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• Avoid Shouting At Cows

Irish Farmstead Cheesemakers Share Expertise

In the past five years, the number and variety of cheeses produced in California has grown from 70 to more than 130, including many new specialty and artisan cheeses.  To help that growth continue, the California Milk Advisory Board (CMBA) recently sponsored several seminars on specialty cheesemaking aimed at both current cheesemakers and dairy families interested in cheesemaking. 

The seminar for dairy farmers discussed marketing factors involved in becoming a farmstead cheesemaker, while the seminar for cheesemakers featured two respected Irish farmstead cheesemakers who discussed and demonstrated Irish farmstead Cheesemaking practices. 

The Irish Cheesemakers’ Seminars held at Hilmar Cheese Company, Hilmar and at Cowgirl Creamery, Point Reyes, featured representatives from Durrus Farmhouse Cheese in Cork, Ireland.  They spoke about Ireland’s cow’s milk cheeses and its cheesemaking traditions, as well as the history of Durrus and the development of its marketing and distribution channels.  The participants sampled cheese and spent time at the vat discussing the techniques and tools used.

For California dairy farmers interested in becoming cheesemakers, the CMAB also sponsored a half-day seminar to discuss market trends and how planning the right product mix can help create a successful cheesemaking operation.  Participants were able to taste a number of European, American and California cheeses and ask questions of two California farmstead cheesemakers. 

Information supplied by the California Milk Advisory Board. For more information call Nancy Fletcher: 650.871.6459 or email: cmabssf@aol.com.

Avoid Shouting At Cows

Source: "Cow Comfort, Fear and Productivity," Dairy Housing and Equipment Systems, 2000.

Canadian research suggests that cows find shouting just as adverse as being shocked with an electric prod during handling. Previous studies suggest that adverse handling can lower milk production. 

The study monitored the speed at which cows moved along a 33-foot pathway that ended in a chute while receiving the following treatments: tail twisting, hitting, being shocked with an electric prod or shouting. The chute was 3.3 feet wide and 6,6 feet tall. According to Ed Pajor, assistant professor at Purdue University and behavior specialist, the longer it takes the animal to travel to the chute, the more adverse they find the treatment. 

The results show a significant difference in the time it took cows to walk the 33 feet when prodded or shouted at, compared to animals not receiving any adverse treatment. Animals that were shocked took 53 seconds longer than control cows. Shouting resulted in cows completing the course in 130 seconds, or 59 seconds longer. 

Reprinted with permission from Dairy Herd Management.

This section was compiled
by Margo Souza