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Arla to increase its milk price for April
milk
Arla will increase the price it pays its UK members to 25.8ppl.

News should act as a 'wake up call' to other processors - NFU

Dairy company Arla has announced it will raise its milk price for April, making it the first major milk buyer in the UK to increase its price for many months.

National Farmers Union (NFU) said the news should act as a "wake up call" for other processors.

Milk prices have fallen rapidly over the past six months, with devastating consequences for many farmers, some of whom have even been forced to leave the industry.

Arla will increase the price it pays to its UK members by 0.83 pence per litre (ppl) from 30 March. This will take the company's standard litre price to 25.8ppl.

Commenting on the increase, Ash Amirahmadi, Arla's head of UK milk and member services, said: “The markets have shown an upward trend recently, in particular due to a reduction in milk production in parts of Europe and New Zealand."

In response, NFU's dairy board chairman Rob Harrison, said: "At last we have seen a UK milk price follow the upward motions of market indicators over recent weeks. Farmers have been seeing rising wholesale prices almost across the board with no sign yet of this feeding back to milk cheques, but we must see income returning to the farm gate quickly in order to save the industry from further devastation."

Mr Harrison said it is now more essential than ever that trust is rebuilt between processors, farmers and retailers.

Processors "cannot hold on to increasing returns at a time when farmers are suffering monumental losses of income, we must see returns to the farm gate immediately," he added.

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Charities' XL bully neutering scheme closes

News Story 1
 A scheme that helped owners of XL bully dogs with the cost of neutering has closed to new applications due to high demand.

The scheme, run by the RSPCA, Blue Cross, and Battersea, has helped 1,800 dogs and their owners after XL bullies were banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

In England and Wales, owners of XL bully dogs which were over one year old on 31 January 2021 have until 30 June 2024 to get their dog neutered. If a dog was between seven months and 12 months old, it must be neutered by 31 December 2024. If it was under seven months old, owners have until 30 June 2025.

More information can be found on the Defra website. 

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News Shorts
Avian flu cattle outbreak spreads to tenth US state

Cattle in two dairy herds in Iowa have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), making it the tenth state in the USA to be affected by the ongoing outbreak of the disease in cattle.

Since March 2024, more than 80 herds across the USA have been affected by the virus and three dairy workers have tested positive. Authorities have introduced measures to limit the spread of the virus and farmers have been urged to strengthen their biosecurity protocols.

Mike Naig, Iowa secretary of agriculture, said: "Given the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza within dairy cattle in many other states, it is not a surprise that we would have a case given the size of our dairy industry in Iowa.

"While lactating dairy cattle appear to recover with supportive care, we know this destructive virus continues to be deadly for poultry."