Hi everyone, I've been watching some of the debate unfold regarding meat/vegetarian/vegan lifestyle. I don't have an opinion either way, but my preference is to live as an omnivore.
However,..I was aghast at some previous threads portraying dairy farmers as heartless profiteers, who care nothing for the suffering of animals.
Before I became an engineer, I worked a dairy farm with my ex wife for 10 years. It was the closest thing to living the Law of One I have ever felt.
Here in upstate N.Y., dairy farms are universally family owned. Usually, husband, wife, and kids. I can speak for my family, and the members of N.Y. Farm and Family, and say WE LOVED OUR COWS,....and THEY LOVED US BACK!! I have found this to be true in EVERY instance among the members of our Grange.
Every cow had an individual, and very sentient personality. They would have moods, we had the "cool cow cliques",...the airheads,...an occasional grumpy bully,...the busybodies,...etc. My fondest memory is of watching the kids get off the bus from school, and the cows running to greet them, kicking, with their tails up in the air. (That is their "I'm so happy" posture.)
I would have a certain group of cows that, as soon as I got my toolbox out, would follow me around from project to project, to give me "advice" on what I was doing, or just to hang out and gossip among themselves.
If you ask any farmer about this, he will mention similar experiences.
We farm because we love it. There is very little profit in dairy farming, at least at the farmer level. Typical raw milk prices are from $14 to $18 per hundred-weight. (100 pounds of raw milk.) The price is very strictly controlled, and we have no say in the matter. In fact, we often have no choice what company we can sell our milk to. Additionally, we cannot sell milk to the general public.
I also heard tell about hormones. ABSOLUTELY NO-WAY. At every pickup, a sample of milk is drawn from our holding tanks and tested for hormones/medications/impurities.
We are not allowed to give our cows hormones. If one of our girls gets sick or injured, and she must be medicated, she is hand-milked to prevent mastitis, and the milk is usually thrown away. (We would sometimes give it to the cats, if our prelim tested clean. Our prelim not as exact as the pre-pickup test.) This USDA law. At least for the family farm.
As far as the "milk from contented cows" saying goes,....I can tell you from experience,...stressed out cows give very little milk. You can't just suck milk from a cow. It doesn't work that way. They have to be relaxed. (A calf doesn't really suck on the teat, so much as lick and and pull the milk in,...some suckling involved but The Mama has to co-operate!)
However, there is a bit of negative pressure on the teat cups, to transport the milk through the lines to the tank.
Anyone who has hand-milked a cow for the first time will tell you, there is a finesse, and gentleness to the procedure. They GIVE milk,...you can't just take it.
In fact, any farmer will tell you, that as you work your way down the line, and you put the cups on the next section of three or four cows,...the cows stop their giggling and gossiping, because they are concentrating,...on relaxing and giving milk. You can see it in their facial expression.
After they have had their first feeding, (4:30 a.m.) and their first milking,...(around 6:30 a.m.,....depends on their mood),...they leave their stalls to go play outside,...so we can do our first stall cleaning session. (Twice a day, everyday, Christmas, no matter).
We had about 150 head of Holstein, we kept about 100 wet at any given time.
Our day started at 4:40 a.m.,....ended around 9:30 p.m. (The cows were OUR BOSSES!
(Usually, the kids finished earlier, as they had homework and school.)
Not to be crass, but it takes a special kind of love to be up to your elbow inside a cow, turning around a breach birth.
I can't tell you how many nights my wife or I slept next to a cow and calf in a stall. Trying to get some colostrum in her, because she wouldn't feed.
This isn't because we were the epitome of compassionate farmers,...this is the norm.
Of course, like other farms we had pigs (Very smart), Chickens,(Not so smart,...but still quite sentient.) Horses, dogs, cats, etc. We have them because we love them. Not because they generate profit.
Everybody, when we had that farm, that is the closest to the creator I have ever been. (Including the present, after finding the Ra Material.) I believe this type of service, (Investment), is an important aid in our growth.
There is so much more I could tell you, but my post is long winded already. This isn't an attempt to convince anyone to consume dairy.
I just wish to relieve your concerns regarding at least the farming end of dairy.
There is no "big dairy" at the farming end. At least not here in upstate N.Y.
