Have done for years.
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the last of G Hart's Carter Holt dairy conversions?Quote:
Not sure where that figure came from
not convinced he'd pay 2% fee for this but you never know.....
What an amazing winter for Farmers... could we ask for better conditions for grass growth, gentle livestock rearing conditions and solid weight gain. Rather positive, despite that Botulism news. How exciting
:confused:Its an amazing winter for everyone although we may well pay for it in the months to come.
Just a point though regarding livestock rearing. HOW does feeding milk powder which has been milked, transported, processed, transported, stored, transported, onsold, transported, merchandised and retailed back to the farmer, who then drives home, with everyone taking their tuppenceworth - how is that cheaper than feeding the calf naturally or with whole or skim milk available at source. :confused:
Time has moved on since I was farming but Wrightsons is still there and selling milk powder no doubt.
Cant figure out all the panic about botulism - its everywhere in improperly cooked or processed meats and vegs, the soil.
And on that note if everything breastfed we'd all be better off and we wouldnt have to worry about infant formula but they'd have to stay off the drugs and alcohol. Cant see the cows doing that though - they love molasses.:)
[QUOTE=majorbarejet;420951]:confused:
Just a point though regarding livestock rearing. HOW does feeding milk powder which has been milked, transported, processed, transported, stored, transported, onsold, transported, merchandised and retailed back to the farmer, who then drives home, with everyone taking their tuppenceworth - how is that cheaper than feeding the calf naturally or with whole or skim milk available at source. :confused:
The powder used for rearing calves is not milk powder.
The best powders are casein based and the cheaper ones vegetable fats
Well I'll be hornswoggled, all these years and I thought casein came from milk:)
The fat used is a byproduct of animal processing. I think it is still called casein but I could be wrong.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casein
Casein (/ˈkeɪs.ɪn/ or /ˈkeɪˌsiːn/, from Latin caseus, "cheese") is the name for a family of related phosphoproteins (αS1, αS2, β, κ). These proteins are commonly found in mammalian milk, making up 80% of the proteins in cow milk and between 20% and 45% of the proteins in human milk.[1] Casein has a wide variety of uses, from being a major component of cheese, to use as a food additive, to a binder for safety matches.[2] As a food source, casein supplies amino acids; carbohydrates; and two inorganic elements, calcium and phosphorus.[3]
Ah, but is a good winter a good thing for PGW? Some would say the natural feed has held up well, so no need to go to PGW to buy supplementary feed (bad). Others would say more money in farmers pockets looking likely, so they are more likely to spend at PGW (good). Which is it?
SNOOPY
I would gather that Supplemntary feed was purchased well in advance after a difficult summer and the potential for a harsh winter with the heavy snowfall. The subsequent mild weather will be a blessing as animal numbers are likely to be strong as the birthing season has been gentle on the animals. I think it has been a win win situation. Snapiti, you are totally right, heavy stock, and PGW clipping the ticket with this will result in a slightly better then expected result. Even if farmers have had a very difficult year, the outlook is much more positive now, then had we had a terrible harsh winter. The young sheep and cows have all had a good dose of sun and grass and are growing strong. Fingers crossed reporting won't be as harsh as expected. Fingers crossed.