hi Craig
on a personel note i would be more than delighted to get every one of our cows back in calf at 10yrs old and beyond the problem is far to few get that old and if they all did dairy farming would be far more profitable .
Death can occur for numerus reasons and he that has all the answers is a liar.
our last two cull cows were GOLDIE(8th calve at 11) and BOW(9th calve at 12) one was born 1995 and the other 1996 i would have served them both again other than cell counts were becoming a problem .
like humans some live to a great age and some babies die sadly as cot death. Dont get discourage by cow age unexpected death can occur at any time it is the only thing that is certain in life is death.
the only shame is that Belinda did'nt have a hfr then hopefully belinda jnr she could have lasted as long as her mother .
coxy

Hi Craig
i fully understand your sorry, as an Ex breeder its always sad when a loved cow dies and even when most have to go to slaughter. However our oldest Cow Trezelah Snowball 17 had her last calf when she was nearing 20 yrs old, though she is an exception and had good Cells most of her life, i wouldnt have had any problems putting a cow in calf at 11 if she was good and healthy. The Gurnsey is quite a long lived breed and over the yrs we had many who reached their 10th birthday and beyond. Once again however i do feel for your loss.

Hi Craig
Sorry to hear of your plight.
Seemed such a bargain too all those pigs and cattle for an oldish cow but sometimes when cows have not had a calf for 18 months or more, at that age, can sometimes cause problems. Dont know why but we have had problems occaisionally.
Perhaps if you need another Guernsey cow you should seek the help and expertise of well established reputable breeders before making another purchase.
Glad to hear you have used your voting paper wisely.... well done!!

I had hoped that now that the EGCS Council had spent a considerable amount of their limited resources on acquiring the domain name of Guernseycattle. com that their might have been an end to personal attacks by the webmaster. but obviously not.

Belinda was accompanied by her Cattle passport which clearly stated her date of birth.

She died five days after calving from milk fever, if as reported by Mr Walsh that she was "fine at 2.30" then she would not have been dead at 5.15.

Mr Walsh mentions the stock that were "exchanged", they were moved to Chettle at his request because he could not find reliable stockmen,and couldn't keep those he did find.

I was concerned at the condition of the Angus cow when she was collected, as she was emaciated and had a swollen jaw.She was examined by our vet the next day and had a long standing abcess on her tongue, which fortunately responded to treatment.

We kept her in with the dry cows and weaned her 10 month old calf.This was fortunate as wihin a fortnight she produced a very small calf that would not have survived had she been out at grass.The calf was born within 11 months of the previous calving, so suggests to me that no effort had been made to allow the cow a decent rest period.

The 3 "fabled" Bershire sows had reared 5 piglets from their previous litters,they have reared 17 at Chettle.

Mr Walsh needs to look a little closer to home, rather than trying to place blame elsewhere.

As to Ron Smith's comment about a "reputable breeder",he remains the only Guernsey owner who having asked me to buy cattle on his behalf at an auction sale,then failed to pay for them leaving the Auctioneers to stand the loss.

I posted my memorial to Belinda in my capacity as a member of the EGCS. Any member of the EGCS (as far as I am concerned) can do likewise. If folks would like to send me articles to post on their behalf, I am pleased do to so. They can just click on my name (above) and reach me via e-mail.

I'm truly sorry that Digby has viewed my short article as a "personal attack" on him.

Perhaps if Digby is successful in the upcoming election, he can pass the necessary resolution to dispense with my services as webmaster. (It will be quite unusual for me to be "fired" from a job where I am not paid.) The EGCS now owns these domains, so if at any time the EGCS would like to host them elsewhere, with a different webmaster, I will cooperate fully to make the move as smooth as possible.

In contrast to Digby's rant, I received a very gracious telephone call yesterday evening from Ian Crouch. He said that he was sorry to hear that Belinda had died: he seemed to be quite sincere with his sympathy. Ian also explained that he had now severed his business relationships with Digby, and wanted me to know that.

Nothing would be gained by refuting, point-by-point, Digby's comments. I enjoyed working with Digby in the early days of enhancing and improving this website, and I'm truly sorry to see that (for whatever reason) he has become embittered and cantankerous.

Well we can all dig up dirt just speak to a Mr. Bailey from Devon about his purchase of Milk Quota that'll make you decide where to put your vote !!!

