Letter From Europe

Time seemed to be running out for the most traditional of European beef breeds – Longhorns, Highlanders and Galloways – until robust, rough grazers were needed for landscape maintenance and conservation. What’s more, the meat they produce is still some of the tastiest in the world

by NORMAN DUNN

Maybe Highland cattle can’t really be termed a threatened breed, with purebred numbers nowadays well over 35,000 and rising. But there was a time, just a few decades ago, when many thought the picturesque long-haired beasts wouldn’t make it into the 21st century, outside a zoo at any rate.

Robotic milking is now a feature of many new dairy barns in the main European milk producing countries. But processors are getting nervous about the effects on milk quality. Switzerland is the first country to consider penalizing farmers who choose to go automatic

by NORMAN DUNN

There’s no argument that robotic milking has changed dairying completely, especially on family farms throughout Europe. But have side-effects on milk quality been ignored too long?

Certainly the Swiss Society of Cheese Makers (FROMARTE) is already considering a ban on automatic milking systems (AMS) for its milk suppliers.

The Israeli government is helping its dairy farmers by subsidizing modern cattle housing and encouraging labour-saving robot milking at the same time

by NORMAN DUNN

A visit I took to Israel this spring showed how a government can bring radical farming change with the right incentives for environmental protection and automation. The last few years have seen millions of dollars invested in new dairy setups in a sector that is already well supported through long-term production quotas plus an annually adjusted guaranteed price system.

Farmers see energy cropping for biogas as the right way ahead in Europe. But should biomass really be grown on the best land? Let’s forget about corn and the like, and take another look at grass, say some researchers

by NORMAN DUNN

Solid political support is in place, the technology has been optimized – and the money is right. Biogas production from energy cropping now has European farmers in their tens of thousands investing in climate-friendly electricity output.

The so-called Schmallenberg virus has made its appearance on hundreds of farms, affecting sheep, cattle and goats. But so far consumers have not given way to panic boycotts of beef, milk and lamb

by NORMAN DUNN

There’s nothing so unnerving for livestock farmers as the sudden appearance of a new animal disease. This is what’s happening this year in Europe, where poultry farmers are already on red alert after reports of new avian influenza outbreaks in Portugal and Italy, perhaps carried by migratory wild birds as they wing in from the south for summering in northern Europe.

It’s estimated that livestock farming produces 18 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Now, the Netherlands is showing that higher quality feed and efficient cow management can dramatically improve the situation

by NORMAN DUNN

It’s called the “battle of the burp” by the press here in Europe and it’s being fought on research dairy farms throughout the world just now.