xbred dairy bull calves

[TheRanger]

The people who buy these small calves are not going to vanish from the market, mine all go upto Bristol Zoo, I can't see them selling their lions, they will just buy 8 week calves not 4 day.

It’s been posted on this thread that if ARLA sees that a number of these calves are still getting slaughtered at 8 weeks, i.e. for the zoo trade, then they’ll up the amount of time they must be kept to 16 weeks, etc.

 

[Stinker]

My neighbor is already paying someone to take his calves. It's only £10 but how long before someone else offers to pay £30 to have their calves reared and so on. It's a slippery slope. I might rear more dairy heifers but there is no guarantee I will be able to sell them when it comes to it.

 

[unlacedgecko]

It’s been posted on this thread that if ARLA sees that a number of these calves are still getting slaughtered at 8 weeks, i.e. for the zoo trade, then they’ll up the amount of time they must be kept to 16 weeks, etc.

That's ridiculous.

 

[ollie989898]

I understand all the buyers will stipulate bull calves are kept because its simply bad PR otherwise.

Disposing of them at 8 weeks is just as naughty, best your consumers dont find out about that. They should be finished or go as rose veal.

Find a way to market veal. Its bloody delicious.

 

[Cows 'n grass]

It’s been posted on this thread that if ARLA sees that a number of these calves are still getting slaughtered at 8 weeks, i.e. for the zoo trade, then they’ll up the amount of time they must be kept to 16 weeks, etc.

It's been posted, but so has alot of other rubbish, have Arla actually ever said this? They haven't in any communication I've seen.

We're only talking 1 to 2 % of calves born, ie the bull calves from sexed semen.

No one seems to object to male laying birds being killed yet, is that next? How about the fact that broilers dont make it past 6 weeks anyway?

I'd love for they're to be a veal market in this country but I can't see it ever taking off.

 

[ollie989898]

The industry is being chased by animal rights nut jobs as it is. Need to sort these issues and fast.

 

[unlacedgecko]

The industry is being chased by animal rights nut jobs as it is. Need to sort these issues and fast.

Explain why uneconomical bull calves are shot. Remind people it's a business. Destigmatize profit.

If these things aren't secrets then the nut jobs lose their power and can be safely ignored.

 

[Homesy]

I still think you are confusing two issues.

Sexed and beef largely sorts out the bull calf issue, the few bull calves we get will be reared for a couple of months on waste milk and then sold, wherever that might be. It will probably be for £5 which will cost me money but not a lot. The people who buy these small calves are not going to vanish from the market, mine all go upto Bristol Zoo, I can't see them selling their lions, they will just buy 8 week calves not 4 day.

Beef @ £3 no one will want any calves

Beef @£4 . Every beef x calf will find a home.

Yep until Arla get wind of it and then they will say 12 weeks, then 16 weeks.

 

[sidjon]

Yep until Arla get wind of it and then they will say 12 weeks, then 16 weeks.

White veal would be killed as young as 16 week in Europe, so can't see it being risen or it's going to have a detrimental to normal practices as Arla are going to put the age the same for everyone.

 

[ollie989898]

Explain why uneconomical bull calves are shot. Remind people it's a business. Destigmatize profit.

If these things aren't secrets then the nut jobs lose their power and can be safely ignored.

Its bloody unethical and needs to stop. Carrying 2.5 percent bull calves is an issue that needs dealing with.consumers do not need any more encouragement to abandon milk!

 

[Llmmm]

Its bloody unethical and needs to stop. Carrying 2.5 percent bull calves is an issue that needs dealing with.consumers do not need any more encouragement to abandon milk!

What about asking farmers to rear animals to beef at a loss isnt this unethical i dont think in the history of farming have farmers being asked to produce something which everyone knows will cause them to make a loss.

 

[ollie989898]

What about asking farmers to rear animals to beef at a loss isnt this unethical i dont think in the history of farming have farmers being asked to produce something which everyone knows will cause them to make a loss.

It's not me you need to convince, it is your customers.

The animal rights/Vegan movement are hardly short of ammo as it is. If you want to play a straight wicket as an industry then you need to wise up and fast. Who says they will be at a loss anyway? There is another thread running on this very forum written by people who are making a go of dairy bull calves.