I would like to clear up one or two points regarding Digby's comment of me asking him to purchase cattle and not pay for them, this comment is true in the fact that Digby did purchase cattle for me, for which i am very gratefull, and very good animals they were and still are too, one having been placed Reserve Breed Champion at County level, but the point that is untrue, is that the cattle were paid for, although a small amout was deducted in respect of 3 animals that were not in calf as described under the Conditions of Sale. This amount was very small indeed, so i think that this comment should be withdrawn as it is both unfair and not true.

I actually viewed Craig,s article as an attack on my partner Ian Crouch.It was Ian,s reputation that was being called into question.

Ian has unwisely in my view chosen to end our partnership, but unless he can come up with a settlement figure is likely to have me as a partner for a further 12 months as per as our agreement.
Ian was "surprised" that his conversation with Craig should have been posted to this website,I on the otherhand was amazed at his naivety.

Ron Smith raises a question of a quota deal with a Mr Bailie in Devon, he is mistaken, the only dealings with Evan Bailie that I had was to purchase the best cow in his herd sale for the Grose family,she subsequently scored EX 92 and was Stithians Champion the following year, having missed out on the Royal as Maurice was Judging the Burke Trophy.

He perhaps means a Mr Berry who was sold quota by a leading agent, who failed to check the usage figure was correct.I had been wrongly advised by an MMB employee as to the calculation of the usage, and because of that fact MMB agreed to re date the sale so as to achieve the original intention.

Mr Berry refused to accept this but on finally taking the matter to court, the court found in my favour and awarded me costs.

The cattle bought for Ron Smith at the Georgeann Sale,were bought on his instructions and after I had approached the Auctioneers on the morning of the sale.I was highly embarrased to be asked sometime later by the Auctionneers if I would give a statement to be used in a court case for non payment of the cattle.

I am amused that both Craig and Ron should raise the issue of the upcoming EGCS elections,which fortunately will be decided by the majority of the EGCS membership not just these two.

I am saddened that my memorial to poor Belinda has turned into a slanging match. I know nothing about milk quotas, cattle auctions, or the partnership between Ian and Digby. None of this is my business -- and I would assume that most readers of this website would feel the same way.

I was disappointed to lose a nice, gentle cow less than a week after she gave birth. I was disappointed that Digby and Ian gave us a 10 year old cow.

I am saddened by the fact that Digby seems determined to antagonise pretty much everyone who has come in contact with him -- his business partner, many of his colleagues at the EGCS, me. I don't understand the underlying cause of all of this animosity and apparent hatred.

I find it curious that this comes in the midst of an election. Back where I come from candidates get elected by glad-handing voters and kissing babies. Or at least they did!

I think that if Digby wishes to continue to lob grenades, it should be done elsewhere --- perhaps the little-used forum? Or perhaps on Digby's own blog located elsewhere on the internet.

Let Belinda rest in peace.

If there are further postings on this page I will delete them. The forum can be accessed by clicking the "Discuss this story" link at the top of this page, and you can post away there without interference from me.

Sorry to hear of the death of Belinda, we too farm, and dare I say it, our cattle are the extension of the family, although often referred to by family as dad's zoo.
As a matter of interest and also management,the oldest cow on our farm is a three quarter bred American Guernsey, Maple Leaf Natal, bought in the record breaking sale on the Island.
She was born in 1992, came to England with the consignment that was puchased for Morris and Elizabeth's Trewarnevas herd,and has lived in Devon along with Pedigree Belgian Blues, commercial crossbred sucklers,and Holstein Friesian heifers ever since.
For a long time she was boss cow,an office she has now retired from, and was booked in for slaughter owing to the
new fiscal policyon pre 1996 born cattle. However she was p.d. in calf last week, and thus will continue in residence.
The question of whose to blame with regard to Belinda,must surely rest with those who look after her,and those wo tend her at the critical stage of calving, NOT those whosold her eight months prior. We calve the majorityof our cattleourselves, yes including the Blues,and oodmanagemen is the secret,plus the fact that we willnot have even 'experienced' your vets who have completed five years at University to calve our cows,let alone 'experienced' veterinery studenst in their second and third years of study. Experience is a great teacher.