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Comparing diet-based farming system Protection Farms Animal Welfare Standard Protection Farming System Meeting Expected Market Demand |
Protection Farming System At Protection Farms multi-purpose cattle breeds are used exploiting characteristics of the cow that other farming systems miss - extended lactations and the appropriate use of animal (draft) power. Cows & Milk Production A cow will give milk for many years from just one pregnancy. Therefore, in a system where population control is limited by breeding, as slaughter is prohibited, extended lactations can increase milk yield per lactation. At Protection Farms cows give birth at around the age of 3, their calves are allowed to suckle until weaning, and the cow gives milk until the age of 7, equating to a 4 year lactation, at an average of 8 litres/day, for a total lactation of 11,500 litres. Following the latter system a cow would give birth 3 or 4 times in its life, giving milk for up to 15 years. Therefore, in its lifetime a cow could give an average of 40,000 litres of milk. As cows live an average of 20 years, it can be seen that the cow would be productive for most of its life. Oxen & Crops At Protection Farms the male calf is castrated at around 2 years old, unless it is kept whole for reproductive purposes. The oxen are trained to work - to plough fields and to haul loads. Working oxen are a requirement so as to enable the animals to have a utilitarian use as well as the protection afforded to sentient beings; one reason for this is that to do otherwise could lead oxen to be seen as a burden to the system and not an asset. VEDA envisages that the target consumers’ main interest in Protection Farms is for milk and dairy produce, thus the cow is seen to have use and deemed worthy of protection. With oxen there is a stark choice to be made, you either protect them or you kill them. The latter leads to a meat-based diet, the former is the logical consequence of a compassionate society and a vegetarian diet. Oxen must be protected, and useful work found for them will give them more value in our utilitarian society; yet the exact requirements for the use of oxen are still poorly researched. The high labour costs in the West would, at first sight, make draft-powered agriculture seem prohibitive. Protection Farms is in no way trying to return to a pre-industrial agriculture, but niche opportunities must be sought using appropriate draft-powered technologies before any form of combustion-powered mechanisation is utilised. As well as agricultural use oxen can give ox and cart rides on festive days in the community, and to farm visitors who should be attracted to Protection Farms because of its niche position in the market place. Whilst the Protection Farming System stipulates that all production should comply with organic standards, it is recommended that the cropping system should integrate agroforestry practices. In an intensive organic cropping system a tractor can often be surplus to requirements, whilst a rotavator may not be sufficient. Well trained oxen can bridge this gap. With the introduction of trees into the field system tractors become too large and burdensome, whereas oxen fit well into a more heterogeneous system.
VEDA has devised the Protection Farms 12:60 model as the basis for all other models; taking milk production from the cow and the ability of one experienced hand-milker as the denominator to define 1 farm unit. At the maturity of this closed system model after 20 years there should be 12 milking cows out of a population of 60 head of cattle - 30 cows and 30 oxen. As with most models it should be noted that a theoretical model will only partially reflect the true reality as many other factors will distort the system. On a 4 year lactation (including the allowance for a 6 month suckling calf) a cow will give an average of 8 litres per day over the 4 year period, equating to a lactation of 11,500 litres. The figures will vary according to breed, skill of the milker and other environmental conditions. The mathematics of the system are shown below: Year
1 - 14 litres/day Using the above system one experienced worker can hand-milk an optimum number of 12 cows two times a day. Of the 12 cows being milked there would be 3 cows in each of the 4 milking years. This regime would yield a maximum of about 100 litres/day of niche market milk from protected farm animals - “Happy Cow Milk.” 12 cows * 8 litre/day average = 96 litre/day The life expectancy of a cow is about 20 years, though this figure will depend on breed and environmental conditions. Using the above figures it is then possible to calculate a cattle population model, as described below and illustrated in Figure 1 on the next page. 3 calves are born each year allowing 3 cows to give milk in year 1 of the 4 year lactation. In a mature system these 3 cows will replace the other 3 cows from the year 4 lactation, which will have dried off awaiting retirement or a subsequent rest before further pregnancy and lactation. In this way a continuous loop will be formed with the 3 incoming milking cows replacing the 3 outgoing cows and the whole system shunting up through the 4 year cycle. Thus, a continuous supply of 12 milking cows will be maintained with a maximum production of 100 litres of milk/day. As well as a continuous milking loop, there is also a continuous population loop over a 20 year cycle. In a closed system with 3 calves born each year, after 20 years of population growth the population would then remain the same at 60 head of cattle as the oldest cattle die of natural causes. From then on the cattle population will remain at 60 with 3 calves born at year 1 and 3 cows dying at year 20. Summary Compartmentalisation of the Farm Unit The 12:60 model states that on maturity of the closed system after 20 years there will be 30 cows