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Life is too short to eat bad food! Sharing great recipes, farm life, stories and photography from our Northern California dairy farm.

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January 27, 2010

In Response to the Nightline Story ~

In response to the Nightline airing last night depicting the dairy industry in a negative light, I feel I must post a response. All dairy farms I know treat their animals with the utmost compassion & care. Cleanliness, comfort, and as distress-free of an environment as possible are priorities. I remember the first time visiting our dairy ranch when Dominic, my husband, and I first met. My first impression upon seeing the dairy up close was that the cows were treated royally and that the milk barn looked and smelled clean. The cattle were treated with respect and kindness, they were kept comfortable even in the heat of summer, their bedding was kept clean routinely, they were fed on time, and they ate a highly nutritious diet. I was very impressed. A dairy farmer constantly strives to maintain a healthful environment for his or her cows. Now, years later, knowing many more dairy ranchers, I believe that they all treat their own cows with the same respect, kindness, and care that I first witnessed on my husband's farm. One of the topics on last night's Nightline was in regards to tail docking. Tail Docking has been banned in California. The only animals I know, personally, to have docked tails are dogs. Tail docking is frowned upon in the dairy industry. Most all other dairy farmers nationwide do not oppose a ban on tail docking. Tail docking is a practice that was experimented with 10 years ago or so to see if there would be a benefit to milk quality. It was soon discovered there was no advantage to the dairy farmer, the cow, or the milk so the practice soon ended. Unfortunately, there are a select few dairies out there that still practice this. Somatic Cells was another topic~ Somatic cells are white blood cells. All milk naturally contains some somatic cells. Somatic cells are present in milk to guard the udder against infection. If bacteria, makes its way to the udder, white blood cells take care of that before infection can become established. All farmers and milk processors routinely test their milk for somatic cell counts in accordance with strict standards set by the state and federal Pasteurized Milk Ordinance regulations. All milk is tested routinely before it goes into the food supply. Dehorning was another topic~ Dehorning or disbudding has been used for decades and the method shown last night is the least painful method. Dairy farmers ensure as much comfort as possible and safety of an animal during the disbudding process. All cows, males and females grow horns. The reason for disbudding is to protect the cows from injuring one another and their human caretakers. Dairy farmers, milkers, veterinarians, hoof trimmers are in close contact with cows most of the day. Cows are not mean spirited by nature, but they do tend to rub their heads on everything from fences, other cows, tractors, gates or they can quickly move their head from one side to the other. Horns can be very dangerous. The process of disbudding~ A calf is put into her feed stanchion so she can not back away. A heated dehorner is then used to burn away the budding horn tissue. This takes a couple of minutes. She is then released back to the herd where she immediately acts as though nothing has happened....she eats, drinks and plays like she normally does. We have always been and will always be for the humane treatment of all animals. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments you may have. Pin It

6 comments:

An Authentic Life said...

Thank you Nancy...much of this, I did not know...shocking, since I come from "cow town!"

Pat Tillett said...

Hi Nancy, as I told you earlier, my GF worked for a dairy supply company for years. I went on his route with him many times. He was an expert. I remember him telling me that dairymen who treated their cows the best had better results. He also said "happy and contented cows are are more productive cows." It seems counter-productive for cows to be treated badly.

threecollie said...

Well, said, thanks for speaking out!

Leslie said...

Nancy,
Thank you so much for depicting the industry in its true light - we meet so many producers who care for their animals with deep compassion and respect,and we're so thankful for producer families like yours who are speaking out on behalf of America's agricultural community.

I work for Lely Robotic Milking, and with the many challenges our industry has seen recently, we respect anyone willing to speak about the hard work of dairy producers, caring for our land, water, and animals.

Sincerely,
Leslie

Double Barrel said...

Very well written! I grew up in the Dairy State. Wisconsin is where the Happy Cows are! Maybe 40% of the kids in my class and maybe a bit more in my school were farm kids. They all had cows, and they were all happy cows! I dont think I ever saw a docked tail, but I know why its done. Now I live in an area of northern MN that there are very few dairy farmers. If these farmers up here are treating their cows like PITA and the USPCA thinks they are being treated, why are they still milking at 30 (yup... I said THIRTY) years of age???

I hope you sent a copy of what you wrote to Nightline. I stayed up to watch it and was surprised (altho not sure why???) as to what they were reporting on. They never did say where that footage was taken from and why did they only talk to ONE producer?

Keep up the good work!

Jenny in MN

Unknown said...

Dear Nancy:

I commend you on your excellent blog; and your defense of the dairy industry. Unfortunately, all dairy farmers do not keep your high standards. I live in Lancaster County, PA. This is a bigger dairy area than beef; but meat goats are more plentiful than dairy goats. There ARE rescues that monitor complaints. If these people abuse the animals then these individuals are prosecuted. Dairy farmers are experiencing a great deal of stress right now. Those that are doing a good job like you should be commended. The government needs to do a better job of ensuring that dairy farmers receive a reasonable working wage and are able to maintain their farms. The Amish have shared with me the outrage at the government that wants to put a microchip in each of their animals. I am usually all for high-tech; but putting a microchip in my animals so the government can monitor them is not acceptable.