmer, is infinitely better than having the wrong products fed incorrectly, even if they were cheap. A lot has been said about improving supply chain efficiency within agriculture. This applies as much to supplies of inputs to farms as it does to supply of milk and meat from farm to consumers. Having worked in the feed trade for over 20 years my firm belief is that it is much more efficient and cost effective for manufacturers to supply their products to farmers via one independent merchant such as RWN, than for each to supply through their own sales force with nutrition advice coming from an outside source at an additional cost to the farmer. Milk output is still the major factor in determining the profitability of most dairy farms. Investing in sound nutrition now to increase future milk yields will take full advantage of improved milk prices when they come, which they will. Now is an ideal time to review your long-term future feeding strategy. For an in depth consultation contact Richard Webster. FIAM. Whilst supply through the Independent Agricultural Merchant has many advantages, conscious that scale and diversity also have advantages, two years ago RWN and a number of other Independents formed FIAM, the Federation of Independent Agriculture Merchants. We believe that our independence from the major feed companies is vitally important to our customers. FIAM members have all the benefits of a large organization as well as all the advantages of independence. Members are able to share resources in a number of areas such as product development or researching and evaluating new products. Although all the individual businesses within FIAM are independently owned and operate completely independently from each other, there is within FIAM a vast range of both nutritional expertise and experience. One of FIAM's main strengths is the ability to forge relationships with key manufacturers. This ensures that FIAM members have access to the most effective and the most competitively priced products in the market place. More information about FIAM can be obtained from www.fiam.org.uk. Quality Assurance. Quality Assurance has become an important issue within the industry. From October 2003 all feedstuffs including minerals and supplements must come from a UFAS approved source. Whilst RWN is fully UFAS approved and can guarantee full traceability, buying any
animal feeds from a non-approved supplier, even where the manufacturer is approved, could jeopardize your ability to market either your milk or your cattle. For more information contact Richard Webster. Working together for a more profitable future |
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