FROM DORSET

摘要

Mike farms in partnership with his sons, Peter and Robert, on a 48ha all-grass unit in Dorset. They milk 100 Holstein Friesians on a low cost, make do and mend system with the emphasis on cow health and comfort. Newsnight contacted me this week, theywanted to know how the cull cow backlog was affecting our farm. My first reaction was 'not a lot' but then I started to think. It is our normal practice to try to decide which cows to cull in the period between calving and service. Having made the decision not to serve, we then milk the cow on - sometimes for over a year.