The media coverage on the proposal for cows to go undercover in Southland has lost some of its freshness and has become like yesterday’s milk.   However, the issue still remains: applications have been lodged from three companies for resource consent to house 18,000 cows in cubicles in the Mackenzie Basin in Southland. Is this opening another drama heralding a new age of robotic cows in cubicles similar to the media frenzy generated over sows in crates, pigs in concrete cribs and battery hens in cages?

Some niggling questions surface when I reflect on possible implications of these resource consent applications:
Why change something that already works well for dairy farmers elsewhere in New Zealand?
What really motivates the dairy industry – economics and profit for the milk moguls or concern about environmental issues and animal welfare?
What impact would undercover cows have on consumers?
Is Southland the most suitable place for intensive dairy farming?
Does this herald the demise of the traditional family dairy farm and the bond of families to the land?

Then again, other countries in North America and Europe have dairy herds which spend most of their lives under cover and this has been the agricultural norm for decades. The cows haven’t complained! So why not experiment with new technology – adapt and improve where necessary with Kiwi ingenuity – improve production, protect the environment and control pollution and emissions. There is no clear cut winner in every Nature versus Nurture debate.  The dairy industry doesn’t have to sacrifice the sacred cow for innovation.

Be Sociable, Share!

•