xbred dairy bull calves

[som farmer]

we have to find a use for these calves, it dose not matter a damn, what we think, it's what the vocal public think, and shooting young calves, is NOT what they wan't.
one answer is sexed semen, but, especially with xbred herds, all this is going to do, is flood the market with poorly bred dairy beef calves, and, as we know, the beef price is shite, due to over supply, so that is not going to work to well, unless you can buy them, weaned off at 10 or 12 weeks, for £1's, as some milk buyers seem to think will solve the problem ( our herd's do not export/ shoot healthy calves, and are reared on farms ) and then they will never be worth a lot.
So, who has any (whacky or not) ideas to solve the problem ?
here's a few whacky suggestions,
extended lactations, the longer the cow milks for, the fewer calves she produces.
I believe (might be wrong) goats will milk on without having kids, can we breed cows to do the same ?
develop a high end market for calf skins
have a laugh at above, then try and think of better ones, because 1000's of calves are shot/die because they are worth b all, and any schemes so far, have failed to dent those numbers, and, as we move into farm assurance issues, they will try and stop the practice, simply because it is not acceptable to the vocal public, ( I say vocal, because I think a lot do not worry ).

 

[More to life]

Why dismiss sexed semen a second class BBx will always be worth more than a dairy bull calf.

 

[Holsteinfriesian90]

Why not use British friesian, fleck or monty sires and get a good calf that will be worth something in the long run?

 

[Will Blackburn]

Sexed semen is the answer and make the calf buyers take any dairy bulls as part of the package. We've got 10% of our dairy bred left to calve and no bulls yet?

 

[Wee Willy]

I’ve used some Austrian fleck and ended up with brown and white Holstein bulls! German fleck much beefier.

 

[som farmer]

Why dismiss sexed semen a second class BBx will always be worth more than a dairy bull calf.

true, but if farmers go down this route, all that will happen is more dairy beef calves, of lower quality, ( some will be fine, depending on dam) going into a market that is currently over supplied, and it's looking as if beef imports will rise post Brexit. I am not saying sexed semen is wrong, we will use it ourselves, what I am saying is that the market might not be there for the extra dairy beef calves we could produce.

Why not use British friesian, fleck or monty sires and get a good calf that will be worth something in the long run?

 

[vantage]

true, but if farmers go down this route, all that will happen is more dairy beef calves, of lower quality, ( some will be fine, depending on dam) going into a market that is currently over supplied, and it's looking as if beef imports will rise post Brexit. I am not saying sexed semen is wrong, we will use it ourselves, what I am saying is that the market might not be there for the extra dairy beef calves we could produce.

Even worse if you’re down with TB, this hasn’t been thoroughly thought through.

 

[som farmer]

Why not use British friesian, fleck or monty sires and get a good calf that will be worth something in the long run?

fine, and the nearer to pure bred the better the carcass,
it's the calf will be worth something in the long run, that needs to be looked at, the dairy beef side tends to produce a 'lower' quality beef, which in the future may well have to compete with beef produced from the extensively ranched, low cost, beef from abroad.
you are right to say the better calves will be ok, what I am looking at are the 1000's shot/died, these are the real problem, in future we will not be allowed to shoot them, what then will happen to these ?

Sexed semen is the answer and make the calf buyers take any dairy bulls as part of the package. We've got 10% of our dairy bred left to calve and no bulls yet?

 

[som farmer]

Sexed semen is the answer and make the calf buyers take any dairy bulls as part of the package. We've got 10% of our dairy bred left to calve and no bulls yet?

even if you make the calf buyers take the bull calves, what are they going to do with them ? you cannot make a silk purse from a sows ear ! From your earlier posts, I think you are fairly well down the Friesian route, and therefore your calves will be better dairy cross.

[/QUOTE]

 

[som farmer]

Even worse if you’re down with TB, this hasn’t been thoroughly thought through.

you are spot on, it hasn't been thought through, just about to find out tb as we have just gone down, luckily we spring calve, so that's for 2020 !!!!
the replies, so far, are from farmers who are thinking/doing something already, but, what about the xbred grazing cows, channel island herds, extreme holstien herds ? there is no real market for these calves, a few £ in market, occaisional good one.
But what about the ones that do not make market ? and even if you used sex semen, what sort of quality will it be ? If we are going to be stopped from shooting them, as seems highly likely, some farmers have to keep them on farm for a length of time (milk contracts), with trade opened up with the world, post (if) Brexit, and beef coming in from every where, where will the market be for these calves ?
we all know joe public says 1 thing outside a supermarket, but forgets when it gets down to price. But, outside the supermarket, it's 'oh we think it's very wrong to shoot baby calves at birth', These are our customers, and that's is what they say, in or out of a s/mkt, and that is what is going to happen.
I have no idea how many calves do not make mkt a year in the uk, it must be many 1000's. And as farmers, we must ask ourselves, what will happen, if all those 1000's of calves come onto the market, when the beef trade isn't that good, and may well have to compete with low cost imports, and a huge increase in amount of imports ?
I am not having a go at anybody, I just wan't to know how we can cope with them, and as many farmers, I hate shooting them.

 

[Holsteinfriesian90]

Will you be aloud to sell them for veal?

 

[som farmer]

Will you be aloud to sell them for veal?

is there a big enough market ? and if there is a glut of calves, they will only choose the 'best', probably at less money than now !!!!

 

[rusty]

I think there will be less xbred jersey type cows going forward, probably a move to more 100% b+w genetics for grazing type cows.
Rose veal system worth further investigation for the plainer type calves? Holstein bull beef can give very god eating quality I have been told. Isn't this what McDonald's use?

 

[sidjon]

Rose veal system worth further investigation for the plainer type calves? Holstein bull beef can give very god eating quality I have been told. Isn't this what McDonald's use?

Plain and light calves are going to cost you too much money, we've done it in the past and the best calves are going to make you a little money and the poor one's will wipe out that profit.

 

[Will Blackburn]

even if you make the calf buyers take the bull calves, what are they going to do with them ? you cannot make a silk purse from a sows ear ! From your earlier posts, I think you are fairly well down the Friesian route, and therefore your calves will be better dairy cross.

We're Procross and Danish red, the dairy bulls we have previously sold tend to be smaller and less valuable than a pure Holstein. Contemplating doing more Friesian having converted to them a Procross component.

 

[Shann_mann]

true, but if farmers go down this route, all that will happen is more dairy beef calves, of lower quality, ( some will be fine, depending on dam) going into a market that is currently over supplied, and it's looking as if beef imports will rise post Brexit. I am not saying sexed semen is wrong, we will use it ourselves, what I am saying is that the market might not be there for the extra dairy beef calves we could produce.

Have you never used sexed seman? The clues in the name ‘sexed’ there will be less bull calves. You get your replacements of less cows so you can uses more beef seman.

 

[Cows 'n grass]

It's not something anyone knows, but I wonder what percentage of calves are shot, I'd be surprised if it's more than 10%.

I can't see why anyone would think that sexed and beef isn't the answer?

 

[sidjon]

It's not something anyone knows, but I wonder what percentage of calves are shot, I'd be surprised if it's more than 10%.

I can't see why anyone would think that sexed and beef isn't the answer?

Problem is they're including calves sent to slaughter as well, am surprised how many we sold through the market are killed and most would have been £100 plus calves.

 

[TheRanger]

Problem is they're including calves sent to slaughter as well, am surprised how many we sold through the market are killed and most would have been £100 plus calves.

Killed for what, and at what age?

 

[sidjon]

Pet food mostly, was surprised myself the calves were month old and I would have reared them and just not BW bulls .