Restricions on calves?

Bald n Grumpy

Member
Livestock Farmer
Why are we in this situation?
Can understand the effect the Holstein influence has had but what about channel island breeds, have the bull calves always been worthless and euthanized or have cows (of all breeds)been bred to just milk and more milk and lost some of their other traits.
 

jimred

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Pennines
Although many do get it some still do not get the reasoning behind this whole thread. Having spent part time in London it was common to see the animal rights posters using the humanised language of mummy and baby and how the baby boys were shot at birth. As an industry we need to show that this doesn’t happen nowadays if we are to fight back at these anti dairy groups and that is the whole reasoning behind this without exception unfortunately. We also have to bear in mind that it is through our business decisions that these calves are born in the first place and to argue that they should be allowed to go to a slaughter house at birth would only give the anti dairy campaigners some more ammunition to use against us.
If we want to stop the next generation turning away from dairy to plant based drinks then sooner or later this topic has to be dealt with.
Totally wrong. You don't understand how their minds work. Give them what they are asking for now and they'll just campaign on something else which is likely to be even more unreasonable.
 

Sandpit Farm

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Derbyshire
Totally wrong. You don't understand how their minds work. Give them what they are asking for now and they'll just campaign on something else which is likely to be even more unreasonable.

How do you sell the concept that it is 'ok to shoot calves because they are the wrong sex' to consumers? What would you say on 'This Morning' when asked if the industry do this?

Also, It isn't ok in my opinion. We have to be moving in the right direction.
 
Totally wrong. You don't understand how their minds work. Give them what they are asking for now and they'll just campaign on something else which is likely to be even more unreasonable.

Top post. The noise behind this does not want cows and doesn’t want dairy products either. Control of the life of dairy bulls after sale, is but one small step.
TB has been mentioned (more than once) on this thread. And we’re in this Berluddy mess with an overpopulated, endemically infected pest because people have tried to accommodate the daft ideas emanating from ‘noise’ with a lot to say and nothing to lose.
 
Is anyone here successfully marketing their own Jersey/Guernsey-based beef? Interested to know as I feel there may be opportunities to build the market if more people started selling direct (box schemes etc). Surely you could make some great joints, steaks and burgers out of one of those things?
We do , but only on a very small scale, about six or eight a year. The better bred ones find a home to run with heifers, but anything that "looks at me funny" or isn't out of a good enough dam goes through our meat business.
The meat is fantastic and we have people waiting for it. The best bits are sold as steak, but it mainly gets minced and sold as either low fat mince or burgers. It works for us because our regular customers really appreciate the ethical nature of rearing what is essentially an otherwise valueless calf, and allowing it to have a life.
The weights are very light though and therefore the slaughter and processing costs are relatively high. We have also tried castrating and grazing them, but they don't do well enough, quickly enough. Best left entire, in my opinion.
I really can't see that rearing CI males for meat is going to be viable on any larger scale, because as soon as it becomes necessary to involve a processor to buy them, they only want to talk about weights and grades and pay peanuts for them, not to mention that pens of young dairy bulls aren't a barrel of laughs to deal with, anyway. Let alone pens of young Jersey bulls!
 
Location
southwest
Totally wrong. You don't understand how their minds work. Give them what they are asking for now and they'll just campaign on something else which is likely to be even more unreasonable.

Just how is expecting you to breed animals that are worth rearing for a few month unreasonable?

To nearly everybody, both inside and outside farming, that seems very reasonable
 

TheRanger

Member
Location
SW Scotland
Totally wrong. You don't understand how their minds work. Give them what they are asking for now and they'll just campaign on something else which is likely to be even more unreasonable.
There’s an “ethical dairy” in Scotland that doesn’t dehorn cattle, as it’s unethical supposedly. Use it as a selling point for their milk round. As you say, this kind of thing will be next.
 

bar718

Member
Totally wrong. You don't understand how their minds work. Give them what they are asking for now and they'll just campaign on something else which is likely to be even more unreasonable.
Sorry but you miss the point of this. Yes those zealots paying for the posters are beyond being our customers of the dairy industry but the normal people who are casually reading the posters who are customers of the dairy industry are the ones we need to be able to stand j front of and say that shooting calves at birth or taking them straight to the slaughterhouse is a thing of the past and as an industry we have reformed to move away from the practice.
 

vantage

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Pembs
Totally wrong. You don't understand how their minds work. Give them what they are asking for now and they'll just campaign on something else which is likely to be even more unreasonable.
Never mind them. I’ve had enough of it too, thankfully improved sexed semen has negated it, I feel heaps better.
 

DairyGrazing

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
North West
Sorry but you miss the point of this. Yes those zealots paying for the posters are beyond being our customers of the dairy industry but the normal people who are casually reading the posters who are customers of the dairy industry are the ones we need to be able to stand j front of and say that shooting calves at birth or taking them straight to the slaughterhouse is a thing of the past and as an industry we have reformed to move away from the practice.

Agreed, don't think euthanising calves is the hill I'll personally be making my stand on.

This isn't a Martin Niemoller situation either.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 6 3.2%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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