What led dairyman to sell cows despite doing well?
Recently I found an old Farmers Weekly and noticed a dispersal sale, writes Rosemary Allen.
Not unusual, in fact frighteningly frequent, but I recognised the name. I'll call him Jim.
On my records I'd first contacted him in 2002. I'd asked if he was interested in computer software for feeding his cows more efficiently. His reply: "I don't have a computer, don't need one. I'm good at what I do and talk at meetings and advise people:"
Fine. I left him, but now and again I'd send promotional material and in 2007 an invitation to try a free disk. No reply. In 2011 he sold his cows.
Was he an old man retiring? No. Was he ill? I don't think so because this is usually mentioned in the advert. However, the write-up of his cows was phenomenal, so why would he be selling?
They had been in the family for three generations so it would have been a hard decision, in fact probably heartbreaking. They seemed to have good yields and good butterfat and protein and it wasn't a small herd – 270 cows. All these point to success.
Was it the low milk price? That wouldn't help, but according to him he was doing well – until 2011. So what changed in 2011? Probably nothing much on his farm.
Perhaps the bank manager mentioned his overdraft and made a couple of suggestions. May be he suggested more cows or that he should sell them all. I think everybody accepts that if 270 cows are not making a profit, 370 will not in the end make one either.
They might provide a bigger milk cheque, but that's not profit.
So what should Jim have done? There are certain fundamentals which have been lost chasing litres. The cow is a browser and will live longer, produce more profitable, high butterfat milk and be more environmentally friendly if she is treated like a browser. He should find someone who is not trying to provide him with expensive feeds, additives, rumen conditioners or anything other than basic feeding support.
Milk producers should be the kings, yet they seem to be scapegoats, being mislead with wonderful new solutions and paying for this privilege. Short-termism spells failure for dairymen. Profit per lactation should be the aim.
The feed merchants, buyers, processors and supermarkets all seem to think they deserve a bigger cut than the producer and it is taking them too long to find out that they don't.
Our users just get on with it quietly and simply don't understand how other people find it so difficult.
Rosemary Allen, is a retired livestock farmer now living near Ellesmere and with her husband Peter is part of CowCash-UK.
