Approximately half of the country’s dairy cows suffer from mastitis, a bacterial infection of their udders. This is such a common and costly ailment that a dairy industry group, the National Mastitis Council, was formed specifically to combat the disease. Other diseases, such as Bovine Leukemia Virus, Bovine Immunodeficiency Virus, and Johne’s disease (whose human counterpart is Crohn’s disease) are also rampant on modern dairies, but they commonly go unnoticed because they are either difficult to detect or have a long incubation period. A cow eating a normal grass diet could not produce milk at the abnormal levels expected on modern dairies, and so today’s dairy cows must be given high energy feeds. The unnaturally rich diet causes metabolic disorders including ketosis, which can be fatal, and laminitis, which causes lameness.
Another dairy industry disease caused by intensive milk production is “Milk Fever.” This ailment is caused by calcium deficiency, and it occurs when milk secretion depletes calcium faster than it can be replenished in the blood.
In a healthy environment, cows would live in excess of twenty-five years, but on modern dairies, they are slaughtered and made into ground beef after just three or four years. The abuse wreaked upon the bodies of dairy cows is so intense that the dairy industry also is a huge source of “downed animals” — animals who are so sick or injured that they are unable to walk even stand. Investigators have documented downed animals routinely being beaten, dragged, or pushed with bulldozers in attempts to move them to slaughter.
Although the dairy industry is familiar with the cows’ health problems and suffering associated with intensive milk production, it continues to subject cows to even worse abuses in the name of increased profit. Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH), a synthetic hormone, is now being injected into cows to get them to produce even more milk. Besides adversely affecting the cows’ health, BGH also increases birth defects in their calves.
Calves born to dairy cows are separated from their mothers immediately after birth. The half that are born female are raised to replace older dairy cows in the milking herd. The other half of the calves are male, and because they will never produce milk, they are raised and slaughtered for meat. Most are killed for beef, with close to one million being used for veal.
The veal industry was created as a by-product of the dairy industry to take advantage of an abundant supply of unwanted male calves. Veal calves commonly live for eighteen to twenty weeks in wooden crates that are so small that they cannot turn around, stretch their legs, or even lie down comfortably. The calves are fed a liquid milk substitute, deficient in iron and fiber, which is designed to make the animals anemic, resulting in the light-colored flesh that is prized as veal. In addition to this high-priced veal, some calves are killed at just a few days old to be sold as low-grade ‘bob’ veal for products like frozen TV dinners.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service estimated that Montcalm County dairy farms produced 205 million pounds of milk in 1999, up from 145 million in 1998. Montcalm County ranks 6th in the state in total milk produced. Dubai Escorts

Breeds
Feed & Nutrition
Housing
Milking
Marketing

Breeds

The vast majority of dairy cows in Montcalm County are Holsteins. Most Holsteins are readily identified by their black and white spots, although some have a red and white color pattern. A healthy Holstein calf weighs 90 pounds at birth. A mature Holstein (3 years of age) weighs 1500 pounds. Holsteins are the most popular breed of dairy cattle in the United States, comprising about 90% of the cow’s milk produced in the US. This is primarily because Holsteins excel at producing large quantities of milk.

The Jersey is the second most common breed in Montcalm County. Jerseys very greatly in color, but they are characterized by a shade of fawn with or without white markings. Their muzzle is black encircled by a light colored ring, and the tongue and switch may be either white or black. Jerseys are the smallest of dairy breeds, with a mature size of about 1000 pounds. Jerseys are noted for having the highest milkfat of any breed.

In addition to Holstein and Jersey, Montcalm County is home to a limited number of Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Ayrshire, and Milking Shorthorn dairy cows.

The Brown Swiss breed originated in Switzerland and is the oldest of the pure dairy breeds. Brown Swiss are known for their long life and outstanding feet and legs. They are colored solid brown with a black nose, tongue and tail.

The Guernsey is a shade of fawn, either solid or with white markings, with golden yellow pigmentation. The breed is moderate in size with mature cows weighing 1,150 pounds. The Guernsey is noted for the superior flavor of its golden-colored milk – naturally high in all milk solids.

Ayrshires are deep cherry red, mahogany, brown or a combination of any of these colors with white or white alone. A mature Ayrshire weighs at least 1,200 pounds. Ayrshires are characterized by strongly attached, evenly balanced, well shaped udders.

Milking Shorthorns are either red, red and white, or roan. Milking Shorthorns are known for their excellent reproductive efficiency and long life.

