Posted on 07/18/2012 2:17:53 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
At least four dairies in Oregon's Willamette Valley have bought into the "new thing" in dairy farming: buying waterbeds for their cows.
"There's four or five dairies in the Willamette Valley that have them. It's really beginning to catch on around here," Kevin Krous with NW Dairy Service told KGW
The cow waterbed trend reportedly first began in Minnesota but is now starting to catch on the West Coast. For example, the Van Loon Dairy has purchased more than 300 such beds for their cows, at a cost of more than $100,000.
"As the cow gets ready to lie down, water moves to the front bag where her knees will come first therefore cushion it more. Less sores, less cows being stuck. Happier cows, happier milk," said Ben Van Loon.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
No wonder the milk’s been foamy...
waterbeds leak
Sounds like a plan that needs gubmint funding.
For sure.
The cow waterbed trend reportedly first began in Minnesota but is now starting to catch on the West Coast.
—
(repressed snicker)
The beds must be superheavy duty but I would still expect blowouts,, talk about a major poop fest when one of them blew.. sounds like a risky scheme to me.. betcha they come with heaters,, I don;t know..
Do they have antifreeze?
We need more USDApproved CHeese Stimulus .. thru technology.. did you know cows like to watch TV? Yeah, I saw a study somewhere. ;-]
I'm not touching that one.
Next they wil be putting disco balls in the barns. Bulls wearing gold chains...soooo 70’s
I’d hate to have to clean those sheets.
OK, at first it looks really strange then you slowly realize that somebody coming up and tipping that cow is going to be in some real trouble when she comes down outta’ the air.
Dear Farmer Brown,
We'd like some waterbeds.
Sincerely,
The Cows
Why not just get them Sleep Number beds?......................
these beds are just as hard as the ground 6 months out of every year in minnesota....
Well seriously, if the farmers see actual health benefits for the cows, ie less sores == less antibiotics to treat sores, less crap getting into the milk and meat, generally more robust cows putting more body energy to milk and body mass instead of fighting off infections, then there’s a real benefit to the farmer and the cows.
I am all for a better quality of life for the cows and the farmer. If they think there’s a better benefit in the long run, and they’ve figured out how they can work year-round - and I doubt there’s any antifreeze in them because cows would drink from a rip and die - then kudos to them.
“...if it makes ‘em happier, at over $3K a pop, good deal.”
Looks like the dairy in question paid a little over $300.
Hey, if it works, it’s an excellent example of how capital investment improves productivity. If the cows are more comfortable and produce milk in excess of the cost of the beds, then who could complain?
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