Good afternoon, dear Blogger friends. As many of you know, I moved onto this farm in December 2017. I live in a small (very small) cottage between the two farmhouses belonging to Farmer John and Ron and Gavin and Nine (farmer's son, and DIL)
Walking Skabby regularly up the farm road to the dam, I got to know the dairy herd very well. I did many, many posts about the cows and cute calves.
Healthy, sleek and producing many liters of milk in the dairy,
Then disaster struck. In May 2022, when the vets did a check, they discovered the herd was infected with CA (contagious abortion). It contaminates the milk so that was unfit for human consumption. For several months the milk was poured down the drain.
There is no inoculation against it and the herd had to go. The only thing the animal's meat was suitable for is dog food.
The factory which produced this product, was in the Eastern Cape, two to three days' travel away. The cows had to be fattened (which, with the lush lands they lazed around on for many months, helped to increase their weight) as when transported they tended to lose some of the weight.
James the herdsman knew every animal ...
Harsh; sad but it happened.
This week the last of the herd was loaded and taken away...
The slogan on the transport truck said: quietly moving along
I like to think that the owners of that transport company have the welfare and comfort of the cows in mind. Even though this a final trip for them, I hoped that they were not stressed unduly by finding themselves removed from beautiful green pastures to being enclosed in a tin can on a trip which lasted more than two days.
I know farming is a business and farmers generally don't become emotionally involved. I quietly sent up a prayer and comforting thoughts for the beautiful bovine ladies...
I'm linking to Saturday critters with Eileen here
A very sad day at the farm.
ReplyDeleteThat is so sad to lose your entire herd. Such a heartache to see them carted away like that. It truly must have been one of your saddest days on the farm.
ReplyDeleteTHat's heart breaking. I also didn't know that was a thing. So informative but sometimes I think I like to be ignorant (bad, but true). I feel for you. That's rough. #SaturdayCritters
ReplyDeleteSad story, beautiful photos.
ReplyDeleteOh my, this is a very sad story. To loose the whole herd and all that milk. I always love seeing the cattle, they have such beautiful eyes. Farming is a hard business, it's true one can not be emotionally involved with the animals. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a great day and a happy new week. PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.
ReplyDeleteI’m so sorry and very sad. I’ve never heard of this before. Will the farmers receive financial assistance to start a new herd? That’s obviously their livelihood.
ReplyDeleteI’m missing somewhat in blogland dear, time taken up by medical issues. My dear Bob has been diagnosed with cancer and we’re awaiting a major surgery in a few weeks. Life is certainly a roller coaster ride. Hope you are well.
Hugs - Mary
Such a sad story, I feel so bad for the farmer who lost all his herd.
ReplyDeleteDreadful news, I feel for you. Diane
ReplyDeleteThat is a sad story. The whole herd being infected. It must have been hard on the farmers and you who enjoyed getting to know them.
ReplyDelete