Arla

[farmer on a bike]

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.

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Fantastic bunch of animals

 

[Slippery Slope]

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

That's just showing off!

 

[Beef farmer]

That's just showing off!

I just read that as holstiens dont get in calf, so verrrrry long lactations

 

[early riser]

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

How much cake (and other sweeties) are you feeding?

 

[nonemouse]

How much cake (and other sweeties) are you feeding?

Ok as I can’t seem to edit original post there is an extra 0 in the yield.

Feedwise feed about 2.25-2.5 tonnes cake per year, fed through robot at present feeding 0.2 kg/Ltr goes to 0.26kg ltr when housed, no mixer wagon just block of silage (forage wagon) down a fence plus some whole crop tipped on top. Only other ‘sweeties’ is a bit of prop glycol feed for first 3 weeks lactation in robot.

 

[Happy hillbily]

Just love the timing of the two district meetings to discuss the bull calf stiuation. Both on the same day and time as when both local markets sell calves

 

[dairyrow]

be interesting to know how many of the council are on gold plated contracts? Are there too many on the representative side than normal producers. The calf thing doesnt bother us we never really liked killing them anyway and always found a way to give them a life even if it cost abit to do. Does that mean there'll be a grazing bonus for us before long? Is there going to be a minimum age before calving because that was on the one of the slides one year at a meeting?

 

[early riser]

Ok as I can’t seem to edit original post there is an extra 0 in the yield.

Feedwise feed about 2.25-2.5 tonnes cake per year, fed through robot at present feeding 0.2 kg/Ltr goes to 0.26kg ltr when housed, no mixer wagon just block of silage (forage wagon) down a fence plus some whole crop tipped on top. Only other ‘sweeties’ is a bit of prop glycol feed for first 3 weeks lactation in robot.

Good figures, similar to here, 8,500litres sold off 1.7t cake and blocks of silage/wholecrop.

How dare you suggest to the grazing mafia that there are ways to make money other than theirs.......

 

[dinderleat]

Just love the timing of the two district meetings to discuss the bull calf stiuation. Both on the same day and time as when both local markets sell calves

If you can’t make it to either meetings why not hold a farmhouse meeting with a few other members I’m sure your rep and a bor would come along.

 

[lazy farmer]

Good figures, similar to here, 8,500litres sold off 1.7t cake and blocks of silage/wholecrop.

How dare you suggest to the grazing mafia that there are ways to make money other than theirs.......

Wow a little paranoid aren’t we...

 

[dinderleat]

be interesting to know how many of the council are on gold plated contracts? Are there too many on the representative side than normal producers. The calf thing doesnt bother us we never really liked killing them anyway and always found a way to give them a life even if it cost abit to do. Does that mean there'll be a grazing bonus for us before long? Is there going to be a minimum age before calving because that was on the one of the slides one year at a meeting?

Wether you have a super market price compensation contract doesn’t come into it at all. All Representatives are elected by the members at districts meetings those then go on to stand at regional meetings for three bor positions then 7 extra bor positions are voted in by all district representatives at the area forum.

 

[Happy hillbily]

If you can’t make it to either meetings why not hold a farmhouse meeting with a few other members I’m sure your rep and a bor would come along.

Im going to try and make it to one of the meetings. With Arla wanting to make savings through being more efficient, having another small meeting goes against the grain. With just a little thought they could have scheduled a meeting not on market day. And made it easier for one man bands like me to go to the meetings.
Luckily having british frisian cows I have never had to euthanise a healthy calf, just the odd sick/not right ones, never a nice job, but you do the best for the animals in your care. What will bugger me up, the only way i can guarentee no calves of mine will get slaughtered until 8 weeks old is to keep them home till their 8 weeks old, which will cost me a load more money and work for little or no return.

 

[early riser]

Wow a little paranoid aren’t we...

Nope just fed up of every thread on this forum ending up the same way with the hardcore grazing guys using every opportunity to belittle other systems and justify their business decision to themselves. It all gets rather boring after a while and distracts from the topic at hand.

I graze for 8+ months but don’t feel the need to ram it down everyones throats at every opportunity.

There are lots of different ways to make money from dairy farming, low input and high input and somewhere in between as well.

 

[dinderleat]

Im going to try and make it to one of the meetings. With Arla wanting to make savings through being more efficient, having another small meeting goes against the grain. With just a little thought they could have scheduled a meeting not on market day. And made it easier for one man bands like me to go to the meetings.
Luckily having british frisian cows I have never had to euthanise a healthy calf, just the odd sick/not right ones, never a nice job, but you do the best for the animals in your care. What will bugger me up, the only way i can guarentee no calves of mine will get slaughtered until 8 weeks old is to keep them home till their 8 weeks old, which will cost me a load more money and work for little or no return.

Farm house meetings are very much wanted, they are great at getting people engaged and involving farmers who wouldn’t normally come to larger meetings. It also allows you to get your opinion across instead of the usual ones taking over meetings.

 

[jerseycowsman]

Farm house meetings are very much wanted, they are great at getting people engaged and involving farmers who wouldn’t normally come to larger meetings. It also allows you to get your opinion across instead of the usual ones taking over meetings.

It would have been nice to have one about this calf thing instead of a letter through the door saying job done, we have spoken, do as we say, but we are a democratic cooperative as well. Why no consultation with anyone?

 

[dinderleat]

It would have been nice to have one about this calf thing instead of a letter through the door saying job done, we have spoken, do as we say, but we are a democratic cooperative as well. Why no consultation with anyone?

I feel the decision was done democratically. The decision needed to be made and I feel it was the right decision but not the easiest, hopefully it was done for the good of the coop and further more the industry going forward. I will pm you

 

[dairyrow]

i think we are trying to appease the wrong people and generally the more militant vegans are driving our standards. Rather than our customers who actually buy the milk. I do wonder if supermarkets just want vat fermented products 3d printed in store. That will bear the name of animal products but be nutritionally far crapper. It seams to be done under the slogan of it being enviromentally friendly if it is or not.

 

[Fergieman]

The

Ok as I can’t seem to edit original post there is an extra 0 in the yield.

Feedwise feed about 2.25-2.5 tonnes cake per year, fed through robot at present feeding 0.2 kg/Ltr goes to 0.26kg ltr when housed, no mixer wagon just block of silage (forage wagon) down a fence plus some whole crop tipped on top. Only other ‘sweeties’ is a bit of prop glycol feed for first 3 weeks lactation in robot.

Where and how do you buy your prop Glycol?

 

[jerseycowsman]

The


Where and how do you buy your prop Glycol?

how do you feed prop glycol in the robot?

 

[nonemouse]

The


Where and how do you buy your prop Glycol?

There are few different firms to do liquid feeds that have glycol in, the cheapest not necessarily the best as it needs flavourings etc to be paletable to new calved cows and not upset them eating their cake, had best results with either Trouw Proketo (bought from Coars) or currently using a mix from ForFarmers. dont use a lot 1 200ltr drum lasts over a year for 65 cows.

Fed on the robot using the lely liquid feed dispenser (titanium)