Human-Cow Interactions

Production Effects

Abstract

W.D. Hoard, founder of Hoard's Dairyman, wrote
over a 100 years ago that people working with dairy cows
should have patience and kindness, and that rough treatment
decreases the flow of milk. People who enjoy working
with animals will have more productive animals.⁷ Jack Albright, Professor Emeritus at Purdue University, stated years ago that tame dairy cows that will approach people will give more milk. People have known for a long time that rough handling and stress is detrimental to dairy cattle, but some people have forgotten W.D. Hoard's wisdom. In fact the highest producing dairy in Colorado milks only twice a day, uses no growth hormone and has tame cows that will approach people.

Researchers have used statistical methods to determine the powerful negative effects of rough handling.¹⁴ Shocking or hitting a cow can reduce milk yield by 10%. Paul Hemsworth in Australia has found that cows that are fearful of people are less productive. Fear of people was measured on 14 dairy farms by measuring how close the cows would approach people. On dairies where cows had a large flight zone, there was significantly less milk production.⁶ Cows that avoided people and became restless when a person was nearby had lower milk production. Observation at a large dairy indicated that tame cows in a special research unit gave more milk. Breuer et al. (1997) found that dairy heifers that were slapped repeatedly before and after milking had reduced milk yield. Seabrook also demonstrated the beneficial effects of gentle treatment.¹⁶ Dairy cows that were slapped gave 13% less milk than cows that were gently stroked. People need to talk quietly to cattle. Yelling and whistling increased a cow's heartrate more than the sound of a gate slamming.¹⁷ Hemsworth and Coleman (1998) have authored an excellent book which outlines all the studies showing the beneficial effects of good stockmanship on farm animal productivity.