Welcome to the BDC agri blog. Here you will find reports from some of the events we attend, as well as Greg's popular weekly view of the UK milk and whey powders market:
"Many years ago, I got my first job in the dairy industry, as class milk monitor at Tollesbury Primary School.
I thought it was a job for life, but sadly Margaret Thatcher famously ‘snatched’ free school milk,
and the nation’s health has suffered since. Fifty-four years later, I am still musing on the dairy industry,
with an irreverent view of politics and currency ..." Greg Dunn
In case you missed them on social media, here are the BDC agri squishy pigs, on their trek from Mersea Island in Essex, all the way to Stoneleigh in Warwickshire.
We're looking forward to escorting another litter of #BDCagriPigs to the British Pig & Poultry Fair 2018.
COBIOTEX uses good bacteria to combat bad bacteria.
As formalin is gradually banned because of its noxious effects on humans applying it, there
is now a bacteria-based alternative to chemical disinfection.
COBIOTEX is a French laboratory that has developed combinations of bacteria, based on
bacillus and lactobacillus, that aggressively colonise surfaces, outcompeting bacteria such
as salmonella, e-coli, streptococcus and staphylococcus.
COBIOTEX can be applied in fogging or in powder form, to sanitise livestock buildings
before stocking or with livestock present, in a totally safe environment for the animals.
The powder form significantly reduces mastitis when applied to bedding, and the biofilm (fogging) form sanitises buildings prior to stocking, followed by the powder form whilst animals are present.
There are also versions of COBIOTEX for treating slurry and manure.
Call Greg Dunn on 07801 308054 or 01206 381521 to find out more.
Updated: May 1, 2018
We’re delighted to announce the launch of own range of milk replacers, for calves, lambs, kids and piglets. The milk powders are made exclusively for us by French company, Lacto Production, in their purpose-built blending facility in Montauban-de-Bretagne, close to Rennes in Brittany.
BDC agri (the new trading name of Black Diamond Commodities Ltd) has been working with Lacto Production for the last ten years, supplying whey powders into UK pig creep manufacturers.
Lacto Production manufacture over 25,000 tonnes of milk powders, and export to over 50 countries, with large markets in the Middle East and SE Asia. Their modern facility has full laboratory facilities and is accredited to QS certification. They also have a dedicated in-house haulage company to service the domestic French market.
BDC agri calf milk replacers are based on varying content of skimmed milk powder (SMP), rather than cheaper whey-based ingredients, with three different formulations, incorporating 15%, 35% and 50% SMP.
BDC agri is based on Mersea Island, the most easterly inhabited island in the British Isles, and is owned by husband and wife team Greg and Juliet Dunn. When Steve Graffham joined the company in 2017, he brought with him a lifetime’s experience as a dairyman, and developed the BDC agri range of milk replacers using his practical knowledge of ruminant nutrition.
Individual bags of BDC agri milk replacers can be purchased from our online shop. For orders and enquiries over 100kg and wholesale prices, please contact Steve on 01206 381521 or 07507 36033 or email sales@blackdiamondcommodities.com.
