Arla

[O'Reilly]

The block calver will need to be ready. I learnt a lesson last autumn, when I thought I was ready and then found my buyer let me down. Now I know it has to be certain. Again why everyone needs to use the 18 months wisely and try to start planning now, so they know they can cope.

I think my previous post explains our planning for our Jx herd, in addition I should have added that the sexed semen we are using is Irish Fresian.

I take your point about Denmark, currently the consumer market is not putting the same pressure on in Denmark, however obviously Lurpak is sold here. It may yet be that the farmers in Denmark will go for the same date, but if they don't it will only delay the inevitable by a year. Sweden and Germany are already ahead in that they already have bans in place and it is our farmers who have decided the 18 month timing, there was a proposal to make it a bit longer, but it was agreed that it would not really make any difference except making us look slow to act.

Who's going to take the handfull of jerseys bulls that you will still inevitably have?

 

[Cows 'n grass]

On one farm we have rented an extra barn capable of rearing 200 calves in. It could be made into an isolation unit. It could be used to rear 200 calves from our spring unit as week as 200 calves from autumn unit. We have been sorting it out ready to go in September.

We have used all sexed semen to breed replacements on spring Jersey cross herd. On Autumn herds we have used quite a bit of sexed semen. The results are not as good as conventional but within range to be acceptable.

We may well enter a contract to take alll calves out of our other autumn unit. We will need to sign up to sell all the calves to one source and take a big hit if we remain under TB restriction as seems likely..

I don't want to sound too argumentative but can you honestly say that if you were tb clear and in a good clear area would you have gone out and rented an extra barn capable of rearing 200 calves and have the labour in place to do so, just as a precautionary measure?

People will get caught out and there will be welfare issues.

 

[happycows]

From christmas to easter this year the calf trade was absolutely on it's ass. God knows what it will be like when you have loads of extra grazing type cross calves added in even if they are crossed with Angus or Blue. Someone's got to rear them somewhere. I can see it exasperating problems big time.
This has has happened in Ireland this spring. They are all scrambling to give calves away to the exporters just to get them out of their sights because there is limited capacity and profitability in them.

Has anyone in Arla actually sat down and worked out what this is going to cost?

I'm all for not shooting calves and think it's got to be addressed, but i've quit rearing youngstock as it was putting workload and infrastructure under pressure, and with all bought in goods to keep them wasn't economic. There is no way i'm going into rearing beef and losing money on them.

 

[cornishfarmer]

I don't want to sound too argumentative but can you honestly say that if you were tb clear and in a good clear area would you have gone out and rented an extra barn capable of rearing 200 calves and have the labour in place to do so, just as a precautionary measure?

People will get caught out and there will be welfare issues.

If it’s a problem milk a few less cows. It’s only right that this comes in. So many farmers have expanded without thinking about the consequences. BUT some will get around the problem like they do at the moment. Just hope things get tightened up so they can’t

 

[goldtop]

From christmas to easter this year the calf trade was absolutely on it's ass. God knows what it will be like when you have loads of extra grazing type cross calves added in even if they are crossed with Angus or Blue. Someone's got to rear them somewhere. I can see it exasperating problems big time.
This has has happened in Ireland this spring. They are all scrambling to give calves away to the exporters just to get them out of their sights because there is limited capacity and profitability in them.

Has anyone in Arla actually sat down and worked out what this is going to cost?

I'm all for not shooting calves and think it's got to be addressed, but i've quit rearing youngstock as it was putting workload and infrastructure under pressure, and with all bought in goods to keep them wasn't economic. There is no way i'm going into rearing beef and losing money on them.

Maybe we'll end up paying someone to take uneconomic calves off our hands to rear them. Already costs me £20 to take a dead calf to the hunt + the cost and time to get it there.

 

[Cows 'n grass]

If it’s a problem milk a few less cows. It’s only right that this comes in. So many farmers have expanded without thinking about the consequences. BUT some will get around the problem like they do at the moment. Just hope things get tightened up so they can’t

Not everyone can sit on an inherited farm and change nothing for a generation. All farms expanded once.

