TBH, I can't believe that you didn't see it coming.
Another example of Fran’s dramatic commentary which is inaccurate: when the worker in France pulled out the dead calf before unloading the rest, Fran said the other calves all stopped to look at it as they passed. The implication being they were sad at their friends death.
What he didn’t say was that if a live calf or Fran himself stood in the same spot as the dead calf, the other calves would all stop for a look too.
Thats just what calves do. They’re curious and nervous. That’s normal calf behaviour.
But not according to Fran.
Noticed that too. Not a clue like.
Very much pandering to the far left and the vegan wing
Showing 8 year old footage from new Zealand was a bit stupid too.. And the 2 ones at the mart do they want a big massive pen for each calf in the mart individually. See my friend wicklow cattle company on it too....
The footage from New Zealand had no place ….that was pure barbaric
programme was hard hitting and some of treatement seen at Marts not acceptable ….since quotas went there’s been huge expansion after been shackled for years …..kiwi style dairying was the model main advisory bodies shoved us twoards despite highly questionable welfare and enviro standards ….that was the start of the position we are now in ….Tegasc got away very very lightly last night don’t think they got a mention …..roofless cubicles …kiwi genetics …high fertiliser usage ,second,third units ….load on the cows worry about slurry storage later etc etc and only one has the balls to admit they forgot to think about all the extra calves
export needs to stay as I feel bigger welfare issues will crop up if we don’t ….whole thing from calves leaving our farm to arriving at a veal farm in Holland ,Spain Poland wherever needs serious thought put into it …calves on a truck over 17:18 hours without unloading and good feed is not acceptable
Hold on there. Of course you can catch a calf without catching them by the ear or tail. That’s a silly thing to say
Normally in there dealing with export certs
There was some fine calves on it I thought. Alot of fine healthy dairy beef calves referred to as worthless and byproducts. But still worth enough to drive them all the way to Poland and Spain.
Biggest problem I see is too many cows calving at the same time. The calves are far from "worthless byproducts" before and after the glut.
Ya, I usually just pick them up off the ground and give them the VIP treatment. Never said you couldn't catch them like you say bogman.
The NFU were quite vocal in their opposition to Brexit. It was other cheerleaders that were making those claims
Pat Dillon from Teagasc didn't come across well, but overall the Govt's FoodWise-2025 plan on 'more milk at any cost' got away very lightly. Why not look at the breeding policy promoted by Teagasc/Govt policy that is continuing to produce the €5 calf?
For me, the guy throwing the calf off the trailer was the worst part. They must have filmed hundreds of hours to capture that. I've been at marts all my life and I never seen anything like that. I still think the use of sticks to handle calves is fine as long as they are not belted with them. Giving a calf a gentle prod to move and using the stick to direct them is fine in my book.
Would subsidised Veal Production be the answer to "worthless" dairy calves?
Zero need for a stock around calves
Apart from a couple of incidents there was nothing on show that was bad .Fran I say was disappointed that he didn't get any real juicy stories. Where was the ifa all we had was a certain farming couple who loves to be in the limelight. Then on twitter we'll have the certain progessive farmers who feed no meal and can make a profit at 20 cent a litre apparently having a pop at mart staff and hauliers I wonder where there calves end up.
Imo the vet was the only one that came across any way well. The tesgasc guy got away lightly as did the marts guy. My thoughts on the media attention seeking farming couple are best kept to my self.
You had the president of ICMSA, A dairy organisation, commenting. IFA were never asked to comment
The mother here almost 70 often feed the calves, she needs a stick to give them a little tip on the nose to get them off the feeder or keep back a hungry one to let a slower one drink..she is not a person I would describe as cruel to animals .but I agree in general no need for a stick loading or dosing etc.
Local farm store had a box of show sticks for sale. They put a sign on the box cattle sticks €10. Not long after the cruelty crowd were on. Sign was changed to steering sticks....
I’m not a farmer and have no experience of farming. I’m very interested in what happens on farms, especially Irish ones. I’m surprised by the reactions on this thread. The attitude that the footage wasn’t so bad. It was horrific. Regardless of the hitting and throwing of calves, the fact that they’re taken from their mothers so young and packed into a truck for so many hours is extremely cruel.
I don’t know how anyone can support an industry that does this to animals. There must be a better way. More and more young people are concerned with animal rights and climate change so farmers really should be trying to address these issues, not just for the sake of the animals and environment but also for their livelihoods.
Hoping someone in the know can answer some of my questions:
The law states they must get a break after 9 hours. But what break? Does that mean that the truck must stop for an hour every 9 hours? Surely the driver can’t let the calves out of the truck every 9 hours so it’s not really a break is it?
Why don’t more farmers use the ‘sex semen’ to ensure that dairy cows only give birth to female calves? It seems to me that this is the only clear answer to this issue.
I’m not looking for an argument. I’m hoping to get answers and more insight into how dairy farmers operate. Thanks.
Conception rates with sexed semen wouldn't be as good as conventional seven. It's also more expensive. For those spring calving herds it's crucial to have a compact calving spread. If cows don't hold to the sexed semen you're losing the compact calving season
I don't know why you are asking questions because you already seem to know all the answers.
Even if it's more expensive and it doesn't work as well as conventional semen, surely it's the only answer to this issue. The issue being that there seems to be nothing farmers can do with the male dairy calves. They're not worth any money. Transporting them (as seen on the programme last night) shouldn't be an option. It's incredibly cruel. Can anyone propose an answer to the issue of too many male dairy calves that doesn't involve live exporting?
That's really helpful, thanks. I'm asking questions because I want to understand. If you're a farmer, good luck with your livelihood if you're not willing to enter into conversation with those interested in coming up with solutions.
Their is plenty of continental calves exported too, their not actually worthless, its the period from feb-april that they are, 40-70 euro is paid by shippers for later born calves, sexed semen won't solve any issues their is still going to be a million plus calves needing to find a home and circa 700k of these in the space of 6 weeks that's the issue, compact calving as advocated by teagasc has the whole system at breaking point in the spring period
Doesn't really help our case if we can't simply answer alright. There does be people posting questions here looking for an argument, but any sensible farmer would rise above it and answer your questions then move on.
Calves being taken from their mother's is not actually a big issue at all. The calves are as calm as a breeze and actually thrive really well under these conditions with farmers caring for them extremelywellinthevast majority of cases. The problem I see is the length of time between feeds for these calves. A lairage at Rosslare might just help alleviate that.
First, welcome to the farming forum. I hope you read a lot and learn a lot on here about modern agriculture (which is really only a slice of the modern world you see around you).
Second, can I suggest you read the previous 10-15 pages of this 'Dairy Chitchat 4' thread. Spoiler: you will not find simple "solutions" to any issue. But you will get some small sense of what life as a dairy farmer is really like. Another spoiler: it's much more nuanced and in depth than anything you will ever see in a 1-hour TV show.
I'm a potential future dairy farmer and it's one of the reasons I read this thread.
Good luck.
Thanks. I'm not against farmers at all. I don't disagree with killing animals for food, but I disagree with the way they are often treated before dying. There's no need for cruelty. I always assumed there was very little, if any, cruelty involved in dairy farming but the programme last night was an eye opener. I think a lot of people will be shocked to learn how male dairy calves are discarded and treated so badly. It's certainly helpful for farmers to engage with concerned consumers.
I think you need to understand that there are people who are unscrupulous in every walk of life. I rear my calves with the greatest of care and place a big priority on animal health and wellbeing .my neighbours do the same. it's not fair to tar us all as if we all do it. some perspectives please.plus we are subject to inspection at any time by dept of agriculture
