Slaughter calves hit a new high
Slaughter calves hit a new high
CALF numbers heading for slaughter have reached a record high.
The calf processing aid scheme (CPAS) accounted for more than 24,000 animals in the week ending Sept 24, bolstered by the seasonal rise in calvings. And the years tally could be 550,000, reckons the Meat and Livestock Commission.
Dairy farmers, meanwhile, are bracing themselves for the schemes disappearance and widely-expected collapse in calf values on Nov 30.
"Rearing is not an option," says Ribble Valley dairy farmer Steve Morris. "Its simply not economically viable in the current climate.
"I will be very happy if anyone will pay me £20 for them – my real fear is that they will have no value at all or, more likely, become a liability.
"If they become a liability some farmers will dump dead calves in a way that, tragically, some farmers are dumping dead sheep."
Payments under the CPAS added about £2000 to the bottom line at Mr Morriss Goodshaw Farm this year. "The government, which has failed to open up export markets, has an obligation to compensate us for the loss in value," he says.