Helicopter fans keep the cows cool in the barns.
Renovation work to improve the old buildings is ongoing.
Happier cattle Emre says, “We grow every single feed material in our own fields except for our protein sources like soybean meal and sunflower meal, which we buy in. “All the rations are prepared on the farm using the Feed Ra- tion Balancer application on a computer and we mix the ra- tions with a 12 cubic metre vertical mixer produced by a local company called İzelmak,” he adds. Investing in the very latest technology gizmos is not a priority for Emre, but buying more basic equipment that can help with the running of the herd is important. “We are trying to invest in new technology as much as we can without going overboard. We just made a new deal for a new herd management system, SCR, to be able to better watch our animals and ensure they are always healthy and happy. “Considering we are working in a considerably hot area, we also bought helicopter fans to keep the animals cool and re- duce heat stress. Colostrum management is very important for our newborn calves, and to help with that we started using a new colostrum pasteurisation device. “All these investments have happened in the last six months, as we are always trying to do our best to have happier cattle,” Emre says.
The cows are milked in a DeLaval ten-a-side milking parlour.
Future plans When considering plans for the future, Emre says the goal for the family is to increase animal welfare rather than increase cow numbers. “We are not thinking about growing more. Because our farm’s past goes way back, we still have some renovation work to do to the buildings. “The aim is to do those and improve the welfare for our cattle. After that, we will hopefully continue with a problem-free dairy. “The first and biggest problem of dairying here in Turkey right now is the exchange rate fluctuations. Our Turkish lira has lost most of its value in recent years. “Almost 80% of our expenses are dependent on dollars or euros. This keeps raising our expenses without any change in our income. Most of the dairy producers here have start- ed to lose money; some of them are bankrupt already. “This Covid-19 pandemic has not affected the farm directly, but it affected the economy in Turkey in general, which caused even more currency fluctuations. In turn, that has in- creased our costs again so that’s how we have been affected by the pandemic,” says Emre.
▶ DAIRY GLOBAL | Volume 8, No. 1, 2021 13
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
