p.1

What does a cow want? Well, this is it… A cow wants to lie down and eat comfortably. A cow with a milk yield of 30 liters a day is like a marathon runner. This makes you, the dairy farmer, the head coach for your cows. On average in the Netherlands, a cow produces 30 000 liters in its lifetime… Which is among the highest in the world. But what is the result on the very best Dutch farms? What do you think? How much do these farms produce?

p.2

They produce 60 000 liters per cow. Twice as much! To achieve this you'll need to keep your cows comfortable, stress-free and healthy. Basic cow comfort means: feed, water, light, air, rest and space. By providing these you can bring six freedoms of pasture into the barm. One of the biggest success factors is a deep layer of bedding… and one space bar per cow at the manger, so they can all eat simultaneously.

p.3

This results in maximum rest and feed for each cow. The most productive cows rest for 14 hours a day, including 10 hours ruminating… and 14 meals a day. What does stress-free mean? First, it starts with a stress-free calving line. A spacious straw filled calving area during two weeks prior and two weeks after calving. Stress-free is good man-animal interaction. Good calf handling result in trusting cows.

p.4

A cow is a herd animal but also a flight animal. Herd animals want to rest and feed as a group. ...so one manger space and one resting space for each cow. A cow has a flight response… so it needs at least two escape routes. And also provide for free cow traffic, short milking times and no heat stress. That is stress-free. What does healthy mean? Healthy means no illnesses and good resistance. It means no lameness, no wounds… it also means no infections and less mastitis. With this, you use less antibiotics.

p.5

So how do you achieve this? It’s simple. Back to the basics: feed, water, light, air, rest and space. If you offer this to your cows they will stay healthy… and you’ll get two extra lactations from all your cows. To conclude: ‘Happy cows, happy farmers, happy people, happy planet.’ Your cows want a better and longer life. The dairy farmer wants more profit, less hassle, and more pleasure.

p.6

The dairy consumers want a healthy product from a healthy cow. And finally, ‘the happy planet’... If cows stay in production twice as long it could reduce greenhouse gasses by 30%, partly because we need less young stock, but also because cows are most feed efficient at the 6th and 7th lactation.

p.7

Happy cows, happy farmers! Mind your cow.