Because fluid milk is so perishable, it is often in a grocery store within a day or two of leaving the cow! There is no reason to be guilted into spending the extra money at a high-end grocery store that touts “local” products. Just buy the brand of milk you like the taste of at a store near you.

Milk is one of the most local products you can buy today. Most milk does not travel more than 50 miles from your location.

Here’s how to find out where your milk is from:

Step 1: Look for the code

To find where your milk is from, you only have to look for the manufacturer’s code. All milk jugs in the U.S. have a code near the top by the lid. It is usually a 5-digit number. The first 2 digits are a state code and the next 3 are a milk processing plant code.

Step 2: go to the website- Where is my milk from

The website http://whereismymilkfrom.com/ will tell you where the manufacturing plant that made your milk or dairy products. and type in the code and find out exactly where your milk came from.

The same goes for yogurt, butter, creamer, ice cream, and more! Thank you for supporting your local dairy farmers.

The post How To Find Out Where Your Milk Is From first appeared on Dairy Moos.

When you look at Grace, she does not look a day over 6 years old. She is strong and elegant. Her body condition is pristine. Her udder is still above her hocks. You would be shocked to learn that well over 5 truckloads of milk have passed through those teats! Grace is a whopping 13 years old. She even has a perfect calving record- 11 calves and counting. She is currently on her 11^th lactation and going strong. She is due to go dry in a few months.

This is what I love about being a dairy farmer: getting to see the animals excel in their roles. In a natural setting, Grace would have never have lived this long. Read more about the lifespan of dairy cows here.

She has been given the best health care possible, highly nutritious feed available 24 hours a day, and a comfortable barn to sleep in (equipped with fans, misters, and curtains). Not to mention, a farmer to attend to her every whim. I have been there for her when nature was not. Storms, floods, re-location, droughts, shortages, a fire, and a backwards calf are just a few of the things we have faced together over the years. It has been a privilege to provide everything she needs just in exchange for some milk.

Activists will try to argue that she has been exploited her whole life, but that could not be further from the truth. Grace and I are living in a symbiotic relationship. She has lived a longer, healthier life because of my stewardship and dedication. She of course provides nutritious milk for my community and gives me calves which will eventually replace her role when she reaches the end of her long, happy life. Dairy farming is all about symbiosis. It is good for the cows; it is good for the people and it is good for the planet.

Activists will also argue that I have stolen those calves from her but that is also untrue. Grace has daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters on my farm. She has created a beautiful legacy. Yes, I do raise the calves for her, but where do you think they eventually go? The answer is of course: straight back into the barn with her. I am basically a nanny, a daycare service & a boarding school for my cows. Once the calves reach 2 years old, they become milk cows and rejoin their mothers in the herd.

It will be a sad day when Grace passes away on our farm. She has been the heart of our milk string for over a decade. She is a big, black and white landmark that has been a comfortable daily sight to me for so long. I will miss seeing her kind face waiting patiently at the gate to be let into the milk parlor. Her old blue tag so faded you cannot even read her number anymore. I always notice her nose first. It is really dark, unlike so many of my other cows. She likes to rest her chin on the second pipe on the gate, right by the latch. Her dark nose poking out as if to say, “it’s right here, unlatch it so I can be first to be milked and first back to the fresh feed.” She is my daily reminder that even though this job is hard work and long hours, my dedication is paying off.

Grace with one of her granddaughters

The post Meet My Oldest Dairy Cow: Amazing Grace first appeared on Dairy Moos.

ABOUT CALVES:

Do you kill the babies?

No. Calves are the future of the farm. There is no earthly reason to kill a newborn calf and I do everything in my power to ensure it lives. I have even brought premature calves in my house before to give them overnight care when they are in critical condition. Nature is cruel, not farmers.

What about the males?

We raise them. They are treated the same as heifer calves. They become steers at 2-3 months old and then raised to adulthood (18-24 month) for beef. Holstein steers are not a “by product” of the dairy industry. They take longer to finish but they make excellent & high-quality beef. 39% of Prime beef in the U.S. in 2015 was from Holsteins (USDA)

Why do you have ear tags?

