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Article: Don't rush if you want quality and longevity; Prof DE Beever ,director of the Centre for Dairy Research at Reading University,argues for an end to Britain's `milk at any price' culture.(Features)
- Article from:
- Daily Post (Liverpool, England)
- Article date:
- January 22, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 MGN Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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PRODUCING milk is an expensive business, and rising cereal prices are constant reminders of the costs of feeding cows.
Rearing the replacement heifer until calving does nothing to help cash flow, apart from possible valuation changes. But it's an overhead we have to bear.
It's after that when things go wrong on many UK dairy farms.
Much of this is due to the `milk- at any -price' culture,fuelled by overzealous Holsteins that are intent on self-destruction.
I often wonder how many farmers and consultants reflect how much poor nutrition is costing dairy businesses as they strive for more milk at almost any price.
Higher yields ...