Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

Diarmuid B · 10-07-2023 10:35PM

That was a harrowing watch. Scandalous to think the department oversees all of this (approving companies for transport etc etc and not doing on spot checks while they’re in transit) and how in the name of god there isn’t 10+ department officials at the calf marts in gortatlea/castle island to name a few when they know there’s a couple of thousand calves coming through daily in the spring. Tough for every one of us here that take pride in our animals and do everything we can to keep them alive at birth to see how they’re treated!

sonnybill · 10-07-2023 10:42PM

Hard to watch alright. Embarrassing also .. we didn’t see it coming

Injuryprone · 10-07-2023 10:43PM

Whole premise of the show was worthless dairy bull calves, yet the truck they followed had mostly Angus. Which passed off without comment. Didn't fit the agenda I suppose.

JeffKenna · 10-07-2023 10:45PM

Silly question but what percentage of calves exported are non freisan? I thought the majority were freisan, but when they looked in the lorry they all seemed AA's.

DrPsychia · 10-07-2023 10:46PM

I often wonder how inspections take place in marts. As much time as I've spent in marts and abatoirs around the country I've never seen a department inspector. Do they rock up with a high viz and make themselves known so everyone is on good behaviour? I presume it's probably like how every other inspection in this country is done, from education, to hospitality, to healthcare, Advanced notice is given by inspectors so everything can be in decent order.

Pinsnbushings · 10-07-2023 10:48PM

I think it would be fair to say a lot saw it coming over the past few years, it's been spoken about on a number of occasions here. Positive changes are happening but won't happen overnight and will add significant costs to those who became accustomed to dumping those calves at the first opportunity.

farmertipp · 10-07-2023 10:53PM

it's only right and proper that all animals should be treated properly.

it can't be good for people mentally to just throw away calves for nothing

whelan2 · 10-07-2023 10:55PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120832733#Comment_120832733

Department office in our local mart. I'm not there often but would see an official there most times. Only a small mart

green daries · 10-07-2023 10:55PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120830180#Comment_120830180

Stop talking shite about something you obviously know f all about like a good lad

50HX · 10-07-2023 10:56PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120832667#Comment_120832667

The scheme that's coming is a quota imo

It will be wearing a different mask but it will be a quota in one form or another

straight · 10-07-2023 11:00PM

See they said 20% of fish kills were caused by agriculture. Fair going I thought for 80% of fish kills not to be caused by agriculture considering the huge land area.

Can't catch a calf by ear or tail. Ha - Good luck with that.

Siamsa Sessions · 10-07-2023 11:04PM

Didn’t think there was anything in the program that hasn’t been flagged on here or in the media in recent years.

It’s terrible PR for dairy. That’s a given. But Fran, for all his sad eyes and slow violin music, didn’t produce a smoking gun.

GrasstoMilk · 10-07-2023 11:08PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120831063#Comment_120831063

It sounds to me you grew up on a farm buts that’s about as much as you know

I’ve siblings and cousins who I would class in the same group as you.

They know a bit and claim to know alot more till they open there mouth

straight · 10-07-2023 11:10PM

There was some bad behaviour throwing calves and the like but jeez they could have done a bit of research into their subject. There was so much inaccurate information reported as fact.

Whenever I hear such lies I wonder are the "exposés" on other stuff just as inaccurate.

893bet · 10-07-2023 11:23PM

If that’s the worst footage they had……:The had to show the old French footage multiple times to try add some drama.

straight · 10-07-2023 11:27PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120832914#Comment_120832914

Ah but the water trough was too high for the calves. And it wasn't like. One calf even had a lie down in Kanturk mart. Sure god help us. I'd like to see Fran's expenses receipts from his and his crews french/Spanish holiday.

charolais0153 · 10-07-2023 11:31PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120832933#Comment_120832933

Funny enough what lads take out of something

farmertipp · 10-07-2023 11:33PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120832933#Comment_120832933

wonder how he's perceived around Longford? George Lee seems very quiet lately? for a man that judiciously went after pat Smith for being paid too much and done hatchet job on ifa over it

GrasstoMilk · 10-07-2023 11:34PM

this is the reality of rearing calves to weaning and selling.

A pure loss making operation, that’s why dairy farmers don’t do it. The only hope you have would be to bring them all the way to finish

Majority of dairy farmers have no interest in that unless they have the spare sheds, land and labour available and more often than not it’s down to land available

dairy is way more profitable and creates a viable full time job

Pinsnbushings · 10-07-2023 11:35PM

The water trough looked fine to me, the worst footage was from new Zealand like.

selectamatic · 10-07-2023 11:35PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120832720#Comment_120832720

Not AA but AAX

(the X being a modern freisean/Holstein)

There's a big difference.

