Milking the controversy

My dairy farmer friend pointed me to an article today. 

Mark Bittman, who doesn't like milk and doesn't want anyone else to either, wrote, "But what about the bucolic cow on the family farm? [They] barely exist: “Given the Kafkaesque federal milk marketing order system, it’s impossible for anyone to make a living producing and selling milk,” says Anne Mendelson, author of “Milk.” “The exceptions are the very largest dairy farms, factory operations with anything from 10,000 to 30,000 cows, which can exploit the system, and the few small farmers who can opt out of it and sell directly to an assured market, and who can afford the luxury of treating the animals decently.”

Isn't that amazing?  We - and our neighbors - don't exist.  Also, treating animals well isn't a luxury, it's a necessity.  All dairy farmers depend on their animals, which is why they treat them extremely well and do all they can to keep them healthy and fit. 

This week is so hot - we do all we can to help keep the cattle cool.  We run fans in the barns.  We move them to pastures with the best shade.  We provide them with ample water and feed.  Kris manipulates the irrigation so that it'll spray right over top of them.  A farmer who neglects his cattle gets a crummy return!

To the New York Times, we're an impossibility.  Sometimes it does seem like a fairy tale, but not for the reasons they think. 



Cow and her newborn calf today