Big Dairy starts after the tank truck leaves our farm.
However,..I was aghast at some previous threads portraying dairy farmers as heartless profiteers, who care nothing for the suffering of animals.
Before I became an engineer, I worked a dairy farm with my ex wife for 10 years. It was the closest thing to living the Law of One I have ever felt.
Here in upstate N.Y., dairy farms are universally family owned. Usually, husband, wife, and kids. I can speak for my family, and the members of N.Y. Farm and Family, and say WE LOVED OUR COWS,....and THEY LOVED US BACK!! I have found this to be true in EVERY instance among the members of our Grange.
Every cow had an individual, and very sentient personality. They would have moods, we had the "cool cow cliques",...the airheads,...an occasional grumpy bully,...the busybodies,...etc. My fondest memory is of watching the kids get off the bus from school, and the cows running to greet them, kicking, with their tails up in the air. (That is their "I'm so happy" posture.)
I would have a certain group of cows that, as soon as I got my toolbox out, would follow me around from project to project, to give me "advice" on what I was doing, or just to hang out and gossip among themselves.
If you ask any farmer about this, he will mention similar experiences.
We farm because we love it. There is very little profit in dairy farming, at least at the farmer level. Typical raw milk prices are from $14 to $18 per hundred-weight. (100 pounds of raw milk.) The price is very strictly controlled, and we have no say in the matter. In fact, we often have no choice what company we can sell our milk to. Additionally, we cannot sell milk to the general public.
I also heard tell about hormones. ABSOLUTELY NO-WAY. At every pickup, a sample of milk is drawn from our holding tanks and tested for hormones/medications/impurities.
We are not allowed to give our cows hormones. If one of our girls gets sick or injured, and she must be medicated, she is hand-milked to prevent mastitis, and the milk is usually thrown away. (We would sometimes give it to the cats, if our prelim tested clean. Our prelim not as exact as the pre-pickup test.) This USDA law. At least for the family farm.
As far as the "milk from contented cows" saying goes,....I can tell you from experience,...stressed out cows give very little milk. You can't just suck milk from a cow. It doesn't work that way. They have to be relaxed. (A calf doesn't really suck on the teat, so much as lick and and pull the milk in,...some suckling involved but The Mama has to co-operate!)
However, there is a bit of negative pressure on the teat cups, to transport the milk through the lines to the tank.
Anyone who has hand-milked a cow for the first time will tell you, there is a finesse, and gentleness to the procedure. They GIVE milk,...you can't just take it.
In fact, any farmer will tell you, that as you work your way down the line, and you put the cups on the next section of three or four cows,...the cows stop their giggling and gossiping, because they are concentrating,...on relaxing and giving milk. You can see it in their facial expression.
After they have had their first feeding, (4:30 a.m.) and their first milking,...(around 6:30 a.m.,....depends on their mood),...they leave their stalls to go play outside,...so we can do our first stall cleaning session. (Twice a day, everyday, Christmas, no matter).
We had about 150 head of Holstein, we kept about 100 wet at any given time.
Our day started at 4:40 a.m.,....ended around 9:30 p.m. (The cows were OUR BOSSES!
(Usually, the kids finished earlier, as they had homework and school.)Not to be crass, but it takes a special kind of love to be up to your elbow inside a cow, turning around a breach birth.
I can't tell you how many nights my wife or I slept next to a cow and calf in a stall. Trying to get some colostrum in her, because she wouldn't feed.
This isn't because we were the epitome of compassionate farmers,...this is the norm.
Of course, like other farms we had pigs (Very smart), Chickens,(Not so smart,...but still quite sentient.) Horses, dogs, cats, etc. We have them because we love them. Not because they generate profit.
Everybody, when we had that farm, that is the closest to the creator I have ever been. (Including the present, after finding the Ra Material.) I believe this type of service, (Investment), is an important aid in our growth.
There is so much more I could tell you, but my post is long winded already. This isn't an attempt to convince anyone to consume dairy.
I just wish to relieve your concerns regarding at least the farming end of dairy.
There is no "big dairy" at the farming end. At least not here in upstate N.Y.
Big Dairy starts after the tank truck leaves our farm.
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