Holsteins

The Cow or the Bovine has been around for thousands of years. We have been used in just about every aspect of daily life. We have been sacrificed to the gods in Iran, treated like gods in India. We’ve been used as money--- a measure of wealth and a means of exchange. We’ve been used for sport in Spain and increasingly in America; Bull fighting and Bull riding. We were there in the American West grazing on the open range, before being driven to the markets in Dodge City and Abilene. We have been used for food---milk, butter, cheese, and meat. Our hides have been used for clothes, shelter, and weapons of defense. As Oxen, we’ve been helpful in plowing farmers’ fields and hauling heavy loads. For thousands of years, we’ve been humanity’s most valuable animal---so valuable, in fact, that to be caught stealing one of us was to forfeit one’s life.

I hope to change your mind about us cattle. What other animal can do so much, but yet you call the “DOG” man’s best friend. Why because he can fetch your slippers and play dead? Can the family mutt plow your field, or provide milk and milk products to your refrigerator, or can he feed your family for the winter? As for your arguments, no I probably can’t get your mail, and you probably wouldn’t want my mess on your carpet, so I’m not the world’s perfect animal but I settle for my reference in a quote by P.H. Gulliver. Cattle are a man’s dearest possession and almost the only store of value that he knows. Without them, his “social” life would be impossible.

The word cattle once meant all kinds of domestic animals. The word comes from the Latin word capitale, which means wealth or property. Through French and English usage and adaptation, the word cattle is used now only when referring to bovines.

A few more things about my species before we move on. A bovine is a ruminant---an animal whose stomach is divided into chambers and that brings food up from one of the chambers after it has been swallowed to be rechewed and reswallowed, a process known as chewing the cud. We have an even number of toes on our hoofs and we also have hollow horns. We have 32 teeth but not in the front of the upper jaw. We grasp rooted grass in our mouth and tear the blades free by a sideways movement of our head.

As humans, we have two distinct sexes. The Bull or male bovine and a Cow is the female. Our young ones are called calves. A bull calf is a young bull; a heifer calf is a young female. Between one and two years old a bovine is called a yearling. A mother cow is called a dam, not a word I would recommend you humans to refer to your mother by. A steer is a male bovine that before reaches maturity has had the testes removed. A spayed heifer is a female bovine whose ovaries have been removed. Steers and spayed heifers are gentle and easy to manage. Most male oxen are steers. Some cattle have their horns cut off or cut short; they are called polled cattle.

My life span is about 20 years, but nearly all of us are sent to slaughter much earlier. Heifers are first mated when about 18 months old, and let me tell you, there is no such thing as courting in the animal world. The gestation period of bovines is from 277 to 290 days (that is 9 to 91/2 months)

Cattle are not indigenous to the American continent. This continent, in common with Australia, is unusual in that it had no cattle, domesticated or wild, until it was ’discovered’ and colonized by the Europeans within the last 500 years. There are several breeds on American soil today but they mostly came from Europe and later India.

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The main dairy breeds are Ayrshire, American Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Jersey, Milking Shorthorn and ---overwhelmingly--- Holstein. The main beef breeds are Aberdeen Angus, American Brahman, Beefmaster, Brangus, Charolais, Chianina, Hereford and Polled Hereford, Limousin, Salers, Santa Gertrudis, Shorthorn and Simmental.

Ok call me partial, because I only want to discuss on particular breed... The Holstein, and why not, it is what I am. The Holstein-Friesian is the most popular dairy breed in the United States. Nearly 90 percent of all dairy cows in this country have black and white markings characteristic of the breed. The breed was developed in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands and in the neighboring provinces of Germany. Holsteins are one of the oldest breeds. The single name Holstein is commonly used in the United States, while Friesan is commonly used in Europe. One of the largest dairy breeds, a mature Holstein cow weighs about 1,500 pounds.

As a breed Holsteins are noted for producing the greatest volume of milk. However their milk ranks among the lowest in butterfat percentage and total solids content.

Holsteins were brought to the United States by the Dutch in 1621 but were not kept pure. The Holstein-Friesian Association of America was established in 1885. The association is the world’s largest dairy cattle organization.

So now I have introduced you to my roles in your life, showed a brief synopsis on my ancestry, and gave you some information on my particular breed. I would like to talk about my daily life now. The life of a dairy cow. This is where I'll asked the female humans not to hate me because I’m beautiful...

I can eat up to 8 times a day. My food is a combination of hay and silage. This mix is known as TMR or Total Mixed Rations. TMR generally consists of hay, corn, barley, field grass, cotton seed, bakery or grocery by-products. Cows eat about 80 pounds a day and we drink about 30 to 40 gallons of water a day. Like I said don’t hate me because I’m beautiful. All of this food and water helps me to produce up to 8 gallons of milk a day.

It is now milking time...which reminds me of a joke. Why do cows have such sad faces? Wouldn’t you be sad if you had your teats played with twice a day and only once did you get to spend a night with the Bull.
At milking time, the cows go to a milking parlor where the dairy farmer washes our teats. A milking machine with four teat cups is attached to the cow and the milk is cooled and pumped into large storage tanks. Milking never hurts the cow. It is cooled because the average temperature of milk coming from the cow is around 101 degrees Fahrenheit.

The raw milk is cooled to 38 degrees f and is stored in refrigerated storage tanks. The milk is picked up from the farm and is trucked to the processing plant. The milk is tested by the driver before it is pumped into the truck to make sure it is safe to drink. Once, at the processing plant the raw milk is sampled and checked again and then pumped from the truck into another storage tank. Next the milk is sent to the homogenizer and the pasteurizer. Homogenized means the same all the way through. In this step, the butter fat is broken up and mixed into the rest of the milk. Pasteurization is quickly heating the milk to 145 degrees Fahrenheit, which kills any bacteria in the milk. The next step is to put into bottles and cartons and ship it to the grocers cooler where you buy it.

I hope in this article I have showed you the meaning of Mahatma Ghandi’s quote, “We have use for the cow. That is why it has become religiously incumbent on us to protect it.” I also hope I showed you the importance of cows on your history and your future. I hope you think of the cow when you drink that next glass of milk, put a spoon in that bowl of ice cream, put your arm in that leather jacket, or put that slice of cheese on that hamburger.





"Holsteins...the bibliography"