Council in moo-ve to sell off cows

A herd of Jersey cows at a popular farm in the Black Country is to be auctioned off by council bosses to save up to £250,000.

The herd based, at Forge Mill Farm, in Sandwell Valley Country Park, West Bromwich is to be auctioned off on Tuesday. Forge Mill Farm, which is one of two farm visitor centres within Sandwell Valley Country Park, is a working farm.

The herd is currently listed on the Sandwell Council website as the farm's main attraction, with visitors being able to watch the cows being milked daily at 3.30pm from a viewing gallery.

But the council has said that hundreds of thousands of pounds would need to be invested in a new slurry removal system for the herd, which contains 22 cows, to comply with new European Union regulations.

Neighbourhoods chief, Councillor Derek Rowley, also said that the amount of money raised through milk production and a decline in public interest in the afternoon milking sessions, in addition to the financial demands of the new regulations, meant it was not cost effective to keep them. Councillor Rowley said: "The new regulations would mean we would need to spend approaching £250,000.

"It is nice to have farm animals on the land, especially for children to see. There will still be cows in the field."

He added: "The average number of people that watch the milking in an afternoon was two, compared to 50 a few years ago."

But Councillor Rowley said discussions were under way to discuss adding new visitors centre attractions at the site. Forge Mill Farm is open from 10am until 4.30pm.