I know nothing about cows

There is a cardinal rule in writing: Write what you know. So it is unfortunate that I’m gonna write about a topic I know almost nothing about. (Rule #2: Never end a sentence with a preposition.)

Last October, I had the chance to visit Rodale Institute in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. Rodale is a scientific research facility associated with Rodale Press, who publishes gardening, health, and fitness books, magazines, and online content. You might be familiar with their popular publications, Prevention and Organic Gardening.

My visit was sponsored by the Organic Valley Dairy Cooperative. (Ironic that I have been lactose intolerant my entire life.) (Rule #3: Use parentheses sparing.) (Rule 4: Avoid awkward words like the plural of parenthesis.) OK, sorry, I’m going to stop kidding around now and just tell my story.

According to archaeological evidence, the property we visited has been farmed for 8,000 years.

Others on the tour of about 30 people, worked for health food stores, like Whole Foods, or were farmers themselves. For example, one person I met made artisanal goat cheese, which she sells at farmers’ markets. So as a retired lady from Chester County, I was the odd-woman-out.

To protect us and the cows, we wore plastic bags over our shoes.

Each of us in the tour group jumped on a large, open wagon pulled by a huge tractor and traveled for 5 minutes down the bumpy road to a small dairy farm located directly next to the Rodale property.

Our purpose was explained by a Rodale scientist. He said that in 2009, a neighboring Amish farmer came to them because his dairy farm of 64 cows was going out of business. Because of the wholesale price of milk and the rising costs associated with running his dairy, the business was unprofitable. The farmer suggested that perhaps Rodale would like to purchase his property of 44 acres.

But Rodale suggested a different plan. Convert the dairy from a conventional dairy to certified organic. This would mean that the farmer consistently could get more money for his milk, making his business profitable. The people at Rodale Institute would act as consultants.

What I learned about dairy farming*

• 80% of Pennsylvania’s more than 7,000 dairy farms are conventional, 20% organic.
• Dairy farms in PA average 80 animals per farm, which is considered a small to medium-sized farm. 
• The “baby” cows are separated from their mothers and are bottle fed a formula. This is cheaper than allowing the babies to drink the valuable milk.
• To make more cows, all cows are artificially inseminated.
• Conventional farming wears out the soil. An organic farm actually improves over time.
• The two major health problems for conventional cows are lameness (occurring in 25% of the herd) from standing on concrete and endocrine problems, because all mammals' endocrine systems require movement of the body to work properly. 
• The marketing of dairy products in the US depicts cows grazing in the pasture. But 95% of them have never been outdoors.

I was shocked and appalled. And I was mad at myself for not knowing this previously.

So here’s the happy part
The farmer agreed to convert his dairy from conventional to organic. The scientists at Rodale considered it a terrific opportunity to study the quality of the milk, the health of the herd, and the soil quality throughout the gradual process of changing the cows' environment and diet. When the conversion process was complete, Rodale Institute could publish the results and the farmer and his family could retain their home and business.

The farmer said that the previous April, the doors to the barn were opened. He and the scientists held their breath as the cows slowly filed out into the warm, sunny pasture. Then it happened. The cows started running around. Hooves were flying in the air! They started eating grass! Over the next several days, all the cows, except two, had adjusted to the new lifestyle. They two who couldn't change were sold to a conventional dairy.

This year Rodale Institute will publish the results of their research. The head scientist told me that the results are worthy of being published on “the front page of The New York Times.” Rodale is also offering a free online course called “Organic Transition” for farmers of crops and livestock who want to make the switch.

Mary Beth, the farmer's daughter. I got permission to take this photo.

Related links
Rodale Institute/Organic Valley press release about the project
Wikipedia content about Rodale

*Disclaimer: Farming of any type is a topic I know almost nothing about. Forgive me if my story contains factual errors. I just wanted to share what I learned on my visit. The statistics are from my memory. I didn't take notes!