We tag each calf with a unique number that is tied to a digital health record that includes everything from date of birth, genetics, health, location etc. This is like a passport and it is incredibly necessary to ensure that we are doing everything we can to take care of that animal. In order to practice good animal husbandry, it is important to have good records on each animal. This quick procedure is not stressful and very similar to a human getting their ears pierced.

Why do you separate calves?

Survival rates are much higher when dairy calves are raised by professionals instead of the mother cow. We provide clean, pasteurized milk from their mothers at the correct volume, a sanitary environment, medical care etc. We also do not abandon, step on, or kick the calves like many dairy cows would. As long as calves are well taken care of, they don’t care who does it. It gives them the best chance for life.

Why do you steal milk?

Our calves are still fed whole milk from the cows. A dairy cow produces more milk than their calf needs. The calf would get scours from drinking too much milk & the cow would get mastitis if left in a “natural setting.” We milk the cows and give the calf all the milk they need to grow. We only sell the excess.

What about veal?

We do not sell bull calves for veal. Very few bull calves go to veal in the US. It is a tiny market. Most dairy farmers sell their bull calves to other farms to be raised to adulthood for beef. Veal consumption in the country is only 0.2 lbs a person per year. There just isn’t a lot of consumer demand for it like in other countries. Veal calves are also raised humanely to a few months old, they are not babies. They are also not kept in crates.

Current legislation requires group housing & specific space requirements once they are past critical age & can leave a hutch safely. Almost all veal in US is raised in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania & New York. 50% of the family farms that produce it are Amish. Do not believe the propaganda on this topic. It is spread by activists as an emotional tactic.

Are calves confined in “crates” all of their life?

No. Our calves are raised in hutches because they are very fragile when they are young. We have the highest survival rate when they are raised individually because they are protected from the elements, disease spread & other calves drinking their milk. We can also individually monitor each calf this way & identify illness quicker than if they had been in group housing. Once they are 21+ days they are eligible for group pens because they are out of the danger zone for scours & have built up some immunity. Think of it as short-term social distancing. We typically move our calves into the group barns when they are 2 months old because it has worked best over the years on our farm. They spend the rest of their lives with their friends.

ABOUT COWS:

Stealing their calves?

The cows do not care that we raise the calves. They don’t even notice. Dairy cows have not had to take care of their calves for so many generations that they have very little maternal instinct left. Their job is to be milked & relax & that’s what they are good at. I have had calves killed & injured by their own mother on numerous occasions. Dairy cows don’t react at all when we pick up the babies. We usually pick them up in a couple hours after birth. By that time, the rush of oxytocin they get from birth is gone & they are eating or nowhere even near their calf. They do not “bawl for days” or chase after them. Those videos are staged activist propaganda. I have never witnessed it one time in my life and I have been farming for over 30 years. It is our goal to give the calves good care.

Are cows forcefully impregnated?

A cow in a “wild” setting will become pregnant every year and be bred more often. When a cow is in estrus, they want to be bred. We AI (artificially inseminate) the cow at a time when she would be very receptive to a bull. It is not forceful. Majority of them are so relaxed that they continue to eat while we do this. They are also 1500+ lbs and could kick the shit out of us if they were upset. The bulls are the forceful ones. Bulls do not care at all about how the cow is feeling & will take zero precautions against harming them unlike us. Our jerseys come into heat as young as 6 months old.. Do you think a bull would wait to breed them until they were a safer size?

Are they impregnated over and over?

A cow has just 1 calf a year with a 9 month gestation period. They have 1 calf every 12-14 months. We give them time off in between lactations for their health as well & do not rebreed them until they are ready (2+ months postpartum). A cow in poor health on a dairy will not breed back. A cow in the wild would actually become pregnant more frequently because they can start cycling almost immediately after birth. Bulls do not wait to breed cows like farmers do. Being pregnant is a cow’s entire biological goal. It is not an evil thing as the activists have made it out to be.