Easy calving small Angus bulls are the go to for first timers in the dairy herd.

The resulting difference between a traditional butty Angus calf or continental cross and the some/many modern dairy AAX's is stark.

A good long muscular Angus/Hereford bull crossed with a square tall traditional British freisean made a grand calf in general. It's continuously getting harder to find such calves these days.

893bet · 10-07-2023 11:35PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120832933#Comment_120832933

I lolled at the calf lying down. Made sound like he was falling down due to over crowding when he was really doing a very careful sit down that you see calves doing. Seen another stressed calf chewing the cud.

A little selected editing. I genuinely thought the footage they had would be a lot worse.

Base price · 10-07-2023 11:42PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120832795#Comment_120832795

Can't catch a calf by ear or tail. Ha - Good luck with that.

In the past 41 years I've bought and reared several thousands of dairy/ dairy x beef calves and I've never caught any of them by the ear or tail. Ye need to have patience handling young calves and if you don't then unfortunately the calves are going to be handled inappropriately.

straight · 10-07-2023 11:49PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120832980#Comment_120832980

I'll agree to disagree

Bass Reeves · 10-07-2023 11:51PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120832956#Comment_120832956

It's probably not loss making it just lower profitability. It's immaterial anyway as of next year calves will have to be kept until they are of a saleable value. Board bia is putting a maximum of 4% mortality on dairy farms

Within 2-3 years calves will have to be held to at least 4-6 weeks of age. If it's unprofitable to rear calves then it up to dairy farmers to sort it.

Shipping will probably be gone within 3 years as well

Albert Johnson · 10-07-2023 11:55PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120832962#Comment_120832962

+1 on the above. If you took the older French lairage footage and the New Zealand Bobby calf footage out of it then there isn't much to be seen that isn't the inside of a mart or the outside of a lorry. Granted there was a few lad's that could do with staying away from handling calves but there wasn't much harrowing viewing imo.

Did anyone inform Fran and Co that calves die from time to time on Irish soil. The 2 dead calves at the veal unit at the end were there for a few weeks prior to there demise and you'll have losses with livestock under the best of conditions as we all know. I suppose I'll be accused of making excuses and what not but of all the heinous things that happen to man and beast worldwide on a daily basis I don't think any of what they documented would make the top 10,000.

lmk123 · 10-07-2023 11:58PM

I h

K.G. · 11-07-2023 12:14AM

When you look at it ,it comes down to calf handling training and facilities .I ll hold up my hand and say I did not know it was illegal to move a calf by the tail but many of the problems are created by poor design of facilities in marts and a poor understanding of handling calves.you would have to ask questions as to wether its appropriate to trade calves that ultimately end up being exported through the mart.the amount of time and extra handling added to the system cannot be afforded given the overall distance that has to be travelled. I didn't like the way it was portrayed that assembly point s were somehow shady when it offers massive animal welfare improvements over going through the ring.every thing should be done to streamline and improve the process and I think the dairy industry should embrace any changes that positively improve ca.lf welfare.just one thing that struck me is the quote that the Netherlands exports 90 % of its veal and I don't understand why it can't be done here to so e extent.one last thing is I cant understand how any calves survive if the practices shown are wide spread because if they were subjected to that management on farms they all be dead .bottom line everyone involved must work to improve the welfare of the calves that are exported

Sheep breeder · 11-07-2023 12:23AM

The thing that Fran didn’t state when he was on about the temperature in France was the trailers all have fans on them and nipple water drinkers and are all inspected to be used as livestock transportation, the Hynes come out of looking bad that she didn’t know what was happening when they sold their calves, they must be related to someone in Rte. the marts using the sticks have no one to blame only themselves, also no input by IFA the main farming body.

DBK1 · 11-07-2023 12:26AM

I thought it would have been a lot worse with all the “build up” to it over the weekend.

Yes there’s definitely a few men that need reprimanding in it but you can be sure they didn’t just spend 10 minutes recording the footage. There was probably hours of footage from various different marts, and if them few short clips were the worst of what they found it hardly justified a trip to France and Spain for Fran and his team at the expense of the tax payer.

Record enough of hours of footage in any workplace dealing in the care of animals or people and I’m sure there’ll be incidents that shouldn’t happen but do.

It’s a bit strange to be making the assembly points and lairages out to be some sort of dirty secret. If anything the way to improve the transport situation is to have more lairages so the lorry’s can pull in and let the calves out for an hour along the way.

Showing a calf lying down chewing his cud in a straw bedded pen in a mart is great to see if you ask me, that pen of calves were under very minimal stress.

Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

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