2022 March Board Book

COMFORT + HEALTH = CONTENT COWS

California dairy farms are also reducing their environmental impact by continuing to make life better for cows through improved nutrition, care, and comfort. "If the cows are not comfortable, they are not going

to produce as much milk," says Kebreab.

Part of this is just common sense, practices that have been around for nearly as long as people have been milking cows. Farmers are making sure the animals that provide their livelihood - and nutrition for millions

of people - have a good diet, comfortable housing, and quality veterinary care.

More than 90 percent of California dairies are enrolled in the National FARM (Farmers Assuring Responsible Management) Program, which organizes third-party management and welfare

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audits and programs.

"You see many [dairy cow] health indicators going

in the right direction," says Mitloehner. "We see not just performance improving, we also see welfare

parameters improving, and getting better and

better. Many of the health and welfare parameters we have in California are now the envy of the world."

"Our cows have sand-bedded free stalls and temperature-control year-round, fans to keep them cool," says Fernandes. "We use sand because it is inorganic, and that reduces the chances of bacteria growth. It's also very cool and soft. It doesn't compact or get hard, so it makes it like laying on the beach. And we recycle all that sand, clean and dry it, and reuse it as a bedding source." Dairy farmers consult with cow-nutrition experts to ensure animals receive a highly nutritious diet. Meanwhile, over 40 percent of feed ingredients currently used by California dairy farms derive from agricultural byproducts like almond hulls, tomato pulp and cottonseed. Upcycling these byproducts also means that dairy farms can reduce their use of the water, energy, fertilizer, manpower and fossil fuels

needed to grow traditional feed crops.

Another factor in keeping cows content is temperature.

They're not fond of extreme heat. And when cows are stressed, they produce less milk.

Given the fact that some of the most severe impacts of

climate change are already being felt in California's

Central Valley, where the bulk of the state's dairy industry is located, it became obvious years ago that

farmers had to devise means to keep their cows cooler.

Shade structures and well-ventilated barns are two of the structural changes they've made. It's been shown

that large, breezy barns are around 10 ° F cooler than

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