Holy Cow has been an amazing supplier to our community for many years. They need financial support while they work through their options.
Otago
Following the positive TB test on one non- milking cow, Holy Cow have been shut down by the MPI. There is a very real possibility of the cows having to go to slaughter. It currently costs approximately $115 a day to feed the herd. We need donations now to keep the herd going while Merrall and his family work through their options. If you are keen to help in anyway, please join our Facebook group or email friendsofholycow@gmail.com. This page has been set up by Tess Trotter as the recipient for the purposes of expediency while we complete the documentation required with approval by Merrall MacNeille.
We have established a group, friends of Holy Cow in order to set up this give a little and to harness on-going support to the family and farm.
Holy Cow, it's a co-op? 24 July 2016
Hello wonderful friends of Holy Cow. Thank you for your continued support. Please see below letter from Merrall and Alex. Everyone is welcome to the Ravensbourne Hall on Sunday 7th of August at 6pm for a shared meal (please bring a plate) and discussion, to be followed by live music and dancing.
Dear Friends of Holy Cow,
In 1985, Alex and I met with Jan Van der Tuem, a visitor from the Netherlands. He asked if we wanted to be part of a new farm venture – The first community supported agriculture initiative in the US.
We thought he was a bit crazy (he planned to deliver vegetables by bicycle from the NY Stateline to Boston), but, after living through the last 6 weeks, we have survived entirely through a spontaneously erupted Dunedin community supported agriculture venture. Many individual acts of kindness, bales of hay, a lovely bingo night and the culmination of a grand banquet leads to my conclusion, that all of this TB mess will ultimately actually be a catalyst for the best. Thank you all, you have collectively, and literally “saved our skins”.
In retrospect, we had become quite complacent – barley enough milk, more than enough traffic on Reynoldstown Road, enough money to squeak along year to year. The life was golden and we miss seeing you all coming through the barn. In the short term, we are still on track for the end of August milk sales.
I would like to begin a discussion on a co-operative structure for Holy Cow.
Firstly, shares in Holy Cow should be distributed to all who have made contributions since May, working towards a new Dunedin glass-bottle, small farm milk supply. (There were until quite recently 66 dairy farms in the Dunedin town supply).
I am talking to two other dairymen now with optimism. We are in ongoing talks with a neighbour with two points in consideration – one to move the milking and shop to the other side of Blueskin Road, as we have outgrown Reynoldstown, and two, to expand the cow numbers in a modest way (I now have 30 tied up in a 28 stall barn).
To be clear, adding farms and extra cows has one goal in mind, to supply and support an alternative milk treatment. Either an electric pulse system or cold compression treatment method will be expensive to purchase and to clear regulatory hurdles.
There are lots of related ideas to explore:
True animal welfare; conservation of fertility through manure composting, cows providing not just bottled milk but a range of foods to the community, energy conservation, off-grid farming, draft horses, electric delivery vehicles, truly the list is almost endless.
Can we get together and flesh some of this out?
Love, Merrall & Alex.
P.S. 3 new bells from Nepal for Sarah, Cocoa & Lorna!
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