Feed & Nutrition

The vast majority of dairy cows in Montcalm County are Holsteins. Most Holsteins are readily identified by their black and white spots, although some have a red and white color pattern. A healthy Holstein calf weighs 90 pounds at birth. A mature Holstein (3 years of age) weighs 1500 pounds. Holsteins are the most popular breed of dairy cattle in the United States, comprising about 90% of the cow’s milk produced in the US. This is primarily because Holsteins excel at producing large quantities of milk.

The Jersey is the second most common breed in Montcalm County. Jerseys very greatly in color, but they are characterized by a shade of fawn with or without white markings. Their muzzle is black encircled by a light colored ring, and the tongue and switch may be either white or black. Jerseys are the smallest of dairy breeds, with a mature size of about 1000 pounds. Jerseys are noted for having the highest milkfat of any breed.

In addition to Holstein and Jersey, Montcalm County is home to a limited number of Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Ayrshire, and Milking Shorthorn dairy cows.

The Brown Swiss breed originated in Switzerland and is the oldest of the pure dairy breeds. Brown Swiss are known for their long life and outstanding feet and legs. They are colored solid brown with a black nose, tongue and tail.

The Guernsey is a shade of fawn, either solid or with white markings, with golden yellow pigmentation. The breed is moderate in size with mature cows weighing 1,150 pounds. The Guernsey is noted for the superior flavor of its golden-colored milk – naturally high in all milk solids.

Ayrshires are deep cherry red, mahogany, brown or a combination of any of these colors with white or white alone. A mature Ayrshire weighs at least 1,200 pounds. Ayrshires are characterized by strongly attached, evenly balanced, well shaped udders.

Milking Shorthorns are either red, red and white, or roan. Milking Shorthorns are known for their excellent reproductive efficiency and long life.

Housing

Dairy housing facilities range widely by farm and age of the animal. Calves are typically housed individually to prevent respiratory and other diseases from spreading from one animal to another. Calves need a dry, draft-free environment. Hutches or individual pens in a larger building are the most common housing arrangements for calves.As calves age, they are grouped by size. A common way to house heifers is in open fronted buildings designed to minimize labor requirements during feeding and manure removal.

Most dairy cows in Montcalm County are housed in either stanchion barns or freestall barns. Some are given access to an open corral or pasture. Stanchion barns, sometimes called stall barns, are the more traditional type of dairy cow housing. Because each cow has her own stall, stanchion barns allow for more individual attention for cows. However, the disadvantages of stanchion barns include having to stoop down during milking and increased labor for distributing feed to each individual cow.

Most new housing facilities built today are freestall barns. Freestalls are simple in design, allowing each individual cow to select her own stall to lie in. The cow makes her own decision when she wants to exit the stall and move to the feed bunk or water trough. Many different bases for freestalls are used throughout the county including sawdust, sand, or mattresses made of rubber. Another major advantage of freestalls is the ability to feed all cows along a fence line by a feed wagon or truck. In addition, freestalls allow for ease of grouping cows by production or other management considerations like stage in reproductive life.

Milking

While each individual farm may have its own standard operating procedure for milking cows, there are some key steps that nearly every farm follows. Once the cow enters the milking parlor or stanchion barn where she will be milked, the cow’s udder is cleaned. This may be done by wiping the udder with a clean, dry cloth and coating the cow’s four teats with a cleaning solution containing iodine or some other sanitizer. This process does
two things: removes dirt and bacteria to ensure a clean milk supply and stimulates the cow to “let down” or release her milk. After 15 to 20 seconds of contact time to kill bacteria and stimulate milk let down, the teats are then wiped clean with a towel or cloth and the milking unit is applied. The milking unit creates a controlled vacuum that opens the teat end and allows milk to flow out. The vacuum does not hurt the cow, operating similarly to the action of a suckling calf or a baby sucking his thumb. Many milking units are automated so they release automatically from the cow’s teats when milk flow slows. It takes approximately five minutes to milk a cow. Once the milking unit is removed, teats are dipped with a safe, proven teat dip containing an effective germicide. During this process, milk is never exposed to air. It travels through the milking unit through sanitized pipelines to a refrigerated storage tank where it is quickly cooled to 45°F or lower.

Marketing

Most Montcalm family farms are members of milk marketing cooperatives. These cooperatives are owned and controlled by the member patrons. Often a single farm does not produce enough milk to ship an entire truckload to a milk processing facility. The cooperatives market the farmers’ milk as a group, shipping truckloads of milk to various processing facilities across the state. Milk is either bottled for the fluid market or manufactured into one of many scrumptious dairy products like ice cream, yogurt, butter or cheese.