As I've said I'm not against this but there will be issues with tb calves and the general calf market will be massively depressed.

 

[happycows]

We import 30% of our beef, why can we not fill this market?

That has got to be the best outcome all around for everyone, and without doubt the solution.

There is just one small matter needed to make this happen and that is profit. I'm seeing more and more empty shed's.
People that go out to work and keep a few bullocks, maybe 25 or 50 in there spare time are just not bothering anymore. I have got half a dozen close family that would fall into this category that are out of it or winding down, local digger operator, contractors even the vet.
Also those semi retired one's that used to go in and splash the cash every spring on expensive stores are falling away now.

 

[cornishfarmer]

Not everyone can sit on an inherited farm and change nothing for a generation. All farms expanded once.

As I've said I'm not against this but there will be issues with tb calves and the general calf market will be massively depressed.

Nothing to do with being an inherited farm, See the expansion you have done, most people would say it’s impossible to rent extra land from different people but you have done it. (If I remember correctly) so would it be that hard to either cutback or rent more.

 

[bar718]

Not everyone can sit on an inherited farm and change nothing for a generation. All farms expanded once.

As I've said I'm not against this but there will be issues with tb calves and the general calf market will be massively depressed.

But a line has to be drawn somewhere for the practice of shooting these calves at birth to stop. It’s a practice that brings with it nothing but bad publicity for our industry. Yes their will be issues that will need to be overcome but if we just say because of this or that we cannot stop then the practice will continue without anyone even looking into a solution and that is whats driving some of the consumers away from consuming dairy.
No one is saying this is going to be easy but solutions must be found as if the industry does not tackle this thorny issue head on it is only a matter of time until the government puts legislation in place to outlaw the practice.

 

[frederick]

From christmas to easter this year the calf trade was absolutely on it's ass. God knows what it will be like when you have loads of extra grazing type cross calves added in even if they are crossed with Angus or Blue. Someone's got to rear them somewhere. I can see it exasperating problems big time.
This has has happened in Ireland this spring. They are all scrambling to give calves away to the exporters just to get them out of their sights because there is limited capacity and profitability in them.

Has anyone in Arla actually sat down and worked out what this is going to cost?

I'm all for not shooting calves and think it's got to be addressed, but i've quit rearing youngstock as it was putting workload and infrastructure under pressure, and with all bought in goods to keep them wasn't economic. There is no way i'm going into rearing beef and losing money on them.

The cost to the dairy industry to maintain its social license to produce milk may mean dairy farmers subsidise the beef industry. This cost will hopefully be temporary whilst the beef industry adjusts.

A date had to be set as the majority of the industry accepts current practice is difficult to justify to our consumers but the situation will not change fast enough without forcing the change.

TB will be the thing that will be most difficult to manage.

Spring calvers will adjust rapidly. They chose spring calving as an active business decision they will make similar rational decisions for there calves.

I would have a bigger concern for all year round calving herds that sell their calves through market and probably dont realise how many leave direct to slaughter.

If you currently use a market start discussing with the auctioneers how the market can help us still use them in 2021

 

[Cows 'n grass]

Nothing to do with being an inherited farm, See the expansion you have done, most people would say it’s impossible to rent extra land from different people but you have done it. (If I remember correctly) so would it be that hard to either cutback or rent more.

I currently have 13 landlords and it would be no exaggeration to say that I spend/waste half a day every week in correspondence with them.

I'm taking 50 beef animals through to fat at 30 months off grass already. Last year they made money, this year they will lose money because the price is crap . Taking 400 a year through to 30 months would be quite an ask

 

[Cows 'n grass]

But a line has to be drawn somewhere for the practice of shooting these calves at birth to stop. It’s a practice that brings with it nothing but bad publicity for our industry. Yes their will be issues that will need to be overcome but if we just say because of this or that we cannot stop then the practice will continue without anyone even looking into a solution and that is whats driving some of the consumers away from consuming dairy.
No one is saying this is going to be easy but solutions must be found as if the industry does not tackle this thorny issue head on it is only a matter of time until the government puts legislation in place to outlaw the practice.