 

[vantage]

It's not me you need to convince, it is your customers.

The animal rights/Vegan movement are hardly short of ammo as it is. If you want to play a straight wicket as an industry then you need to wise up and fast. Who says they will be at a loss anyway? There is another thread running on this very forum written by people who are making a go of dairy bull calves.

Let’s be honest,it wouldn’t matter a jot what you did to appease these people,it would NEVER be good enough.

 

[ollie989898]

Let’s be honest,it wouldn’t matter a jot what you did to appease these people,it would NEVER be good enough.

I don't actually know any vegans to be fair. I have met animal rights extremists though in the distant past. People like that are probably not interested in any constructive discussion, my concern is that mainstream consumers who are being blanketed with anti-dairy messages at the moment certainly do not need any more thrown at them. The industry needs to address this in the proper way. I do not know the answer but the consumer isn't going to be convinced by the: 'had to shoot them because otherwise they cost me money' angle. I know a fair few people who do not do it and never have so there must be a way around this. I personally would eat rose veal and reckon that the retailers should be advertising it heavily. Get some TV celeb chefs like Jamie Oliver and Hugh whats-his-face to on the job to demonstrate it's not fluffy babies being eaten and that it is a fantastic product. The times I have been served veal abroad I have lost count, done in breadcrumbs in the pan- you can't beat it. I'd sooner eat that than the poor excuse for pork you find on the shelf these days!

 

[Llmmm]

Let’s be honest,it wouldn’t matter a jot what you did to appease these people,it would NEVER be good enough.

Agree werent they on about cows need to be out grazing seen soom crap in holland where the farmer had let the cows out for the cameras there wasnt a sign of paddocks tracks water troughs

 

[farmer on a bike]

Apparently not according to dairy farmers on this thread!

They have created the problem of breeding very poor cows ( in a beef context and not dairy as they are fine for dairy farming ) that throw very very poor calves that are next to worthless to beef farmers yet the dairy farmers state on this thread that its the beef farmers who should sort out the problem of what to do with these worthless calves and reduce their cop to nothing so said dairy farmers can keep producing calves that are not fit to be reared!

Its a bit like a dairy farmer polluting the local river and then telling the EA its their fault and they have to sort out/cover the cost of the pollution incident themselves as the farmer will do the same thing next year!

Unless many of these NZ type grazing herds change their breeding/ calve management at/straight after birth and produce calves that are worth rearing to beef farmers then I fear they may be in for one hell of a shock come the 2020 calving season!

I have sone sympathy with what you are saying. However we have a neighbour who buys Angus cross calves out of our Kiwi cross cows. He rears them to large stores and makes good money as the inputs are so low. They are never housed, never ill and bred to graze grass. Calves are cheaper than larger angus crosses out of holsteins but do so much better.

Having said that we are now using sexed Irish Friesian so in future they will probably produce even better calves.

 

[buffalo_soldier]

I will most likely displace some suckler beef won't it?
Why keep a cow and calf which seems an expensive way of going about it. when you could keep 3x the sale points.

The difficulty is freedom of movement is unlikely in the current environment, which arla should be aware of.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

It's not me you need to convince, it is your customers.

The animal rights/Vegan movement are hardly short of ammo as it is. If you want to play a straight wicket as an industry then you need to wise up and fast. Who says they will be at a loss anyway? There is another thread running on this very forum written by people who are making a go of dairy bull calves.

Some people prefer to just specialise, and milk is apparently great to specialise in..
I personally believe protecting that "an outlet" for poor calves is a healthy thing for agriculture in general

Look where "all human life is sacred" got us?

Some calves simply won't amount to SFA, as with people; you can pump all the time and money you like, into a wrong'un.
But what you say about marketing veal is spot on, it's bloody good eating!

 

[In the pit]

Is it case like dairying where smaller scale beef producers are going to be replaced by big american feed lots where there is less profit per animal but alot more animals going through

 

[Beef farmer]

That jersey just had the blue. Will grab a pic tomorrow when its up and dry, but it will be a fine beefy for someone. Angus from a mongrel too.