Milking the golden cow - her comfort

摘要

In the days when society was more agrarian, most families had a cow or 2 that were milked for fresh milk and butter. Calves were raised for beef or for replacements when the cow had to be culled. Cows were an integral part of the family. They were milked by hand, and when the cow was not lactating, the family went without milk. Today, approximately 2 percent of the population provides food for the other 98 percent of us. It is not uncommon to find dairies milking a thousand or more cows, and in fact, in California the mean herd size is about 700 cows. Cows are milked with machines by hired labor. It is sometimes tempting to compare and contrast large and small dairies; however, there are well-managed large dairies and well-managed small dairies as well as poorly managed dairies in each category. Most dairies in California are family owned and operated regardless of how many cows are being milked. For the purposes of this discussion, I will be talking about larger dairies where the owners do not milk the cows but manage the dairy enterprise. Cows are herd animals and are uncomfortable when they are isolated from their herd mates. They are also creatures of habit and respond best when they know what to expect and when to expect it. Cows are used to being around humans and respond to the humans that care for them. They are capable of recognizing strangers, and they are also capable of remembering someone who treats them humanely as well as someone who treats them aversely. Dr. Temple Grandin in a previous Forum described her observations of several hundred ranches, farms, feedlots, and packing plants and indicated that she had found that the single most important factor that determines how animals are treated is management attitude.1 She went on to say that a strong manager acts as a conscience for workers and that this manager has to be involved enough in animal handling to care but not so involved as to be numb. Having been on several hundred dairies during the last 19 years, I have observed the same thing.