During our theme of Interdependence we visited two different family-run dairy farms: Strandhead Farm in Tarbolton and Mossgiel Farm in Mauchline. Despite the final product produced being the same, it was interesting to compare the farms and how they vary both in their methods and ethos.
The first farm we visited was Strandhead Farm which relied heavily on technology. They use machines to milk the cows, gather and distribute their feed. It is one of the most technologically advanced farms in Scotland and I found it really interesting to see how they have developed the traditional farming
methods, especially when it comes to milking. At Strandhead, the cows are given the freedom to decide to be milked whenever and how often they liked. This process involved the cows queuing up and then being milked one at a time by a robot which also screened them for any potential infections or nutrients that the cow may be lacking in order for the farmer to determine whether they need to provide any changes to their diets.
Strandhead Farm kept its cows indoors all year and used shutters to shelter them from the varying weather conditions. This method concerned me as it raised many significant animals rights issues however, the farmer justified this decision by explaining that the harsh winter can have a huge impact on the farmland which can affect the cows health and therefore can be damaging to the farmers livelihood. This farm also raised concerns when they explained that they separate newly born calves from their mothers just hours after being born. This upset me as the calves were placed in single, solitary pens and many seemed very distressed to be in such a confined space by themselves.
The second of the two farms we visited was Mossgiel farm which is what I would typically expect a farm to look like. It is a much smaller, family run farm by owner Bryce Cunningham who decided to move to more organic methods in order to be as ethically and environmentally conscious as a farm can be. This also allowed Bryce to be able to ensure that the farm could still be financially viable as he explained to us that the drop of the wholesale price of milk over recent years resulted in him losing thousands of pounds in income per month. In order to be considered as an organic farm, Bryce has to ensure that there are no pesticides used and he is only able to use natural fertilisers.
Mossgiel Farm also prides itself in keeping its native breed of Ayrshire Cattle which means that the cows are better suited to the weather conditions and soil in this habitat. Therefore, unlike Strandhead Farm, Mossgiel allows its cows to roam freely outdoors as the grass is native to the area which is ideal for the cows and this consequently reduces the cost of having to buy any additives that many non-native breeds may require in order to survive. Unlike Strandhead Farm, Mossgiel does not use the artificial insemination process as often as they have 4 bulls housed within the farm. This process does increase the number of male calves born at Mossgiel however Bryce explained that he has now created Ethical Veal as he felt very uncomfortable using the popular method of killing these calves at birth. This veal allows the farm to continue with its ideology of ethical and organic sustainability.
In contrast to Strandhead Farm, Mossgiel Farm cows are milked twice a day by Bryce and he allows himself to take the time to check over every cow to ensure they are at their best health rather than Strandhead’s robotic system. The milk at Mossgiel is pasteurised onsite which takes several hours using a slow heating and cooling process before being packaged and sent off to the farms customers – which Bryce explained are mainly specialist coffee shops.
Despite their differences, both farms also had various similarities. For example, both farms separated the newly-born calves from their mothers just hours after being born. Bryce expressed that when he first took over Mossgiel Farm he decided to keep the young calves with their mothers however this then caused a detrimental effect as within the first couple of days many of the young calves died due to contracting harmful bacteria from their mothers udders. Therefore, Bryce had to reconsider his options and he then placed the newborn calves into individual pens, however unlike Strandhead Farm where calves are placed in solitary pens, the pens at Mossgiel are structured to look more like a crib where they are able to still be within their mothers reach. This method appeared to be extremely effective as all of the calves, one as young as 2 days old, gave the impression of being comfortable in their pens.
Despite it being very impressing and informative to observe a more modern farm, I preferred the second farm at it was a more traditional farm. I believe that it would be very insightful to take pupils on a school trip to a farm as they would be able to fully participate and understand how products that they use – such as milk – are produced and get from the cow to their own fridge at home. I would be very inclined to arrange a trip to a farm through RHET as a teacher because they informed us that they are responsible for providing the risk assessment for the teacher which can take any pressure/initial doubts off the teacher and the school.
In conclusion, I have enjoyed exploring the topic of Interdependence. I believe that this has been achieved by taking part in a more practical setting by hearing from those who make a living from Interdependence. However, I do think that this would be a challenging topic to address with school pupils as I believe the best way for them to learn this topic is through experience of practical lessons such as visiting a farm much like us.