The northern part of Montcalm County is home to a large Amish community. Many Amish make all or part of their living from the dairy business. Milk from many of the Amish farms is shipped to the Farm Country Cheese House, located south of Lakeview. Visitors have an opportunity to watch cheese making and select from a wide variety of cheeses for purchase when visiting the Farm Country Cheese House.

Some breeds of dairy cattle are: Holsteins and Friesians [most milk], Brown Swiss [high lands], Jersey [rich and creamy milk], Normandy , and the Dairy Shorthorn. Istanbul Escort

We visited the Makarevich Farm where the cows were all registered Holsteins. Dairy cows eat hay, corn silage [corn plus chopped up corn plants], soybeans, and alfalfa. They are also given ‘protein’ that is added to their food. When we visited the farm, we were surprised to hear how much the farmer has to pay to run a farm. One of those costs is the protein. We were told it could cost thousands of dollars a month just for that. This is why farmers try to grow as much food for their animals as they can.

Cows are called ruminants and can eat grass and other plants. Their stomachs have four chambers so that the cow can swallow, get the food partly digested, and then bring it back to chew on it again. The stuff that comes back up is called cud. [We found that gross, too.]

Dairy cattle are not built as heavily as beef cattle but they do have a wide rib cage. Their udders are large and hold milk. Before it can give milk, it has to have a calf, or baby.
Farmers use ‘selective breeding’ where they choose the parent cow and bull that they feel will make the best baby. We will call this the ‘chosen’ cow.

Embryos are taken from chosen cows. These are put inside other cows that weren’t chosen ones. They do the hard work of carrying and giving birth to the calf. Sometimes, when too many embryos are taken from the chosen cow or the farmer wants to save some of them for later, they will be frozen. Mr. Makarevich told us that this works well and the embryos are just fine when they are thawed. Females are pregnant for nine months and deliver the calf without any help.

After it is born, a calf is taken away from its mother. It is put into a stall by itself and is fed milk by bottle in the beginning and from a bucket later.
Veterinarians come to the farm when the cows need to have medical help. Farmers do not take any chances that the cows might get sick.

The farmer takes good care of the cows. In this picture, the cow is put in a cage that fits close to its body. The cage is turned until the cow is on its side. Then the veterinarian will sand off the hooves so that the cow stands right.

Dairy Production in Florida

Dairy farming is one of Florida’s biggest animal industries, second only to the beef cattle industry in dollar value. For decades, the number of dairy farms in Florida has been in decline, while the size of herds on individual farms has increased dramatically. Today, most dairy farms in Florida have between 500 and 1000 cows, and several huge mega-dairies have over 3000 cows!
The lives of dairy cows are a bleak cycle of pregnancy, birth and milking to provide one thing—milk for human consumption.
The heat and humidity of Florida’s climate makes life difficult for dairy cows. Florida’s hot and wet conditions also increase health problems such as mastitis, a common but serious bacterial infection of the mammary gland.
In an attempt to fight the heat, and to better control waste, farms confine cows in warehouse-sized buildings that have giant fans running 24 hours a day. But confining cows creates other problems. As a result of standing on concrete, and from lack of exercise, dairy cows commonly suffer from painful feet or leg injuries. Lameness is one of the most frequent reasons that dairy farmers kill cows.
The Short, Sad Life of a Dairy Cow
Like other mammals, cows have to give birth in order to produce milk. Immediately after giving birth, the dairy cow’s calf is forcibly taken from her and fed artificially.
Male calves are of little value to the dairy industry, so dairy farmers sell them to the notoriously cruel veal industry (there would be no veal without the dairy industry!), or just abandon them at the farm. In 2000, workers at a dairy farm in Okeechobee were caught on film dumping day-old calves in a pit, and shooting them with a pistol.

