06/07/2019
Please read! We treat our livestock humanely! The story of abuse is horrifying many small dairy and livestock farms.
You may or may not have seen the video floating around Facebook of dairy calf abuse. I have; it is horrific, disgusting, and sad. It is NOT OK, period. There are good people in this world and there are bad people in this world. Unfortunately, that farm hired some very bad people.
It is scary to think this could happen to anyone; this could happen to us. We hire employees and we trust that they will treat our animals with the respect and care they deserve. You see stories of abuse in daycares and nursing homes all the time, it is all an act of distrust. You can do background checks and screening, but sometimes it still happens. At our farm, we have zero tolerance for animal abuse. We do training, we have video cameras, and we have managers that care as much as the owners. We do everything we can to ensure our animals are treated with respect and great care.
That video is not an accurate portrayal of American Dairy Farms. Financially, abuse does not make sense. Our animals are how we make a living, we have to take care of them. The more cared for and comfortable our animals are, the more successful we can be. Although farming to most people is considered a “way of life” it is a business at the end of the day.
Farming is not a glamorous job. Its hard work, its 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. If you are familiar with what’s going on in the US right now, you also know farming, especially dairy farming, is not profitable. There have always been swings in the market, but it has been at a low for too long. Many farms that have been around for years are selling out, and the rest have been losing money every day just hoping for a change. I’m sure many farmers have wondered what it would be like to have another job outside of farming. Holidays and weekends off, good work benefits, paid overtime…. But we don’t quit. Why? We love the lifestyle. WE LOVE THE COWS. We can’t picture ourselves doing anything else.
My point being, when there are so many reasons to quit, the reasons we stay are not what that video depicts. Before you decide to ditch dairy, talk to your friends or neighbors that are farmers. I know my Facebook feed is swamped with outraged farmers just like me. It is not the norm, we care and respect our cattle.
Anyone is welcome to tour our farm anytime.