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.

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.

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.

Do you have kids? Ya know how one day they’ll eat their whole plate of food and the next day they won’t even touch their toast? If you think kids are unpredictable, try caring for livestock.

One day you’re getting along just fine and the next day a storm rolls in; adding challenges like the riving rising and pastures flooding.

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.

Oregon dairy farmer, Derrick Josi, discusses large dairy farms.

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.