Dairy farmers could be forced to slaughter thousands of calves in their own paddocks in response to a global price slump for meat and leather. Havelock dairy farmer Tony Sorensen said he expected to receive between $3 to $5 for his calves this season, which would not cover the cost of rearing them reports Stuff. Calves were usually sent to the works at about five to six days old but smaller calves took longer to rear, he said. "We'll have to make a decision at some stage as to whether we want to lose money. Mr Sorensen estimated about 100 calves born at a low weight would be culled. Although the calves would normally be slaughtered at the works and he believed culling an animal on-farm was not morally right, he said this year it would be unavoidable due to the tough economic environment. "It's very bizarre and very depressing. We'll be happy to give them away rather than kill them." Alliance Group livestock manager Murray Behrent said prices for small calves weighing seven kilograms to 13.4kg were down about 20 percent on last year, while prices for medium calves, 13.5kg to 15.9kg, were down about 11 percent. A 10kg calf would be worth about $8, but it cost $5 to truck a calf to the works. Calf skins, used mainly to make shoes in Italy, Japan and India, were fetching about 50 per cent less than last year. The vells, or calf's fourth stomach, used in cheese production, were also in plentiful supply globally and prices were down 50 percent on last season. He said while calf meat prices in the United States were steady, total US manufacturing prices were lower than a year ago. Legs, predominantly sold as a restaurant item, were not selling because of low restaurant patronage, Mr Behrent said. "We won't be bothering with our small jersey calves, but we will be following MAF guidelines in how they are destroyed," Mr Richmond said. There would be thousands of calves put down around New Zealand this year, he said. Northbank dairy farmer Spencer White, a friesian breeder, said he would put his first group of calves on the trucks and wait to see the kill sheets before making any decisions about culling animals on-farm. "I don't know whether I've got it in me to take a gun out with me," he said. "It's a hard call when you are running a financial business and you are dealing with animals.
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