Cows kept indoors
On Countryfile tonight......the future of dairy farming.
One farmer keeps his cows indoors all the time, all of their lives, all stood in rows, being milked at every opportunity.
He said that the cows couldn't imagine being in a field, so that made it alright. He genuinely could not see any problem with this.
Heartless sod!
Comments
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Same system used on a farm/vineyard we visited in France 3 years ago. Barn was opensided so they could look out and see the fields. All milking was done by robots
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Not good at all, later in the programme it showed a farmer transporting his cows to a higher field, when let out the trailer they ran, kicked their legs, grazed and ran again. I would say they were much happier with their lot than those cooped up 24 a day,
it's just not natural.0 -
The lives of some dairy cows is comparable to that of battery chickens. The conditions and lives some of these animals lead, in this, a supposed civilised and caring country, borders on obscene. Kept constantly in calf, they are nothing more than walking
milk production units. And the Animal Welfare Act is about to be repealed. Money and greed, hearts of stone.
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Its life in the countryside. Reality of cheap foods.Who asked the cows what they like.Just see freerange egg farms.The poultry outside are all huddled round the door - wanting to get back in? Too many armchair environmentalist want to "humanise" dumb animals.
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Not making any comment either way but would we all be prepared to pay more for our milk?
I personally don't know how much milk costs BTW, A 2.272 litre bottle gets put in the shopping trolley - but I shop where the overall weekly bill is lower, or where I get something back (points or £5 vouchers) so if it went up by 10p or whatever that wouldn't bother me but the overall price would. Does anyone here really think where all the food , or how it is grown/reared comes from in the supermarkets? I'll admit that I don't.
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I try and think about it, I want to know about where the food I eat comes from, if anyone or anything has been harmed so that I can enjoy eating delicious, nutritious things I like. We are lucky in this country, generally most of us have the wealth to be
able to eat what we like, and I accept that for a great part of the world this isn't the case. It's got nothing to do with humanising animals, just recognising that they bleed, get frightened and suffer if insensitive cruel illegitimates choose ( and it is
by choice) to use them as nothing more than a commodity to make a few extremely wealthy. People, children, families also suffer to get cheap food onto our plates, hence some of the fair trade initiatives that are more prevalent nowadays. Ethics and morals.
Some care, some don't give a hoot.0 -
Actually, it's not "life in the countryside" at all as the programme made clear that itcwas very much an exception. I was born and brought in a farming community and I have a great deal of sympathy for genuine farmers struggling to make a living and yes,
I'd quite happily pay more for milk ( which is ridiculously cheap at the moment) if I knew it supported real, compassionate farmers. But, sorry, not these "factory farmers".0 -
Hear hear M! Most farmers are struggling, because few think about what goes into producing food, be it meat, dairy or vegetables and fruit. We all like a bargain, but some reverence for the hard work and living standards for those producing it should be
a factor as well, or so I believe.0 -
Not good at all, later in the programme it showed a farmer transporting his cows to a higher field, when let out the trailer they ran, kicked their legs, grazed and ran again. I would say they were much happier with their lot than
those cooped up 24 a day, it's just not natural.Exactly the same as the Pit Ponies did when brought to the surface, except I believe, they were almost blind !!
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Well we still have our milk delivered by the milkman.
It''s more expensive but it keeps his job going and I think it lasts longer.
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Most dairy cows are in for the winter, our local ones won't be out till the grass and conditions improve. So most cows won't be on grass for a good part of the year. I don't like factory farming but I'd rather see animals well cared for and their needs met.
I would prefer not to see huge indoor herds that require a lot of special maintenance but you'd have to ask farmers what they think!?0 -
Not good at all, later in the programme it showed a farmer transporting his cows to a higher field, when let out the trailer they ran, kicked their legs, grazed and ran again. I would say they were much happier with their lot than
those cooped up 24 a day, it's just not natural.Exactly the same as the Pit Ponies did when brought to the surface, except I believe, they were almost blind !!