As I've said, I don't disagree with the idea and I had already taken the decision to go 100% sexed and beef neat year but the reality is that I probably would still have shot the few dairy bull calves and the very bottom end beef calves. My bull calves are treated exactly the same way as the heifers and are picked up once a week by a local zoo.

Having the dairy herd subsidise the beef calves is fine at 30p but when we are back down under 20p it will hurt.

My concerns over this on not just about my own farm. As has been said above quite a lot of calves from markets go straight to slaughter and I think it will be very hard just to find a home for a calf in March/April and again in September/October.

 

[frederick]

As I've said, I don't disagree with the idea and I had already taken the decision to go 100% sexed and beef neat year but the reality is that I probably would still have shot the few dairy bull calves and the very bottom end beef calves. My bull calves are treated exactly the same way as the heifers and are picked up once a week by a local zoo.

Having the dairy herd subsidise the beef calves is fine at 30p but when we are back down under 20p it will hurt.

My concerns over this on not just about my own farm. As has been said above quite a lot of calves from markets go straight to slaughter and I think it will be very hard just to find a home for a calf in March/April and again in September/October.

I cant disagree with anything you say. However the cost of being a more efficient block calver maybe you have to rear a calf until its weaned when it should be more easily placed as it no longer needs the milk rearing infrastructure to help offset the peak supply.
I will have the same problem in the autumn.

There will also be things learnt from 360 farmers implementing the changes this year and this will be used to help others change.

 

[Cows 'n grass]

A slight aside, but just in case anyone was interested, these are some of my Jersey X blues. These are 28 months, 550ish kg and have seen no hard feed and only two months of housing.

They do just fine but there is a massive stigma about buying calves from jersey cows. That's why I send calves to Sedgemoor which is 100 miles away and no one recognises my business name.

 

[coomoo]

Arla 360 will be getting a cost compensation which will instantly offset some of the calf costs. It’s the rest of us who never for some unknown reason get these gold plated perks offered. Personally I’ve been preparing for this for two years out of choice. Calf shed set up with groups on auto feeders, used only sexed and beef and breeding a beefier cow to have a calf worth rearing ( harder with jerseys etc admittedly). The consumer now wants cheap lean beef so I’d say there’s a market opening up, it’s the suckler bred beef with marbelling which to me is 10 times better that’s going to get hit.

 

[jerseycowsman]

If anyone in Cornwall is stuck with calves then PM me

You gonna take my jerseys?

 

[Cows 'n grass]

Arla 360 will be getting a cost compensation which will instantly offset some of the calf costs. It’s the rest of us who never for some unknown reason get these gold plated perks offered. Personally I’ve been preparing for this for two years out of choice. Calf shed set up with groups on auto feeders, used only sexed and beef and breeding a beefier cow to have a calf worth rearing ( harder with jerseys etc admittedly). The consumer now wants cheap lean beef so I’d say there’s a market opening up, it’s the suckler bred beef with marbelling which to me is 10 times better that’s going to get hit.

If it's marbleing you want then jersey beef is what you need. Maybe I just need to improve my marketing.

 

[jerseycowsman]

I agree as an industry we should not be producing animals that we dont have a market for, nevermind BCMS records farm assurance has access to calving records etc - if they suspect a problem. plus I think anybody on Arla 360 has to milk record (i think I'm right on that) so that would very quickly show up very high numbers of DOA calves etc

The market for low constituent milk is disappearing fast, still plenty of Holsteins producing it though

 

[Rossymons]

You gonna take my jerseys?

Heifers?

 

[nonemouse]

The market for low constituent milk is disappearing fast, still plenty of Holsteins producing it though

To certain extent that’s down to diet, Holsteins can be feed to produce reasonable levels of solids, and it does depend on how your milk buyer incentives payment structure. Our annual average is about 4.3bf 3.3 prtn on 95000 ltrs grazed holsteins