River Cottage is back :) - Veal discussion

[Muscroj]

wow , great response & really interesting. I buy Yeo Valley yoghurts for my boys & will certainly be hunting out other dairy products from them after that!

[Super.Niki]

I've emailed Dairy Crest and Anchor (Country life were owned my Dairy crest or something...) so waiting for a response form them.

I was actually really impressed with YV's response, I do happily buy their stuff (mainly because it's really tasty and because it's organic and becaise I love the area that it comes from!) so I did sigh a big relief that it was all good!

[Millymollymandy]

I had some of their plain yoghurt when I was in England and it was to die for! Good response from them, I was sceptical at first reading the bit where it said they ate a grass based diet (yes they can do that indoors!) until I got further in and it said they were mostly outside.

[prison break fan]

Brilliant response from Yeo Valley. Wish all companies were as honest!! pbf.

[ina]

It's interesting to know that they are going back to dual purpose cattle, i.e. British Friesians rather than HF. It's one thing I've been trying to discuss with farmers and others for years...

[Super.Niki]

It seemed like a sensible idea in my opinion. I don't know much (read: anything) about raising cattle but surely cattle for both dairy and meat is better than one or the other?

Anyone got any cattle-raising knowledge/experience like to share the pros/cons?

[ina]

I don't know much (read: anything) about raising cattle but surely cattle for both dairy and meat is better than one or the other?

Financially, it makes more sense to specialise - same principle as in any industry. And as Government and industry have in the past always driven farmers to produce food the cheapest way possible (only way for farmers to survive, if they wanted to stay in farming), no wonder we have hardly anything else left but either beef or dairy cattle.

[Super.Niki]

Hi all, following my emails to dairy producers. This is the response I got from Dairy Crest (who are responsible for Cathedral City, Davidstow, Wexford Cheddar, Clover, Country Life, St Hubert, Utterly Butterly, Vitalite, Willow, Country Life Milk & Frijj). I'm not entirely happy with it so I will be emailing back and asking for the specific farms that keepmtheir herd indoors all year round and will also be asking if there is any alternative (like YeoValley's dual purpose herds) than just for veal and, if not, what companies export to Europe for veal (as I think, personally, it's cruel) and which companies only sell to English Rose Veal (marginally better). I'm also very interested in the Waitrose scheme so will be asking about that too.

Over all I thought it was an ok response but not as in-depth and personal as YeoValley's response.

Good Afternoon

Thank you for contacting us regarding animal welfare and milk supply. As a company, Dairy Crest fully recognises the importance of animal health and welfare which is why we demand the highest standards from the 1,300 farms who supply our milk. All of these farms must comply fully with the requirements of the Assured Dairy Farm (ADF) national dairy farm assurance scheme. The ADF scheme focuses on all aspects of dairy husbandry and milk production.

All of our suppliers are free to choose the farming system, land and livestock most appropriate to their business provided they can consistently achieve the ADF standards. Dairy farmers take great care to ensure that their herds are in good health and well cared for. This makes good sense, as a healthy animal is more productive, less likely to contract and spread disease, and lives longer.

The majority of herds graze outside in the summer months as they have always done, and come into the parlour for milking. It is normal practice at milking time for cows to be offered additional feeds to ensure that all have access to a well-balanced ration to meet all their nutritional requirements and to produce good, high quality milk.

In the winter months, cows are usually fed on a ration based on silage (grass that has been conserved throughout the summer period). Cows are housed during this period as it offers a better environment, protecting them from potentially adverse weather conditions and ensuring an adequate supply of food. A small number of farms have adopted a system where the cows are housed for all or the majority of the year.

For all farming systems, an assessment of the housing facilities and the provision of a dry, comfortable and spacious bedding area is a key requirement of the ADF standards.

With regards to your enquiry regarding culling, I have to say we enjoy a close working relationship with our supplying dairy farmers and because of this know how distressing the practice of culling bull calves can be for them. This practice is only used on farms as a very last resort.

We have been working with our retail customers, including leading supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, to develop solutions to reduce the number of calves disposed of at birth or sent for export. These solutions include initiatives to develop the beef market to utilize bull calves as well as supporting the expansion of the English rose veal market. We appreciate that currently the UK veal market is very small but we welcome any attempts to stimulate demand for British, welfare-friendly veal. An initiative already operating successfully is the Waitrose calf scheme, where surplus calves from our Waitrose dairy farms are sold into Dovecote - Waitrose's dedicated beef suppliers.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. I hope this has addressed your concerns but please don’t hesitate to contact us again if not.

Colin Walters
Dairy Crest Consumer Careline Advisor
Careline Freephone: UK - 0800 328 5629

[eccentric_emma]

Thanks for all this as I can pass it onto my OH who likes to drink a lot of milk but he is starting to become aware of related animal welfare issues and wants to find more ethical products.

[Super.Niki]

No probelm I emailed for myself einitially, then saw this thread so thought I'd share the knoeweledge. (but clearly not the spelling skills, how is that spelled?!)

[the.fee.fairy]

k-n-o-w-l-e-d-g-e

I'll ask Milky next time i see him about the people he deals with Nik. If it turns out that its good, it might be more than bacon and sausages he delivers...