RAISING DAIRY CALVES

Raising male dairy calves is one of the biggest ethical dilemmas in the dairy industry. For a cow to produce milk, it needs to calve. Yet, less than 1% of Australian dairy farmers raise all the calves that result from the dairy production.

MALE CALVES

Our commitment to raising our male dairy calves is not financially viable and has added a layer of complexity to our production. However, we believe that raising all calves is not only the right thing to do – but that it may also turn into a sustainable production.

On our dairy farm, Clovelly Dairy, in Tasmania, we think differently. We are among a few dairy farms in Australia, who have a dedicated goal to raise all calves from our dairy production including all our male calves. This is a matter of pride and principle; born out of the our sustainability philosophy and our ethics of always trying to do what we believe is right. We want to prove that raising male dairy calves can be profitable without compromising animal welfare. If we succeed, we will hopefully serve as an inspiration for other dairy farmers to follow.

CARING FOR OUR CALVES

Currently, we make a loss on each of our male dairy calves. Regardless, we raise our calves in the same way. We do not separate them by gender, so all calves receive the same care and attention.

During the busy calving season, we hand-raise about 2,850 calves, of which 1,000 are male.

Calves must be taught to feed, be vaccinated, and weaned, all while their health is constantly monitored to prevent the breakout of diseases.

It is a rewarding but demanding job, where our dedicated teams provide round-the-clock care.

After 21 days in calf sheds, our calves move out onto pastures, and at 85 days old they are slowly weaned. Our male calves, fit and healthy, move to another of our farms, where they spend the next 12-18 months grazing free range on pastures and fodder crops.

Dairy calves, Tasmania. Photographer: Alice Mabin

DAIRY BEEF

We raise the male dairy calves to be sold into the beef market. To increase the meat quality, we inseminate our dairy cows with semen from Aberdeen Angus bulls. This way, we produce male dairy calves with an improved meat quality.

We believe that dairy beef will become more acceptable for consumers as a tender and lean alternative to traditional beef.

While we work hard on raising the quality of dairy beef, we expect consumers to be the true drivers of change. People have a growing interest in the ethical aspect of the food they consume. We hope that increased support from consumers to ethical dairy farms will turn into higher demand for dairy beef.

F O R E S T S