and 30 oxen (with bulls excluded for the moment), with 12 milking cows giving 100 litres/day. Of this 60 head of cattle there will be 3 head of cattle of each age from 0 to 20, forming a closed system loop that could maintain itself at 60 head of cattle indefinitely. This system can be compartmentalised to aid in a greater understanding of the complexities of the system, and to aid in the allocation of financial and labour resources. Milking cow compartment - Of the 30 cow total there would be 12 milking cows, equating to 40% of the cow herd, giving a total of 100 litres milk/day. Working oxen compartment - Of the 30 oxen up to 10 ox teams (2 oxen per team) would be available for draft-powered labour, with the other 10 oxen being either too young and in training or too old and in retirement. Calf component - At Protection Farms a calf is defined as a cow under the age of 2 years old. Their upkeep should be costed into the running costs of the business. Calves offer a competitive advantage over their maturer brothers and sisters in terms of pulling in tourism, especially via children. Retired cattle component - At the age of 15 it is suggested that the cattle be put into retirement. Their upkeep could be through an insurance policy paid throughout their productive life, through charitable support, or costed into the running costs of the business. It should be noted that full system milk production can be met at year 4 of the 20 year cycle, whilst full maturity of the system would not be reached until year 20. This brings in the full milk income at year 4, but expenditure will continue to increase. When setting a price for the milk future expenditure must be discounted into the price. Depending on the price set this could yield greater income in the first decade of the system, which could be used to shore up initial problems, invest in training, or in the service sector on the farm; or purchase land of the land-holding trust within a pre-arranged financing system. Also to be noted is that 10 ox teams would only be possible between the 10th and 12th years of the system, when enough oxen have been born and trained. This can be altered if beef steers are brought into the system from outside and trained. VEDA has estimated that 1 farm unit would need 5 to 10 farm employees on maturity of the system. This in itself is not unreasonable if seasonality, part-timing and work-share with non-farm activities in the whole system are taken into account. This may actually be low, but this depends on the intensity of the system and the service component. Amongst them would be the manager, section managers, systems designers and agricultural specialists.
So far only the cow has been modelled, other animals (horses, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens etc.) have not as yet been considered. At Protection Farms they would have their own niche in the system. Also the above model only takes into account agricultural production whilst the whole system would involve both products and services. Cafes, bars, restaurants, arts and crafts centre, children’s adventure playgrounds, educational centres, workshops, processed foods, etc., are appendages to the backbone of Protection Farms agricultural production. As is usual in a modern developed society the latter businesses will no doubt be the most profitable and whilst they add value to the whole system, the agricultural backbone adds value to them through association. The 12:60 model is a closed system model, whilst PFAWS recommends an open system amongst different farms complying to Protection Farms standards. In an open system animals can be sold or gifted, and purchased or accepted as a donation. This would alter the perfect model conditions. The 12:60 model assumes the reaching of a mature system but in favourable conditions with plentiful demand, supply could be expanded, with farm units bifurcating, acting like cells and splitting into two; though there are inherent limits to excessive bifurcation. Bifurcation can only go so far before the capacity of milking cows versus non-milking cows is met, with no more cows left, from the closed system, to impregnate. Bifurcation is also, in many respects, like a pyramid system that must eventually have an end when demand is finally satiated. New blood must also be brought in to the system to maintain biological diversity, as well as to satisfy the target consumer that Protection Farms is saving farm animals not just breeding the fortunate ‘saved’. If the 12:60 model were to mature as the perfect model there would be 12 milking cows for every 18 non-milking cows. With farm unit bifurcation and population loss, due to sale or donation, included this could be minimalised to as low as 6 non-productive cows to 12 milking cows (here oxen are separate from the equation). By further reducing the overheads in the first decade profits would be greater than in a mature system. There
is as yet no fully costed business plan, nor any commercial model
in the Western world, to substantiate the material provided in this
discussion document. There is no doubt that if people choose a vegetarian
diet then they need a farming system suited to their diet. Farms
with life-time protected animals will provide the animal-derived
part of the vegetarian diet. The exact mechanisms to achieve this
and the expected market price are still in the research stage, much
of which has just been presented. In order to take this further
VEDA, upon acceptance and registration with the Charities Commission,
will be looking for funding to further this research, to disseminate
its findings and to aide in the formation of the first Protection
Farms. VEDA has estimated that a budget of £500,000 would
fulfil the latter criteria with a 4 year initial research project
on an experimental farm. Only then will the ‘true’ costs
be known and the ‘true’ market demand realised. |