…the ups and downs of the profession

ALBERT Fernandes, of Port Mourant, Corentyne, East Berbice, has been in the cattle-rearing business for the last 15 years, and his only regret, he says, is that he had not ventured into it much earlier.

“But what is of concern to me, and proves rather disheartening, is the way people stealing our cows. They might wait until you take the animals out to graze and leave them in the pasture in the morning and before afternoon they done pick up two, three and gone with them,” he explained. Alternately, he said, the raiders would wait until the place is dark, then sneak up to the ranch and slip out one or two, and that is from the ranch just outside his house, Fernandez told the Pepperpot Magazine.

He recalled, “I began living here in Port Mourant ever since 1959 and started rearing cows about 15 years ago, and despite little difficulties in bringing them up, it’s always a joy to watch them grow from calf stage to mature and full grown cows,” he said. “But then again, it’s always sad, when, after you become attached to them, you have to watch them go off to a different owner, because as you know, the next move will be slaughtering and the butcher always looks for the biggest cows.”

He said that usually, the pick of the crop would be a bull about two and a half to three years, and that would bring in “quite a penny”, so there is always demand. Through cattle-rearing, he said, he has been able to see himself and family through. He has two sons and two daughters in whom he invested, ensuring that they got a good education. Through the years, the boys have helped him tend the herd.

“Today they are all mature and working separate jobs. The eldest boy works with a rice- milling company on the Corentyne; the second is a constable working at the New Amsterdam Market and the two girls are self-employed.

Bertie, as he is familiarly called, recalls that he started the business with a few cows, but was so committed to the drive, he knew it wouldn’t be long before he would have quite a pedigree. Fortunately for him, he has never been hit by any diseases of the animals such as the dreaded “Foot and Mouth Disease.”

“But what is of concern to me, and proves rather disheartening, is the way de people stealing cows,” he insisted.

Noting that cattle rearing is not just about getting a few heads of cattle and releasing them outside to graze in the mornings — with no regard for whose crops or gardens they destroy throughout the day– then bringing them back home to spend the night; Bertie says that the farmer has to be more responsible than this and should have concern for the animals’ safety, likewise the neighbours’ property.

The way of the cattle-rearer
There are many facets to a farm business that cattle farmers need to observe and manage, foremost being, financial, health of the herd, environmental, marketing, risk management (keeping the animals free from diseases), and likewise, the occupational health and safety of the farmer himself.

What sometimes proves a challenge to him, is when there is intense sunshine and the trenches are low in water. In that case he would have to venture a longer distance away in order for them to get adequate water to drink.

Asked whether he was engaged in milking and selling cows’ milk, he said that initially, out of optimism and anxiety, he began doing so; but after a time became disenchanted, since the sales were not sustained. “People would ask you to get so much milk for them. You keep the milk and they don’t show up to collect it. When you see them again, it’s some excuse and that’s not good for business,” he said poignantly.

Even though he has been selling off cows at a reasonably fast rate, Fernandes now has a herd of 70-80 sprightly cows and still counting.