Is AI rape?

No. To even ask this or compare to it is disgusting. AI is a painless, quick, stress free veterinary procedure. We only AI cows when they are in a “standing heat” which means they would be very receptive to a bull. To even compare it to a crime punishable by prison time is revolting and makes a mockery of real victims.

Are cows exploited or enslaved?

No. Our cows spend about 20 min a day being milked & they enjoy it. That is their entire job. The rest of the time they are eating, sleeping, chewing cud or hanging with friends in comfort. They also get 2 months of vacation every year from being milked. It is called a dry period. If anything, cows exploit us. Imagine only having to work a few minutes a day while getting free housing, medical care, 24 hour buffet, room service, servants etc.?

Lifespan?

The natural lifespan of a dairy cow is not 20+ years as activists would have you believe. It varies greatly by breed just like with dogs. My oldest Holstein milk cow is 13. Her name is Grace. A dairy cow’s average lifespan in the US is 6-9 years and I have a lot of 9+ year old cows as well. In the wild, it would be much shorter.

Wild vs Domesticated?

Cows live much longer, healthier lives when taken care of by humans. We provide them with feed, water, medical care, housing, hygiene & safety. In the wild, majority would die off immediately. Even the smartest cow with the best possible instincts would still face a much more stressful & shorter life in the wild.

Selective breeding?

Selective breeding has made cows live longer, healthier lives. We can eliminate bad traits & genetic defects. It is not just done to increase milk production or make them more efficient.

Go outside?

Our cows do have outdoor access & can graze when there is grass. We don’t have it year around & nor is the weather nice year around. My cows spend majority of their time inside because it is more comfortable in the barn. It was designed to be as comfortable as possible. Fluffy dry bedding, 24/7 feed, fans, soakers, good ventilation etc.

Unnatural Diet?

A dairy cow’s natural diet is forage. We grow a lot of different crops to provide that. Our native grass would not sustain them. These animals are athletes and their diet reflects that. They do get to graze some when there is grass. We grow grasses & forages & then make them into silage so they have a year around supply of nutritious feed available 24 hours a day.

Do you kill the cows?

Dairy cows are a valuable resource & they can either provide milk or beef. When a cow is at the end of her natural lifespan, it is common to sell them to be made into beef & byproducts. Beef slaughter is incredibly humane in the US. The animals are never stressed or know what is coming. It is instant and painless because Temple Grandin has revolutionized the industry. When a cow is slaughtered, 99% of her body is used. Everything from makeup, plastics, tires, lubricants, cell phones, medicine, etc. are thanks to animal byproducts. It is better to honor the animal instead of letting their body go to waste.

ABOUT DAIRY FARMING:

Environment?

Cows are assigned an unfair amount of blame for climate change. Cows are a valuable resource & a necessary part of the world’s ecology. They convert inedible cellulose into valuable nutrition. My cows are fed a lot of waste products from people food like almond hulls, tomato pumice, soybean meal etc. I have even fed them old pickles & jalapenos that would have gone to a landfill before! Cows also provide the best fertilizer & are a part of the carbon cycle.

The GHG emissions in the US of all agriculture is only 9%. Beef and Dairy make up 3.6% of that. Transportation is 29% and Electricity is 31% (EPA 2016). Cows also emit methane which does not stay in the atmosphere forever like CO2 from fossil fuels. As long as cattle numbers don’t increase, the pollution will stay net negative & gradually decrease over time. Looking at the world’s cattle emissions also skews the numbers greatly because we are the most efficient country when it comes to production. India has over a billion cows (a lot of them old & inefficient) because the cows are never slaughtered. Our efficiency increases every year while our cattle numbers decrease. We are producing more with LESS. The US dairy industry has a goal of being net negative by 2050 & it is very feasible.

