Starting Farming

Gir cow's ear, one of the breed's distinguishing features.
 

Introduction

I went on two interesting farm visits as part of the final year of my veterinary degree recently. On both I learned at first hand the effectiveness of phyical restraint of cattle. Of course, we have all seen pictures of bulls being lead around state and county agricultural shows by their nose rings.  Looks a bit unsavoury, doesn't it? But while significant numbers of people eat beef and dairy products, there will be cattle farming.

Starting Farming

I have often wondered what proportion of people are born into farming and what proportion buy a farm and wish to make it a going concern with no prior experience.  My father bought a smallholding a few years ago. And last week we visited a farmer who was just starting out with a family farm that he had bought. We as students were called on a consultancy to come up with suggestions on how to make the farm work. There are many factors to take into account, including

• property size
• topography and drainage
• breed of cattle
• market for product
• farming method (confinement or beast at pasture)
• genetic quality of herd.

Gir cow in Brazil being restrained, using bull lead, for veterinary attention - ear washings for parasite analysis, specifically the parasite Rhabtidis bovis.
 

There are many breeds of cattle that can be farmed in Brazil, some of which are dual purpose, and many of which are derived from the Indian Bos indicus and some from the European Bos taurus.  In Mato Grosso State, where I currently live, it is very hot, and the zebu cattle that abound are descended from the Indian breeds. There are several kinds of zebu, and two weeks ago we worked with the huge Girolandia cattle. That's where I first got to grips with some huge beasts whilst my classmates did some blood sampling and checking for parasites.

Physical restraint

I have learned also the importance of understanding humane methods of physical restraint. I feel a chronic need to get this right, because very often instructions are shouted to me in Portuguese and although I have an excellent working knowledge of the language it is still sometimes hard to understand, which can be potentially dangerous when handling a ton of honest-to-goodness Brazilian bull!

Physical restraint of a Gir cow on a Brazilian beef farm. In the UK you would be advised to use a bull lead.