By Claire Taylor

DAIRY farmers' views on cow-with-calf production systems are being sought by the James Hutton Institute.

The fate of dairy calves has become an emotive subject, brought into the public realm by images of young calves being separated from their mothers at birth.

Keeping calves with their mothers for the first months of life, while continuing to milk the cows for commercial purposes, might prove to be a more acceptable system for consumers, so scientists are keen to collect data on industry attitudes to the move.

Running the survey is Dr Orla Shortall, of the Hutton’s social, economic and geographical sciences department, who said: “We would like to encourage farmers to take part in our research. The questions look at farmers’ motivation, what’s currently stopping them, and what would help them in the future.

“We hope that the data will inform future policy and help develop the right resources for farmers interested in operating the cow with calf system," she continued. "There are very few farmers operating the system in the UK and as a result little research and advisory support.

"Our existing research suggests there’s a consumer market for milk produced in this way and it can provide rewards to the farmer, so part of the aim of the project is to support farmers interested in trialling the system.”