For more information, Check out Dr. Frank Mitlohner at the UC Davis CLEAR Center and follow him on Twitter @GHGGuru

Milk is not necessary?

No. milk is a valuable, natural, healthy, nutritious product. The plant based “milks” have to be fortified to even be somewhat comparable & none of them are anywhere close to being as healthy as cow’s milk. Plant based milks are not local or from family farms either. They are made by huge corporations because they are non perishable junk food with a large profit margin that they can mass produce & ship all over the country. There are some good reasons to skip the plant milks.

Antibiotics:

There are no antibiotics in milk. Every US dairy farm is highly regulated by FDA. Any cow being treated with antibiotics will get their milk dumped. All milk is tested multiple times before it enters the grocery store to ensure there is zero residue. You can read more about antibiotics in milk here

Hormones:

Milk (like all foods) does have naturally occurring hormones. It is from a lactating animal however the amount of estrogen is much, much lower than what’s in other plant-based foods. Milk has 2ng of estrogen per 8 oz. serving while 3oz serving of cabbage has 2,000ng, white bread has 136,080ng, tofu has 51,483,600ng, and soy flour has 342,468,000ng. You can read more here about hormones and milk here

Factory Farms:

The term “factory farm” is invalid. 98% of US dairies are family owned & ran. Just because a farm is large, does not mean it is a corporation. Farm size is also not an indication of animal welfare. How a farm is managed determines that. A farm can have issues at any size & there is also zero correlation between cow numbers and welfare. More about factory farms here

All about profit?

This is just an asinine question. People do not get rich from dairy farming. All profit is invested back into the farm. We work very hard to give exemplary care because it is the right thing to do. Yes, healthy animals are more profitable but that is not why we break our backs to take care of them! If being abusive was more profitable, we still would not do it because it is wrong. Dairy farming is not a lucrative profession to begin with either. We do it because it is an honor to provide people with food and byproducts and we just love cows. It can be a hard & stressful life at times. We do not get weekends off or vacations. Most of us live on the farm & are basically on call 24/7 even if we do find some downtime. It would be much easier to sell everything & work a simple 9-5 job. Some years, we do not make any profit. Did you know that there is a suicide hotline just for dairy farmers? It is very sad but true. I get a letter from the creamery I sell to every few months about mental health to remind me about it…

If you have any more questions feel free to leave a comment below.

The post Common Activist “Questions” About Dairy Answered first appeared on Dairy Moos.

Want to stay young? Want to defeat cancer? Want to keep healthy from the Coronavirus? Let me introduce you to an ancient health remedy- cow urine.

[Note: this post does not promote drinking cow urine]

According to ancient ayurvedic medicine, the cow produces 5 healing elixirs- butter, milk, curd, urine, and dung. Cow urine, they say, can be extremely healing and can cure many illnesses. Many in India today are stating that Cow urine can cure the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

India has a long history of celebrating the cow. Cows are seen as being sacred providers of happiness- they are the foster mothers of the human race. The Vedas say that all the gifts (products) from the cow are valuable- including the Urine.

The cow urine cure

Cow urine was used as a therapeutic or medicinal cure by Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years and its use is inscribed and promoted in the Vedic texts. Many people in India still use cow urine as a cure for diseases or as a cleaner or cleansing agent.

According to the thought, the liquids produced by cows are bio-filtered by the cow’s metabolic system thereby yielding a product that is sterile with all toxins filtered out. They claim that cow urine has a number of beneficial chemical compounds that can help the body:

The biochemical estimation of cow urine has shown that it contains sodium, nitrogen, sulfur, Vitamin A, B, C, D, E, minerals, manganese, iron, silicon, chlorine, magnesium, citric, succinic, calcium salts, phosphate, lactose, carbolic acid, enzymes, creatinine and hormones (source)

It’s thought that these compounds are what give cow urine medicinal, healing properties such as having antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, and anticarcinogenic effects.

The ancient texts boast that cow urine can cure a number of diseases including leprosy, fever, epilepsy, and anemia.

