A German farmer is giving his cows maternity leave to look after their newborn calves after giving birth rather than separating the mum and baby.
Calves are usually separated from their mothers straight after the birth, which is often a traumatic experience for both the mothers and the calves leaving both calling for each other. The calves are then taken and put in so-called igloos, they are then forced to find their feet alone whilst being fed milk from a container.
Farmer Hans Moeller from Lentfoehrden, in the district of Segeberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany has however decided to put an end to this practice. He said: “The whole thing started eight years ago. We were at markets and festivals and we were often confronted with questions from consumers about what we do with our calves. We always said that they are given milk form containers and that’s how they are brought up. Those answers never pleased anyone.”
For a cow to keep producing milk, she has to produce calves at least once a year, but the calves are not supposed to just drink this milk.
Moeller added: “Around four-years ago we decided to change the way we operate and leave the calves with their mothers after the birth. The mother cows can now bring up their calves. We just tried this without giving too much thought to it. Learning by doing. After around a year we began to communicate this, we could then produce the milk all year round.
“Cows and calves belong together. That is very natural.
“On our packaging we have the words: ‘Maternity Leave For Our Cows’ printed.
This process is a lot more expensive. A spokesperson for German Organic Farming Association Bioland e.V., Susanne Rihm, said: “Mother cows bringing up their calves is a lot more cost intensive. The costs have to be passed on to the consumer, but unfortunately many consumers are not willing to pay that extra.
“Large dairy farming organisations could not afford a separate system for this milk. They would need separate production systems for this and therefore it would not be worth their while. Therefore, the majority of this milk is marketed directly by the individual farms.
But Hans Moeller argues differently. He said: “The milk costs around 30 cents a litre more. The costs for the consumer is between 1,80 and 2. EUR. It is interesting for the farmer to try to get a better yield from less milk.”
According to the University of Veterinary Medicine in the Austrian capital Vienna: “Calves of dairy cows are generally separated from their mothers within the first 24 hours after birth. The majority of the milk thus enters the food market and not the stomachs of the calves.
“However, growing up without a mother has consequences. Scientists at the Vetmeduni Vienna studied the long-term effects of early maternal deprivation. Their study shows that calves which have had contact with their mothers or with other cows during rearing become more sociable adults.”
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Story By: Kathryn Quinn, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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