DEAR SIR: I agree with Bill O’Keeffe’s article in last week’s Irish Farmers Journal about Teagasc needing to address the issue of Jersey bull calves.

Teagasc and other farm organisations cannot ignore the negative situation with using Jersey crossbreeds.

The bull calf and cull cow should have a value on dairy farms. We cannot have a dairy sector where milk output is used to promote a certain dairy breed while ignoring obvious problems.

Dairy farmers should not be getting carried away with crossbreeds and ignoring the low beef value of bull calves.

Maybe the milk companies have a part to play as well as the new milk payment system driving the demand for Jersey crossbreed heifers because of high milk solids.

The good image of Irish dairy farming needs to be protected. I don’t want see Ireland going down the New Zealand route where the dairy industry sees Jersey bull calves as biological waste.

The companies that promote dairy products cannot ignore this problem either.