Thoughts for the future from John Brand

Below is an excerpt from an email received from John Brand in recent weeks, posing some interesting questions on the future of the Jersey cow in tomorrow's dairy industry....

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Three thinks that make me think...

• We were given a small horse for my kids this year. I feed this horse very mature average hay. She is FAT now. Horse people tell me - you are feeding her WAY TOO GOOD OF HAY! No balanced ration. No grain!!. She basicly lives outside!! What is wrong with my cows? aren't they supposed to be forage digesters?? 
• I regularily change my feeding ( heaven forbid a nutritionist find out!!) to suit my quota requirements. Some cows go down in milk with less grain but there are afew who always go up!!
• I can dry off a thrifty cow and have her lose weight when on my heifer ration of staight hay. Yet I can also dry off an unthrifty cow and have her gain weight on the same hay !!

Some points that maybe give support...

• Young people (20-30's) are now rated as having equal heart health as that of seniors 
• We are seeing an increase in digestive cancers -animal product foods are seen often as the culprit.
• Canada is the largest exporter of flax in the world -which has been hit hard in recent weeks
• We are regularily told we need to use an ovsync program to get our cows pregnant.We are told that we need to feed palm kernal fat (imported from malaysian rain forest) to give our cows enough energy.
• The use of grain as biofuels means that we will need to protect our soils with better crop rotations.
• Nutrtionists tell us that the only way to meet the needs of "todays high producing cow" is to feed a ration of corn silage and straw.
• Decades old research tells us that flax fed cows have healthier and 2x larger follicles. 
• Flax fed cows have milk that is 75:25 good to bad fat.
• Palm kernal fat gives milk that is 25:75 good to bad fat
• Flax gives the cow itself a healthier blood profile and is a natural anti inflammitory for the cow as well.

What might be some of the results?

• The demand for more flax would enhance crop rotation opportunities.
• Milk from cows fed grass and pasture is more heart healthy.
• This milk also has 10x-50x more CLA (the most potent cancer fighter known) than heavily grain fed cows.
• The larger the percentage that forage makes up in the diet , the higher the CLA in the milk ( and meat !!)
• High forage fed cows can have a less acidic body enhancing conception and improving forage digestion by 10%. 
• More demand for forage from cattle farms would improve the sustainability of our soil rotations.
• Cow manure that is deposited in the field has 80 % of the nutrients returned to the soil.
• Cow manure stored in the barn and spread on the field has 80% of the nutrients lost to the environment
• Forages when seeded can last for several years.
• Corn needs to be seeded every year with fertilizer, diesel and pesticides.

The Bottom Line....

• A forage-farmer benefits and the consumer benefits
• if grain fed...the suppliers benefit

Which one do you think will be promoted to us??

We say we sell natures most perfect food...will we let our practices prove it??

Opportunities for genetic diversity, genomics and the Jersey breed??