Happy Cows

[onesiedale]

We often get asked by people when we say that our cows are happy ; "How do you know that your cows are happy?"
"That's easy", we reply, "they have happy lines on them"

Maybe it's not the scientific answer they were expecting but its a great bit of PR.
For some reason today, the happy lines are really noticeable

 

[Cows 'n grass]

We often get asked by people when we say that our cows are happy ; "How do you know that your cows are happy?"
"That's easy", we reply, "they have happy lines on them"

Maybe it's not the scientific answer they were expecting but its a great bit of PR.
For some reason today, the happy lines are really noticeable

They're not down here today. Today is our first full day of rain in 2019, 40mm so far today and 80mm for the week. With a bit of warmth forecast for next week everything should green up properly again, then we'll see some happy lines.

 

[lazy farmer]

Must have some really grumpy cows. I have never seen lines like that !

 

[pappuller]

Must have some really grumpy cows. I have never seen lines like that !

But have you seen any rain today ? If so maybe you could show us your happy lines [emoji23]

 

[lazy farmer]

But have you seen any rain today ? If so maybe you could show us your happy lines [emoji23]

Some but questionable whether it’s enough to do any good.
As for happylines ironically I think the gloomy weather has bought on my SAD.
Mr happy me

 

[vantage]

It just so happens that yesterday I was speaking to a mate at Pembs County show and he mentioned that the Aberystwyth university herd were about to be independently assessed for happiness! Amazing really,a job for Dr Doolittle obviously! @Cowabunga may know more as he is not far from there.

 

[TomB]

Some but questionable whether it’s enough to do any good.
As for happylines ironically I think the gloomy weather has bought on my SAD.
Mr happy me

I can’t believe the miracle vale isn’t looking after you! Loads of grass up here now, I’d be surprised if afc isn’t 2500+ on Monday. And all lovely quality stuff after being fairly bared out in July. Just need a nice autumn now to utilise it!

 

[Rossymons]

As for happylines ironically I think the gloomy weather has bought on my SAD.
Mr happy me

You and me both. It was noticeable everyone on farms during Wednesday was fed up, head down and just miserable.

 

[Cowabunga]

It just so happens that yesterday I was speaking to a mate at Pembs County show and he mentioned that the Aberystwyth university herd were about to be independently assessed for happiness! Amazing really,a job for Dr Doolittle obviously! @Cowabunga may know more as he is not far from there.

Aber University's cow herd at Trawscoed is run by fruitcakes as far as I'm concerned. Actually it is run by committee with a manager who reports to them, working to their instructions and budget. They fairly recently [less than ten years ago] installed a rotary parlour and facilities at well over a million Pounds and way over budget as they had not included the installation in the budget, having chosen an obscure brand [well known but with no local representation] which had to be paid extra to have fitters flown in from America. Cows were underperforming terribly and the land and infrastructure, gates and fences were in disrepair. A high proportion of the herd has no passports and the mortality rate was very high with…. need I go on?
New management since then, but now I hear about this nonsense and that they are about to install eight bloody robots, presumably to replace the rotary.

They wonder why they consistently run with horrendous financial losses. I don't.
What do they teach to their agriculture students? Perhaps they consistently show and demonstrate how NOT to do things?

I hope that they are finally getting their act together and indeed do have a herd of very happy cows.

They are in the process of selling off some large area of outlying farms but they can't even decide on or get that right. They didn't let any of it out this year and left it idle for some of the Spring until deciding to sell a couple of hundred acres to a neighbour, except that it apparently hasn't been completed yet. The other side of the road was finally offered to another local farmer to take a cut of hay from where was accessible, only in the last few weeks.
This is publicly owned and financed land so it is fair to comment on it and the management by what are effectively civil servants.

 

[devonboy]

ah yes but places like that are essential for us to see how they think we should be doing it, so we can go away and do it properly, in a completely different way.

 

[Blue.]

The happiest cows are the ones that try to kill you in a daft sort of way or run off with the paper roll in an andrex puppy style.

 

[vantage]

Aber University's cow herd at Trawscoed is run by fruitcakes as far as I'm concerned. Actually it is run by committee with a manager who reports to them, working to their instructions and budget. They fairly recently [less than ten years ago] installed a rotary parlour and facilities at well over a million Pounds and way over budget as they had not included the installation in the budget, having chosen an obscure brand [well known but with no local representation] which had to be paid extra to have fitters flown in from America. Cows were underperforming terribly and the land and infrastructure, gates and fences were in disrepair. A high proportion of the herd has no passports and the mortality rate was very high with…. need I go on?
New management since then, but now I hear about this nonsense and that they are about to install eight bloody robots, presumably to replace the rotary.

They wonder why they consistently run with horrendous financial losses. I don't.
What do they teach to their agriculture students? Perhaps they consistently show and demonstrate how NOT to do things?

I hope that they are finally getting their act together and indeed do have a herd of very happy cows.

They are in the process of selling off some large area of outlying farms but they can't even decide on or get that right. They didn't let any of it out this year and left it idle for some of the Spring until deciding to sell a couple of hundred acres to a neighbour, except that it apparently hasn't been completed yet. The other side of the road was finally offered to another local farmer to take a cut of hay from where was accessible, only in the last few weeks.
This is publicly owned and financed land so it is fair to comment on it and the management by what are effectively civil servants.

The robots are taking over from the Boumatic rotary as apparently working time directives prohibit afternoon staff doing the following morning milking as there is insufficient rest time! You couldn’t make it up!

 

[Cowabunga]

The robots are taking over from the Boumatic rotary as apparently working time directives prohibit afternoon staff doing the following morning milking as there is insufficient rest time! You couldn’t make it up!

Does that apply to all of us? All farms?

Presumably they will have three shifts of teams to react to the alarms and failures of the robots at all hours of day and night, three sixty five days a year? Or will they let it all decay from neglect? Their track record is appalling in many respects.

They almost need a full time engineer on-site with a massive store full of fast moving parts for eight or more robots. Certainly with the here today gone tomorrow staff they are likely to have responsible for the management and running of it all.

Maybe I'm being a bit too harsh on them? However the reason you give for the robotisation seems to confirm my view that the place is run by muppets.

 

[som farmer]

is the committee made up of former farm managers ?

 

[Cowabunga]

is the committee made up of former farm managers ?

'Intellectuals'

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Some but questionable whether it’s enough to do any good.
As for happylines ironically I think the gloomy weather has bought on my SAD.
Mr happy me

Feel free to PM me if you ever need an ear, LF.
No man is an island.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Harder to see the happy when they're wearing winter coats, @onesiedale...

 

[linga]

We always call them health lines.
What causes them ?
I feel I should and perhaps do know but I can’t retrieve the info.

 

[Moorlands]

Our nutritionist refers to them as protein lines.

 

[Cowabunga]

Had a look at my cows this morning specifically for the lines and some have in on the left and some on the right. None both sides. Which brings me to the theory that they are just crease lines where the cows lied down. Probably on the bottom side in contact with the ground below the lines.