What Kind of Cow is That?

Of course, all cows produce milk after they give birth. The milk is supposed to feed her calf, but because people love milk, ice cream, yogurt, and cheese, dairy calves rarely get to drink it. Belle, a milking shorthorn heifer, was a sterile twin known as a freemartin and will never produce milk.

“What type of cow is that?” asked Jane, a visitor to Miles Smith Farm, pointing to Belle. When I told her Belle was a Milking Short Horn, Jane asked, “When do you start milking her?” Astonished by the question, I realized that maybe Jane thought cows began producing milk spontaneously.

A cow produces milk for one reason: to feed her calf. She doesn’t produce it to create ice cream, cheese, or yogurt. Just like a woman has milk for her baby, a cow does the same for hers.

Dairy cows were created by selective breeding to create lots of milk. Soon after the calf is born, it’s taken from its mom and bottle-fed a non-milk formula. Then the cow is milked twice daily, and that milk is enjoyed in its many forms by non-vegan humans.

As harsh as it may sound, dairy calves are weaned within days or even hours of birth. If pastured with their mothers, the little calves would be in danger of getting trampled by other cows that come running at milking time. There are health factors, too.

Too Much Milk

Because dairy cattle produce so much milk, one calf, twins, or triplets couldn’t drink all of Mom’s milk. Mastitis, a potentially fatal disease, occurs when the udder is not completely emptied. On the other hand, if the calf drinks too much of the abundant milk, it can get a disease called scours, a deadly form of diarrhea. If milk is available, calves consume way more than they should, just like me at a breakfast buffet.

Often smaller dairies share the cow’s milk with her calf, letting the calf nurse once a day and milking the cow the other time. At dairy farms, though, the cow and the calf are separated right after birth. Some calves are raised to be veal, others live longer and are processed as beef, while some females replace older, less-productive cows.

Raw Milk

Some local farms, like Huckins Farm in New Hampton, N.H., take good care of weaned calves and, as I do, name their cows and treat each one as an individual. All of their weaned calves are fed real milk, not milk replacer, and according to farm owner Matty Huckins, they grow a whole lot better that way. Huckins Farm produces wonderful raw milk with a rich cream that floats to the top and tastes delicious. I’m glad we live in a state where it’s legal to buy raw milk.

My Beef Program

We raise beef cows at Miles Smith Farm, who, unlike dairy cows, only produce enough milk for their calves. The beef cows are bred to create a plump, meaty calf, not milk for a latte or ice cream. So I can leave the calves with their moms for months. Next week, I’ll explain what I do with the weaned calves and why some might join my beef program.