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

As a fourth generation dairy farmer who has dedicated my career - and therefore life - to raising and caring for dairy cattle and ensuring high-quality, reasonably priced, delicious dairy products are available in grocery stores, the thought of defending an industry that shows generation after generation we can become more-sustainable while continually improving how we care for our farm animals is exhausting.

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.

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.