Re: RC: Fw: Re: Tree-hugger

[Lynne Glazer <lynne@glazer.org>]

There are always exceptions--there was one dairy that made the same 
mistake TWICE in 5 years.  Giant manure pile, caught on fire, and 
burned so brightly it could be seen from 20 miles away.  Right next 
to the interstate, not a good PR device.

Normally the manure is trucked off.  Some dairies pile a bit of it 
outside, in a special place, for the gardners, who can be seen on the 
weekends overloading their little 1/2 import pickups, springs just 
a'sagging.

Maybe I'll see the dairy you speak of on the way out to the Deadman ride!

Lynne

At 6:34 PM -0800 3/15/00, Bette Lamore wrote:
>You two should drive out to New Cuyama someday and inspect the dairy
>there--- down the road from the ranch we were BRIEFLY at. There is a
>pile of manure towering over the cows' heads in the same small paddock
>they are in; the smell is overwhelming. I'm sure Steve Shaw has been by
>the place--- not a pretty sight. Maybe this is the exception to the
>rule; I wonder......
>Bette
>
>Lynne Glazer wrote:
>>
>>  At 9:28 AM -0500 3/15/00, CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com wrote:
>>  >In a message dated 3/14/00 4:51:24 PM Pacific Standard Time,
>>  >fasterhorses@gilanet.com writes:
>>  >
>>  ><< The only dairies I've been around that I'd agree with you 
>>about are small,
>>  >  private ones.  The big commercial ones are disgusting.  Just driving near
>>  >  one on a hot day makes one car sick with the smell - not quite as bad as
>>  >  feed lots but almost. >>
>>  >
>>  >Lif, your example with the dead calf is indeed a rarity in the dairy
>>  >industry.  While the calves are indeed not a particularly 
>>"useful" commodity
>>  >in the dairy, getting the calf delivered rapidly and with as 
>>little trauma to
>>  >the cow as possible is a MAJOR priority, as lowered milk production is a
>>  >sequelae to a calving problem.  An unhealthy uterus (be it due to 
>>inflamation
>>  >or infection following a complicated calving) interferes with both the
>>  >hormonal regulation of lactation as well as the general health of the cow,
>>  >both of which are dollars down the drain to the dairyman. 
>>Dairies that don't
>>  >take good care of their cows don't stay in business very long in the
>>  >competitive market.
>>  >
>>  >Heidi
>>  >
>>
>>  I'd have to agree with Heidi about care of dairy stock.  I live less
>>  than a mile from what was for years the largest concentration of
>>  dairy cattle in the US, yep, in SoCal.  Had many friends in the dairy
>>  preserve, who have all moved to central Calif where there is more
>>  space, pasture even, and no housing tracts.  They took very good care
>>  of the cattle, because it was their livelihood.
>>
>>  Fortunately the prevailing wind blows away from my house, but
>>  occasionally perceptible is the unique "eau de dairy".   The density
>>  of cattle was the problem down here, methane-r-us, and now the two
>>  cities that have annexed the preserve are having to clean up the land.
>>
>  > Dead calves are left on the side of the road, for weekly pickup, a
>  > service the dairies paid for.  It's not an everyday sight.
>  >
>  > I once felt obligated to deliver a calf where I boarded my horses.
>>  The mother seemed indifferent to her live calf's plight, half in,
>>  half out.  I ran to get rags when the calf proved too slippery to
>>  pull out.  By the time I returned, she'd laid down and smothered the
>>  poor thing, but stayed down for me to pull him out.  That was work!
>>
>>  Lynne
>>
>>  --
>>  Ontario, California    http://www.lynnesite.com
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>>
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>--
>Bette Lamore
>Whispering Oaks Arabians, Home of TLA Halynov
>http://www.stormnet.com/~woa
>I've learned that life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer it
>gets to the end, the faster it goes. Smell the roses!