Young female calves are moved into tiny, individual pens where they spend the first weeks of their lives, cut off almost completely from contact with other cows. A strip of fabric serves as shade. Farmers claim that they must isolate calves to protect them from infectious disease, noxious ammonia and other threats to young animals that are common in modern dairy farms.
Before a calf leaves the pen, she will be dehorned, a painful and stressful mutilation, usually conducted without anesthesia (farmers explain that dehorning reduces injuries in the crowded dairy). Before the calf turns two, she will be artificially inseminated and begin her “productive life.” Cows are milked twice, even three times per day, and are pushed to produce as much as 20,000 lbs of milk per year!
After a few short years, a cow’s milk production declines and she is sold for slaughter. Cows are also killed if they have difficulty getting pregnant, or due to chronic mastitis or lameness, anything that makes her no longer profitable. A cow’s natural lifespan is 25 years or more.
The Environment

The amount of wastewater and manure produced on dairy farms is astounding, and inevitably pollutes rivers, lakes and groundwater.
On dairy farms, enormous quantities of water are used to clean the animals and milking equipment, in operating sprinklers to cool animals, and in flushing manure out of barns—in addition to the water cow’s drink. A study by the University of Florida estimated that 100 cows can produce over 100,000 gallons of wastewater each week!
(photo: at a farm visited by ARFF, wastewater is pumped into a huge lagoon.)
It is not surprising that dairies are one of Florida’s most significant sources of water pollution. (The ammonia and other gases from manure can also contribute to air pollution.)
Strong Bones?
Our bodies need the mineral calcium to build and maintain bones and teeth. But cow’s milk is not the best or a necessary source. Plant foods can provide all the calcium and other nutrients we need. The most healthful calcium sources are fortified orange juice or non-dairy milks, beans, instant oatmeal, broccoli, and green leafy vegetables such as collards or kale.
Cow’s milk is high in calories, fat and cholesterol, and frequently contains antibiotics, hormones and other drug residues. Millions of Americans are dairy (lactose) intolerant.
Beyond Dairy.
The only beings suited to consume cow’s milk are infant cows.
ARFF recommends that people wishing to reduce animal suffering minimize or, better yet, eliminate animal products from their diet. Contact ARFF for ideas on how to make the change to a healthier, animal-free lifestyle.
ARFF investigation reveals animal neglect, unsafe conditions at UF dairy farm
In November 2006, ARFF was contacted by a former employee of the University of Florida’s Dairy Research Unit near Gainesville who reported serious problems at the facility. An ARFF volunteer visited the facility to investigate and confirmed several of the allegations of mismanagement and neglect.

The allegations included: (1) cows becoming sick after eating screws and wire left behind by maintenance crews, plastic gloves used in breeding and other improperly disposed garbage; (2) cows suffering broken bones or other life-ending injuries after slipping on poorly maintained surfaces; (3) an injured or sick cow improperly euthanized by several gunshots to the head; (4) cows not treated at first sign of illness or injury, especially when the illness did not immediately affect milk production; (5) animal cruelty. ARFF learned of an incident in which an employee at the facility whipped an uncooperative cow with his belt.
ARFF filed a complaint with the University of Florida urging them to investigate. The university responded and admitted that problems do exist. Hopefully, ARFF’s complaint and an article that followed in a local newspaper will lead to improvements at the dairy farm.
Although the allegations and the conditions ARFF documented at the farm were shocking, they are not uncommon in Florida dairy farms. Even the best dairy farm can’t avoid abuses that are inherent to the industry, such as female calves forcibly taken from their mothers shortly after birth, and males calves cruelly disposed of. After a few short years, when a cow’s milk production declines, all dairy cows are sold for slaughter.
The best way to help end the suffering of cows in the dairy industry is to eliminate dairy and all animal products from your diet.
The former university employee told ARFF that she had worked at the facility for two years, and in that time she watched cows that she had fallen in love with deteriorate before her eyes. Because of her experience, she has stopped drinking millk.
1431 N. Federal Highway • Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304 • (954) 727-ARFF

