Farm Diary - Dec 16 2009

Luckily, we don't have any land work to do, and only sheep grazing on the clay at this time of year.

Mind you the sheep have maintained their reputation of being a total pain, by getting out and mixing together. This would not be too much of a problem if they all belonged to the same person!

I have been moving them around the farm with my English Bull Terrier, which is not easy even in good conditions; I do the running and the Bull Terrier watches me.

We are just getting a few odd jobs done with the dairy herd, vaccinating young heifers for BVD,IBR and Lepto, we also had a heifer to de-horn last week (because I had missed her as a calf), and we have sold the three Aberdeen Angus bulls.

They were far too big and fat having feasted on dairy cow rations whilst having little to do, and we need some smaller younger bulls to put in with the heifers.

We had the cows scored for 'locomotion' again recently and we are back where we should be after suffering a set-back following a change of foot-bath ingredient from Formaldehyde to Copper Sulphate.

It only took a fortnight for lameness to re-appear, and by the time we changed back, it was a problem which has taken over a month to cure.

We shall be sticking with proven methods on this farm from now on. The cows are regularly trimmed, but it is a constant battle to keep them all sound, especially the older girls.

After a difficult autumn with mastitis infection, we have at last got the numbers of affected cows down, and hopefully the dry cold weather will help. Lameness and mastitis are the two big challenges in dairy cow management, and they are really difficult to combat effectively day in day out.

The only way is to persevere with proper protocols for treatment, but much more importantly, prevent infection in the first place. This is easier said than done when we have incessant rain and high ambient temperatures.

n This 'nanny state' is under attack again for its obsession with obesity. Former head of the Bradford University Food Policy Unit, Dr Verner Wheelock, who has helped develop official nutritional labeling policy, said 'The government's approach to tackling obesity is becoming increasingly absurd, and despite its dire predictions, obesity is not getting worse.

In any event, it is also a fact that people who are overweight often have better health and life expectancy than those who are a normal weight'.

Dr Wheelock goes on to say that weight is not important, except at extremes; diets don't work, and weight cycling (losing weight and then putting it back on again) is positively bad for health.

Dr Wheelock concluded that whilst individual diet relate to health, trying to devise guidelines for the whole UK population is 'fraught with difficulty'. What a healthy dose of commonsense.

I raise this, because I see cheese manufacturers struggling to produce low fat cheese and sell it to a general public that generally find it of poor taste. Supermarkets have destroyed taste over the years, as they display uniform, highly polished food that disappoints the taste buds almost every time. Now the government's Food Standard agency is insisting that more than 25 per cent of Cheddar cheese sales must be low-fat by 2015.

If you haven't got a great product you are not going to sell it, whatever the message; any sales team will tell you that. To make matter more ridiculous, the FSA are insisting that manufacturers promote reduced fat alternatives, when EU regulations may prevent them doing just that! Because on the 19th of January next, new EU regulations will govern nutrition claims, with 'X per cent less fat' and 'extra light' (which are prevalent on cheese) will be outlawed.

Given that the evidence for cutting saturated fats is at best flakey, and that boosting exercise or eating more fruit and vegetables is likely to be far more beneficial, the sheer cost of these changes are huge. For example, United Biscuits have spent more than 6 million to alter the composition of just three biscuit lines!

This is why 'The Grocer' magazine has awarded the FSA the 'Katie Price Award', for 'laying it on thick'. Whilst 'Change 4 Life' talk up the merits of exercise, the FSA have been graphically exposing cereal, bread and soup suppliers for their high salt levels, and depictions of fridges oozing saturated fats; as subtle (according to The Grocer) as Jordan's make-up!

n With Christmas coming up it is also good to hear that the calorie limits used in the UK since 1991 may be considerably too low, due to inaccuracies in calculating how much energy it takes to potter about! If this is ratified, all the current nonsense regarding 'traffic-light', children's food advert restrictions, could all change; more cost and more unwanted beurocraccy. In the meantime I see that sales of indulgent desserts and hot puddings are climbing.

Is it the recession? Is it the weather? Swine Flu? Nanny State telling us what to eat? Whatever the reason, its big helpings all round, as consumers tuck into forgotten old favourites such as syrup pudding and sticky toffee pudding, which are flying off the shelves. Pubs are reporting that proper puddings are also on the increase, with increased sales.

With Christmas around the corner, what a good time to celebrate and tuck into some really good food; let the government scrooges spoil their own pleasures, but I for one will not be giving a thought to their 'big brother' antics, as I tuck in over the festive season. Cheers!