07/09/2026
We’ve been getting a lot of comments lately saying “farmers love their cows.” We want to provide some context around what that actually means within the dairy industry.
From the outside, it can look like love. Farmers work hard to provide cows with good food, shelter, veterinary care and protection from extreme weather. Many may feel genuine affection for individual cows. But this care exists within a business, and it is always tied to what her body can produce.
A mother cow naturally makes milk after giving birth to feed her baby. Her calf would naturally drink roughly 8–10 litres each day during the first month of life. A typical Australian dairy cow is forced to produce between 26 and 34 litres every day—far more than one baby needs. Her body has been selectively bred and forced to produce as much milk as possible for humans to sell.
Then her baby is forcibly taken from her within 24 hours of birth. Dairy Australia openly states that separation within 24 hours is standard industry practice. Her baby is gone, yet her body is pushed to keep producing huge unnatural volumes of milk.
After giving birth, her milk production can rise faster than her ability to eat enough to replace the energy being taken from her. Her body begins breaking down its own reserves to keep up. She loses weight and body condition. Her immune system can be weakened—her risk of painful conditions, including ketosis, fatty liver, mastitis and lameness, increases.
Her fertility can also suffer—while the industry expects her to become pregnant and begin the cycle again. And when her body can no longer become pregnant easily, remain healthy or produce enough milk to be profitable, the “care” ends. She is put onto a truck and sent to slaughter.
That is not the unconditional love we give to our dogs and other companion animals. We don’t send them to slaughter when they grow old, become sick or cost us more than they can give back.
This is care with conditions.
Care while she is productive. Care while she is profitable. Care while her body can keep giving.
Whatever affection may exist, the outcome remains the same: when she stops making money, her life is taken from her.
