Dairy Maternity Leave « Back

A few days ago I hosted a farm tour for University of Arkansas students enrolled this semester in Foods 101. These students are planning careers in dietetics, hospitality or restaurant management. Their professor wanted them to tour the dairy so they would know more about the food production system.  From the conversations I heard and those that I participated in, I learned that most of these students had never been on a working farm.

As we were looking at the calves and talking about the expectant cows in the field that would be giving birth in the next two weeks, one of the students asked if it wasn’t hard on the cow having a calf every year. My answer was no and here’s why. We focus so much attention on the health and comfort of the animals, that if that was a problem, as a farmer I would know and do something different. I further explained that without reproduction there would be no milk. It is a natural part of the process. When cows give birth – which we call calving – they produce milk. They also provide offspring that grow and become a part of our herd. Our pregnant cows are removed from the milking herd two months before their delivery date to prepare for birth. We call this the dry period. They are fed a special dry cow diet and allowed to rest in the pasture until delivery date. Two weeks before they are to calve, we bring them to the pasture next to our home so that we can observe them closely in case we need to assist in delivery. As a dairy mom, I did make the point that our cows get eight weeks of maternity leave before birth and the last time I worked off the farm as a nurse, my maternity leave was two weeks before delivery! And then when my son was born, I still had to do laundry, make meals and tend to things around the house, plus care for a newborn baby. I’d say our cows have a pretty good life. As a dairy farmer and a mom, I’m proud to say I help make that happen. Caring for our cows allows our family farm to continue for the next generation.