Madison Co. Virginia | WCWI - 11/24/2024 00:43
Yes, sexed semen was the last nail in the coffin for the small dairy farm in WI. probably nationwide, small farms could raise all their heifers and sell the extras to the big dairies who could only get 1-1/2 lactations out of their cows for $1500-2000 in the early 2000's, most cases it was enough money for the family to almost live on for the year and the milk check kept the farm bills paid.
I don't see how the 'sexed-semen' naysayers can continue to claim that was the worst thing for the dairy industry. Sexed semen is exactly what has made beef-on-dairy possible now, and is directly contributing to the high replacement-heifer prices today.
What sexed semen and beef-on-dairy has done, is forced dairymen to choose between a high-value beef calf that you can sell now, and a replacement heifer that will begin to earn her keep in several years. That decision pushes everyone to get more efficient, and reduce the number of replacements they need to the bare minimum. That in itself is slowing down any dairy herd expansion that would normally have occurred with recent high milk prices.
The small-farm/big-farm debate doesn't enter into this at all. If a small farm wanted to capitalize on the ongoing heifer shortage, and sell heifers on the open market, they're more than welcome to do so. |
Short dairy cows