A New Industry is Born
On his second voyage to the New World in 1493, Columbus introduced cattle to the Western Hemisphere. After a two-month, 3400-mile voyage, he set anchor at Hispaniola and unloaded his cattle. There the cattle thrived. In 1519, Hernando Cortez took offspring of these cattle to Mexico to set up ranches. Often the cattle roamed wild and later came to the United States by way of Texas and California.
Early American cattle originated in Europe but came to the Americas by many routes: Texas, Florida, California, Virginia and New England. By the time cattle reached Texas and California from Mexico in the 1500s, a cattle industry was emerging in Florida. Weighing 600 to 800 pounds these cattle known as woods cattle, Florida Crackers or Florida Scrubs, flourished and are still around today.
In 1607, cattle arrived at Jamestown, but none survived. More came in 1611, at which time Governor Thomas Dale issued a proclamation: “No man shall dare kill any bull, cow, calf… whether his own or appertaining to another man.” Thanks to this conservation and further imports, cattle became established in Virginia: an estimated 500 head by 1620 and 30,000 by 1639.
At the same time, animals from England northern Europe began arriving in New England and appeared in New York in 1625. On Manhattan Island, a wall was built between the Dutch commune and their outlying farms to protect against wild animals and Indians. This is the wall for which today’s Wall Street is named.
Expanding Horizons
By the 1890s there was a new range. Great herds of buffalo were gone; Indians were relegated to reservations; barbed wire had carved out farms; and a growing network of rails replaced trail drives. Cattle were now business owned by small as well as large producers. A new century was approaching and the world would change dramatically for the cattlemen.
The cattle industry of 1898 was not only regional, focused almost entirely in the West, but also differed substantially from today’s industry especially in how cattle were readied for and delivered to market.
The industry was organized to produce steers four or five years old which were shipped by train from local loading stations along the ever-growing network of rail lines to central markets as grass fat steers from July to November.
Stockyards provided the accumulation points for cattle coming in on the rail cars. Cattle were not fed as in today’s definitions, but rather sorted and distributed out to packers. There were no feeder or stocker cattle, and heifers were never slaughtered. What feeding there was in the Corn Belt was because midwestern farmers kept cattle to use up excess corn. But this was usually a sideline to their corn and hog economy.
Packers, too, had to be concentrated at the rail centers. They killed all kinds of livestock. Their customers were small butcher shops, which needed an assortment of product. The refrigerator cars were loaded with beef quarters hanging from the ceiling. The floor of the car had boxes of ham, bacon and lamb carcasses wrapped in cheese cloth and veal calf carcasses with the hide still on. Freight rates seemed high, but it was a one-way haul to the eastern markets. There was no back haul; stock cars had to go west empty.
Through out the history of the industry cattlemen have worried about the size and ethics of railroad, packers and eventually about buyers, feeders and any other group who seems to be operating outside of their control. At that time it was difficult for a rancher to realize that once the animal was slaughtered it became a very perishable product. It had to be moved into consumption no matter what the conditions, or lost entirely.

Cattle are raised all over the world.  In India, people think cattle are holy so they aren’t killed or eaten there.  Some kinds of beef cattle are Aberdeen, Angus, Brahman, Charolais, Herefords, and Polled Herefords.  Farmers pick which breed they want to raise by the climate where they live.  For example, some cattle can be raised in areas where there isn’t too much water.
Male cattle are called bulls and females are called cows.  Steers are males who cannot reproduce.  Young cows are called heifers until they have babies.  Then they are called dams.  The father is called a sire and the baby is a calf.
Most cattle are registered.  When an animal is registered, their ancestors are traced and written down.  This is stored by an organization that keeps track of breeding information.  Cattle get an ear tag when they are registered.  The ancestors of animals are important when farmers do selective breeding.
Cattle are usually kept in pastures where they eat the grass.  When cattle eat, they swallow and then bring the food back up into their mouths to chew again.  This is called cud.  Ranchers [Cattle farmers] know how many cattle can be kept in the pasture before all the grass will be gone.
Calves are born in the spring.  They are watched carefully and given shots so they don’t get diseases.  They get branded with a mark that shows a ranch symbol.  If the cattle wander away from the ranch, this shows people where they belong.
Later in spring the herds are moved to different pastures so that the grass can grow back again.  Ranchers put out salt licks with minerals in them.  These are solid blocks of salt [with minerals] that cattle like to lick.  Farmers will move the herds every three or four weeks.
Just like in cowboy movies, ranchers use horses to herd the cattle from one pasture to another.  Some ranchers use four-wheel drive vehicles.
In fall, the herds will be moved closer to the farm house.  These pastures will be ones that were used in the early spring and will have grown grass again.  Beef cattle are usually sold then.  If cattle are kept over the winter, they go to smaller pastures nearer to the house.  This is so that the rancher does not have to go so far to check on them when it gets cold.  The ranchers will have to feed them when it snows.
Beef cattle are cheaper to raise than dairy cattle because they mostly eat grass.  Dairy farmers need to pay people to help them grow crops to feed their cows and they buy protein to add to the food.  This makes them cost more money.
Calves can be sold to other farmers who raise them in a penned area.  They are fed special food so that they fatten up quickly.  It takes between four to eight months before the calves are ready for the meat-packing plant.  A steer is ready to be sold when it is about one and a half years old.  Ranchers try to sell them at a time that they can get the most money for them.  The animals can be sold to someone who will fatten them up for market or right to a meat-processing plant.