Some pit ponies went blind, usually through old age or injuries sustained underground. But it is a myth that they went blind because they worked in the dark. Their lives were often harsh, usually again via cruelty and overwork. But then so were the lives
of most working horses. But technology thank fully evolved so that reliance upon horses became a thing of the past. At least in this country, not so in many others.0 -
The miners did not have an easy time of it either. And now we have the work done by machinery - err, no actually. There ARE no mines, ponies or miners. Coal just appears mysteriously in bags, a bit like the milk and the beef in the supermarket.
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Prices are set by supply and demand, over supply causes reduced prices for all producers. Factory farming seems largely responsible for the oversupply of milk and one of the reasons for changes in the health and look of the countryside - loss of pasture,
increase in bracken etc. Grazing animals are the best conservators of the countryside so it's best for all concerned. In my view many small family farms are being made uneconomic due to the actions a few money motivated milk production businesses.0 -
You cant turn the clock back. In every sector, size means economy. You have to live with it. No doubt the TATA workers will be treated the same.Again I ask has anyone asked the cows how they feel. Looking at todays wet, windy and cold weather would I prefer
to have a roof over my head or standing in the rain?0 -
Well we still have our milk delivered by the milkman.
It''s more expensive but it keeps his job going and I think it lasts longer.
..Yes we do as well ,its delivered fresh every day,to the coop 200yds from our house ,probably from the same supplyer your milk man gets his from,we are going to try the raw milk as one of the dairy farms 2miles away supplies it
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Personally I feel for the Farmers. I doubt many go into farming as a way to be rich. They toil long hours trying to get by. The 'factory farming' is just a Farmer trying to get ahead & survive. It has been proved over & again(by the Farmers) people scream
cruelty, scream better conditions but when the price of milk/beef/pork etc go up in price Joe public by cheap imported goods. It's no good calling the Farmer who fights for survival daily, it's what the public want. If a Farmer fails His Animals will be sold
off cheaply-to anyone who will pay. Livestock & Farmer/Family. . . .Gone. I may be an Animal lover but I'm not stupid. The Farmer & Family
are more important.0 -
This idea of cows being inside is a modern one. My father was a farmer who milked cows and they were out all year round. Cattle naturally thrive outdoors, they were originally woodland grazers, and penning them up inside is probably the cause of so many diseases as it is an entirely unnatural environment.
Cows are now bred to give unaturally large quantities of milk and suffer from udder problems as a result. These new milking units containing hundreds of cows are appalling bad for animal welfare. This is not a question of humanising animals, it is a question of giving them as natural a life as possible.I have no problem eating meat or any other animal product but I go out of my way to ensure proper welfare standards have been observed in the production
The problem is the majority of the British population are urban dwellers, and have no concept of how their food is produced. Battery hens are a case in point. If people refused to buy anything but free range eggs then there would be no battery houses. But, they just want it cheap and to hell with welfare.
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The problem with livestock farming today, is the fact that farmers have to jump through any number of hoops to abide by EU regulations and welfare accredition schemes, thus raising production costs. Only to have the supermarket chains import cheap produce
from from EU and non EU countries that blatantly disregard welfare standards0 -
No dairy cows, "free range" or not, spend all year outside. Grass does not grow all year, and the other main problem is the state of the ground in our climate. Gateways, feeders and any other area used daily by stock soon get poached (turned into a muddy mess). Some hardy breeds (as seen on a couple of the recent This Farming Life series, do stay out all year. But not dairy cows.
I'm not taking sides on the indoor/outdoor issue, but the building was built for the job, light and airy with good ventilation. We never saw the winter housing for the Free Range cows.
And in case you're wondering, our cows came in full time on 17th October last year (they had been in at nights for a couple of weeks). They will go out when there is enough grass, towards the end of April.
Please do not judge all farmers by how they are portrayed on programmes made mainly for non-farmers.
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Zero grazing is nothing new.I wasinvolved in it inDerbyshire 30 years ago.vHave been out most morningsover the last 14 days at 6.15 am, trying to kill foxes which are decimating the new lambs here. Because of the misguided politicians and bunny huggers
we cant control the fox numbers now with hounds. At the present rate it wont be long before sheep will have to be kept indoors year round to keep them safe.0
. I suppose much like fish, if they could they would prefer to be in the river rather than
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