Walker killed by cattle....

[Mick Dempsey]

In the south east where I come from the problem is new arrivals, who buy the houses in the expanding villages and quite legitimately start exploring the local countryside using the footpaths that were barely trodden 20/30 years ago.

When their behaviour conflicts with the long term residents, sparks fly.

 

My old neighbour, who’s son is my brother in law recounted an incident to me a few years back.

We lived on a farm on the end of a lane that petered away into a footpath that became increasingly popular with the public as the nearby village expanded.

He had the old lodge house at the top of the lane.

 

Anyway there was an old dew pond in front of his house that he re instated, and a female mallard took residence and raised a clutch on it.

 

One day he’s out there and a female jogger trudges past with a Labrador alongside, the unleashed dog leaps into the pond and kills the mallard, he shouts out in complaint but she continues her run explaining in no uncertain terms over her shoulder that he should have put a fence round it.

 

 

Edited February 14, 2022 by Mick Dempsey

[drinksloe]

If those where dairy cows with calfs at foot i'll eat my hat.

 

It simply doesn't happen, if u knew anything about dairying u would know that u don't run dairy cows with calfs at hoof.

Try watching the panaroma program u might learn a bit about dairying, must admit not my favourite aspect of modern farming, infact a few dairies i know would get farming stopped the methods/systems they use.

Cows are treated very well just more like luxory battery hens than the dairy i grew up with with proper freisians instead of these freisan-holstiens as they now call the breed.

I imagine how they treat young calfs may well be an issue too

How it work financially is a mystery too with the haulage costs many dairies big farms have nowadays.

But thats a different argument

 

Don't get me wrong its well known that bulls from the dairy breeds tend to be the worst of the lot, so bad many are not taken to auctions.

But its always been that way and most farmers are responsible enough to realise that and keep dairy bulls well out of the way.

Not that dairy bulls will be that common nowadays on most farms, most of the high yielders will be AI'd while the poorer cows put to a decent beef breed, often limmy or charlois

 

There s no doubt cattle are less used to humans now than in the past mainly as rarely handled the way they were, coupled with the trend for contential breeds which are even more skittish and larger than our native breeds and throw in a bunch of folk who have no idea how to behave around them, just a recipe for disaster.

Amazing more people aren't hurt really and will only get worse on this overcrowded  island

Edited February 14, 2022 by drinksloe

[AHPP]

Does anyone remember Sunnyside Farm on TV in the late nineties?

 

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

36 minutes ago, drinksloe said:

f those where dairy cows with calfs at foot i'll eat my hat.

 

As it comes or with a sauce?

Quote

 

It simply doesn't happen, if u knew anything about dairying u would know that u don't run dairy cows with calfs at hoof.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear....
 

Is this a perpetuation of bad habits being presented as current / best practice?  If so, that is the cause of the problem rather than the potential solution. 

 

Just because one might only be familiar with a single, intensive system, it does not make that system the only / best system. 

 

Dam rearing systems are possible and have significant positive effects on cognition and social skills of dam reared calves. 
 

The largest local dairy hereabouts has a similar approach to the ‘ethical dairy’ currently featuring on the beeb prog. 
 

I’ll go out on a limb...

 

The greatest issue facing the ag sector in the coming decade is losing its connection with the consumer. 
 

Failure to embrace better practice and an overt unwillingness to proactively engage the consuming public will accelerate that disconnect. 
 

“We’ve always done it that way” is one of the worst possible scenarios....

 

{Holy crap!  Watching Panarama on catch up and by God if those London elite, champagne socialist, lefty, townies biased no-good interfereniks at the Beeb haven’t read my script....}

Edited February 14, 2022 by kevinjohnsonmbe

[AWarb00]

48 minutes ago, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

 

 

 

I’ll go out on a limb...

 

The greatest issue facing the ag sector in the coming decade is losing its connection with the consumer. 
 

 

And there you said it, if you had actually watched Clarksons farm you might have realised how much good it's done for British farming

 

 

 

Nobody likes a know it all.....

[Richard 1234]

19 minutes ago, AWarb00 said:

And there you said it, if you had actually watched Clarksons farm you might have realised how much good it's done for British farming

 

 

 

Nobody likes a know it all.....

On the whole I enjoyed clarksons farm and it did raise good points.

on the subsidy yes he got it like everyone else but if I remember rightly he made £85

from the 2000 acres that first year. It was some silly figure like that.

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

23 minutes ago, AWarb00 said:

And there you said it, if you had actually watched Clarksons farm you might have realised how much good it's done for British farming

 

 

 

Nobody likes a know it all.....

There is a huge amount of contradictory “opinion” about the Clarkson effect available in the googlesphere. 
 

Much of it is complete wankjuice with the primary purpose of promoting the show to the direct financial benefit of - well,, maybe you can figure that out for yourself. 
 

 

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

8 minutes ago, Richard 1234 said:

On the whole I enjoyed clarksons farm and it did raise good points.

on the subsidy yes he got it like everyone else but if I remember rightly he made £85

from the 2000 acres that first year. It was some silly figure like that.

Is that a bit like Trump then? The only way he’d end up with a million is if he started out with 2?

 

Clarkson - reported £48 mil personal wealth, paid heaven only knows how much for a farm - and a ridiculously over spec’s tractor - drew down a shed load of tax payers money (quite properly (if you think the subsidy system ‘proper’)) and turned an £85 profit after a year?

 

There’s a discussion running about how silly it is to work on a Sunday and folks’ business acumen been questioned (only joking Mick) but folks here want to present Clarkson as a paradigm of industry?

 

I’m completely unable to take that at face value....

 

Others may disagree. 

[AHPP]

1 hour ago, Mick Dempsey said:

In a word the problem is Countryfile.

 

Back in the 70s/80s/90s the countryside was to be avoided, boring smelly and full of thick peasants covered in animal shit.

It was great, we had it to ourselves.

 

Thanks to that program, everyone wants a piece of it, all thinking they’re Kate Humble or that ginger farmer bloke, all centering themselves with the help of Mother Nature.

 

Your appraisal (as well as being piss funny) is bob on. It's the same with the north of England. I looked at a characterful rural property in the North Pennines the other day. It can be bloody bleak there. I had a chat with the couple viewing after me. They're leaving St Albans, "for a change of scenery." Well **************** off to Rickmansworth then. They'll stay for five minutes and then decide they prefer Pret a Manger and pollution. They'll also do a number on the property prices that will make the Weimar Republic look pedestrian. I'm going to have to go to Scotland to get ahead of them for five minutes.

I am arguably a hypocrite and part of the problem of course. I'm from Suffolk. But I have lived up north for 8 of my 34 years and been a regular visitor for 23 of them. I do fit in as well. I have a few quite local characteristics.

[Macpherson]

21 minutes ago, AHPP said:

I'm going to have to go to Scotland to get ahead of them for five minutes.

Many would say you're about 30 years too late🤣