The herd

Our cows live together with calves and bulls in the social context of a herd and humans. Chickens walk amongst them, picking fly larvae from the paddies, sleeping in trees, announcing their productive achievements and rearing their young as proud mothers.

Our cows feed mainly on grass, hay, straw and  tree foliage. In this way they are challenged in what they are specialists in, the careful digestion and transformation of roughage to proteins. If we would feed protein-rich concentrated feed or silage we would get more milk but the cow-being would become literally sour as it cannot act out what it is designed for. The sophisticated digestive system would waste away, the substances would pass rapidly and the missing form would manifest in diarhea. The manure would lose its value for the structure of the soil. The cows are especially important for dry climates, for they offer with their excrements  a potent soil activator after dry spells. Return to post