A number of other health conditions have also been reported to see improvements from cow urine therapy (cowpathy) including those suffering from flu, allergies, colds, rheumatoid arthritis, bacterial/viral infections, tuberculosis, chickenpox, hepatitis, leucorrhoea, leprosy, ulcer, heart disease, asthma, skin infections, aging, chemical intoxication, cough, migraine or headache, constipation, thyroid and skin diseases like eczema, ringworm, and itching, acne, cancer, heart disease, musculoskeletal disorders, male sexual disorders, AIDS, diabetes mellitus, blood disorders, and respiratory diseases. Subsequently, the ‘cow’ is seen as a mobile medical dispensary.

The stories about people healing themselves with cow urine are anecdotal at best. One 38-year-old cancer survivor wrote a book about how drinking cow urine saved his life. He documented his experience using cow urine to cure his cancer in his book called Holy Cancer: How a Cow saved my life. There is no shortage of stories about people who were cured by using cow urine.

The use of cow urine as a health remedy is not isolated in India though. Several cattle-herding tribes in Africa also use cow urine to heal themselves. The Mundari tribe in South Sudan bathe themselves in cow-urine showers to help fight infection. They claim it is an effective way to stay clean.

The science behind cow urine

It is hard to find scientific research on cow urine that is being done outside of India. The question of whether cows can cure disease with their waste fluids seems to be a field ripe for exploration for any ambitious scientist. Research reports from India claim that cow urine does have antimicrobial properties and that it does have a positive effect on treating cancer. Another report detailed that cow urine is useful in combatting a number of drug-resistant bacteria and viruses.

Through extensive research studies a cow urine distillate fraction, popularly known as ‘ark’, has been identified as a bioenhancer of the activities of commonly used antibiotics, anti-fungal and anti-cancer drugs. Thus, it can promote and augment the bioactivity or bioavailability or the uptake of drugs in combination therapy and reduce the dose and duration of treatment. These milestone achievements highlight the beneficial role of cow urine in treating bacterial infections and cancers and that cow urine enhances the efficacy and potency of therapeutic drugs. (source)

While there is no direct evidence that cow urine can cure disease, it hasn’t stopped people from bottling it and selling it as a health remedy. In India, you can buy bottled cow urine.

Now with the global coronavirus pandemic, people in India are hosting cow urine parties as a means to combat the coronavirus. According to the current government in India, cow urine is a real way to keep yourself healthy and the government openly promotes drinking cow urine as a way to combat the COVID-19 virus. (source)

Swami Chakrapani Maharaj, president of the Hindu Mahasabha—a century-old organization that advocates Hindutva (or “Hinduness”)—declared that “consuming cow urine and cow dung will stop the effect of infectious coronavirus.” (source)

Many people are convinced there that cow urine is an effective health drink.

The ayurvedic medical body in the state of Uttar Pradesh has issued a business proposal to expand its range of bovine health products, “to make cow urine easily available to the common public”. “We will promote cow urine as a health-giving drink . . . Drinking 10ml to 20ml cow urine daily will act as a preventive against seasonal diseases like fever and cough.

So, what would it take for you to try the cow urine cure. Would you try it if there was a global health pandemic? Leave your comments below

It’s strange that something gross could be a medicinal cure- But if India survives the COVID-19 Apocalypse, dairy farms may have to start bottling not just the white cow elixir but also the yellow.

[Note: Dairymoos.com does not actually promote drinking cow urine. This post is purely for entertainment and educational purposes]

The post The Cow Urine “Cure” first appeared on Dairy Moos.

Milk does vary in its composition (fat, lactose, and protein), but all mammals are built to digest milk of other species. Other mammals do find milk from other species when they can, no human intervention required. It may seem out there but seeing is believing

Random- Ants enjoys Aphid milk

They aren’t mammals but they act like it. http://www.dairymoos.com/ants-milk-aphids/

Did you find others? Share in the comments below

The post Are Humans the only Species to drink the Milk of another Specie first appeared on Dairy Moos.

