Ag. questions?

Question

what would happen to the price of milk if anmial rights activists succeeded in their attempt to do away with veal farming?

Answer 1

Milk prices are a function of supply and demand.  If we do away with veal farming, those dairyman would have existing plant and equipment going to waste so they would probably switch to dairy or meat/beef production.  This would tend to result in more supplies of meat and milk.  This would tend to drive the price of milk down.  The price of other related items could go down too like butter, cheese etc.

Answer 2

It wouldn't affect the price of milk that much.  Dairy farmers simply do not get that much for the bull calves.  

No dairy farmer raise the bull calves for veal.  They sell them to other farmers who raise them.

Dairy opperations are too time/labor intensive for them to also add raising a bunch of bull calves too.  

The other poster is also incorrect...they would not also add raising beef to what they do.  Dairy farms for the most part have sold off all of their pasture land.  With no pasture to raise the bull calves on for the first 6-8 months of the calves life, it is totally impractical to raise the bull calves.

The same thing would happen to the bull calves that happened in the 1980's.  I lived in a high dairy area.  You saw newborn calves tied out by the road all the time in front of dairys.  There were signs next to the calves..."Free or dead by sunset."

~Garnet

Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

Answer 3

nothing would happen to the price of milk!!!! quite possibly the price of beef would drop because there would be more calfs being raised to an older age. veal is the product of feeding calfs only milk and then sending them to the slaughter house at a very young age. and also the calfs are not allowed to get exercise they are kept in very small pens that is how they keep the maet tender!!!!!