There’s a lot of controversy about cows giving “consent” to be bred. I don’t know about you, but last I knew, cattle can’t speak English. So their way of giving “consent” is to provide nonverbal cues to show when they want to be bred.

No longer are the days of sitting on a stool with a bucket and milking each cow by hand. The milk parlor has optimized the milking process; making it more efficient and a vital tool in keeping up with the dairy demands of the world.

Taking calves away from their mama cow is a common practice on dairy farms. Why do we do this?

I get a lot of questions about what we feed our cows. The answer to that question is a Total Mixed Ration (TMR). A TMR is a combination of feed ingredients to make up a balanced meal to feed the cows. A TMR helps a dairy cow achieve maximum performance and health.

Dairy cows are not the same as beef cows. They should not and do not look alike. They are bred, and therefore built, differently and for their own specific purposes.

It’s important to understand cattle vaccines and why we choose to vaccinate our dairy cows. Ultimately, we want to make our cows’ lives better, safer and healthier.

In short, just like we cut our toenails, cows’ hooves are consistently growing and need trimmed. Basically, it’s good hygiene. We have the cows’ hooves trimmed on a regular basis to maintain welfare and to prevent lameness.

Dairy farmers are terrible and lock their cattle indoors for no reason. Right? Well, not so much.

Then why do we keep them in barns where we can control and monitor their comfort levels, ensure their nutrient-dense rations are dry and that they have access to water, brushes and clean bedding?

Because we take animal care seriously. It’d be easy to say because it’s our job and that’s why, but for us, and many farming families, it’s more than that.

As humans, it’s easy to assume what cows should or shouldn’t like based on our personal comfort preferences and impose our believes on them. I, personally, don’t like sleeping in the dirt or in mud, and if I’d never stepped foot on a dairy farm it would be easy for me to assume that cows wouldn’t like that either.

What does a dairy cow do all day? Is she forced to milk for hours on end? What’s actually happening?

Put on your seatbelt, because Derrick is spilling the tea.