The post Ex-Vegans turn to Animal-based Foods first appeared on Dairy Moos.

The post How Milk beats Malnourishment first appeared on Dairy Moos.

This is a PETAesque article reflecting how PETA framing works- in other words, how PETA uses words to manipulate how people see things.

The following is how a plants rights activist might describe plant treatment in today’s world using PETA’s belief framing:

WARNING: 10 shocking images that will make you never want to eat plants again. GRAPHIC AND HORRIFIC.

1. Plant Murder occurs daily

Every day, BILLIONS of plants are brutally murdered for food

2. Plants living in Factory Farms and Crowded Conditions

Did you know the majority of plants come from Factory farms and live in crowded conditions barely even able to spread their leaves..

3. Plants living in Unnatural Living Environment

Many of the plants we eat today never even get to touch real soil or breath fresh air. Plants roots are FORCED to grow water and only given unnatural fake sunlight as food.. Whatever happened to a plant just being able to be a plant

4. Disfigured plants are getting their Limbs cut Off

Machines are routinely used to literally CUT OFF the arms and fingers of plants ..

5. Plant Hormones, You’re eating plant Ovaries

Newsflash, Apples are plant OVARies and not meant to be eaten by humans. You see because fruits are female sex organs they are LOADED with HORMONES. It’s meant ONLY as food for baby plants.. DON’T eat baby plant growth food.

6. Plants are full of Infections and Bacteria

Many plants today suffer from Bacterial, Viral, and Fungal INFECTIONS because of improper care.. many of the plants we eat today are loaded with BILLIONS of bacteria cells. A teaspoon of soil generally contains between 100 million and 1 billion bacteria. And plants are forced to grow in these conditions. I wouldn’t eat plant infections, yuck.

7. Plants are Continuously Tortured

Some people purposefully TORTURE plants for fun!

8. Plants are forcibly Impregnated and Raped

Did you know that Factory Farms that produce almond milk use slave bees to FORCABLY IMPREGNATE plants so they can produce food year after year..

9. Plants are forced to grow faster

Plants are given Industrial and chemically produced food to FORCE them to grow faster.

10. Plants aren’t good for you- You don’t need to eat plants

Did you know these shocking facts about plants: Source

Of all the people born in 1865 who later ate vegetables, there has been a 100% mortality rate.

96% of people who ate vegetables in 1920 now have wrinkles, or worse, are dead!

99% of cancer sufferers admit to eating vegetables at some time in their life.

82% of ex-cons who committed another crime report to have eaten vegetables whilst in prison.

98% of underachievers ate vegetables during high school.

100% of women who have suffered from PMS have eaten vegetables at some time in their life.

9 out of 10 drug addicts that relapse have eaten vegetables while attending rehab.

Do your part and end plant torture- Stop Eating Plants. #plantlivesmatter

These may seem over the top, but from a dairy farmer’s perspective, these PETA frames are very hurtful- they’re hurtful because they try to imply that dairy farmers don’t care about animals, which is the opposite of what I spend every day doing, trying to make the farm a better place for the animals.

Most dairy farmers do have the best interest of the cows in mind because happy cows give the most milk. It is some sort of karmic, universal law that protects animals. If you treat others well, they treat you well. Dairy farmers aren’t evil murderers or torturers, just people like everyone else.

If you enjoyed this article or think of some other examples of how PETA would write about plant lives, leave it in the comments below

The post If Vegans Cared about Plants first appeared on Dairy Moos.

In Cow Years

Cows mature at a different pace than humans do. It’s like they’re living on a different timeline- you know, the whole dog years concept. An easy way to extrapolate the cows’ age in human years would be to look at when a cow reaches puberty. It takes people about 12 years to reach puberty, while it only takes a cow 1 year to reach puberty. This timeline puts things into better context:

Living on different timelines – Cow years are different from people years

When a cow reaches seven or eight she definitely begins showing signs of aging. Old age is a cruel friend affecting all species.

How many Years does the average Cow live?

The average Dairy cow will live 5 to 7 years. This number depends on different factors:

Some factors that affect a cows age:

• Genetics – Some cows have great genes and longevity runs in their family
• Health – Did the cow have a major health problem when growing up, this will affect her in her later years.
• Nutrition – Similar to people, food plays a large role in determining health and quality of life. Quality nutrition is a must
• Environment – All external factors for a cow’s life generally play a role in determining longevity, stress, how she was handled, etc.
• Weather – Extreme weather can be hard on cows, minimizing the severity of the elements is key to helping cows live longer.
• Breed – The breed of cow plays a role in determining how long a cow will live. Some breeds are stronger and more predisposed to aging more gracefully.

The Oldest Cow

Interestingly, the oldest known cow was Big Bertha who lived to be 48 years old living from 1945-1993. She also held the record for most babies, having 39 calves.

What was the secret to Big Bertha’s longevity? Her owner fed her whiskey to steady her nerves when she was around people- maybe it helped to reduce her stress levels.

Her story is a fascinating example of bovine achievement. To say that most cows can accomplish living that long would be a mistake though, Big Bertha was an exception rather than the rule, an outlier.

The average age of cows would be represented on a bell curve

Cows can live 18-20 years or even 48 years, but it’s not normal or average. People can live to 120 but it’s not the norm.

The average age of cows can be depicted in a bell curve format. Outliers do not predict the average but are represented on the extremities of the curve.

Knowing the maximum age cows can live is fascinating, it represents possibilities.

Breeding Healthier Cows

Longevity in dairy cows has actually improved tremendously in the past 20 years. Instead of breeding for only milk production, dairy farmers are focused on breeding healthier, longer lasting cows by selecting males with better health and longevity traits. Genes really do make a difference in how long a cow will live.

Genomics, (genetic testing) is helping to bring positive change to cows’ lives.

With genomic testing, we know more about a cow’s DNA than any time in history. As more and more cows are tested, we can know which cows have the best genes for longevity- which cows will live longer. In knowing which cows have a predisposition for longevity, breeders can mate cows to bulls with good genes to help breed cows more cows can have these good traits. It is helping to speed genetic progress which helps all dairy cows as a whole.

A lot of genetic progress has been made to help improve a cow’s longevity and quality of life.

Before genetic testing, a cow’s traits used to be determined by visual appearance and data collection on mothers and daughters (which took years to get accurate data). Now a cow’s genetic traits can be determined by genomic testing which gives trait data including longevity and health. Accurate data in a short time.

(Left) Compare the cow from 1935 to the modern-day cow (Right), you can see the amount of genetic progress.

The modern cow, on the right, is stronger and more balanced which contributes to a longer life. The modern cow has a wider chest, is deeper in heart girth, stronger in her backbone, walks on a more correct set of feet and legs and is much stronger in her udder attachments. All these physical traits play a role in a cow’s longevity and quality of life

The Natural Life of a Cow

But what would the cow’s age be if she lived her life naturally in the wild? Compared to cows at the farm, a cow living in the wild would not necessarily be happier or live longer.

A good example would be deer- it is hard to measure what a cows age would be in the wild but we can assume shorter. Deer, for example, living wild and free have shorter lives:

“The life span of a whitetail deer can be from 6 to 14 years in captivity. In the wild, the majority of deer don’t make it to that age because of disease, hunting and automobile collisions. The average life span for wild whitetail deer is 4½ years (Lopez et al 2003). Males have an average life span of 2.9 years and females have an average life span of 6½ years (Lopez et al 2003).”

Life in the wild is not easy. Elements- wind, rain, snow, dry weather- food availability, and predators are just some of the major things animals in the wild have to deal with.

Cows wouldn’t have easier lives in the wild – most likely they would be more stressed- and their lifespan would not necessarily be longer than a cow’s life on a farm.

The post How Long do Cows Live? first appeared on Dairy Moos.