Emootional

You will never look at cows the same way again after reading a surprise bestseller from British farmer Rosamund Young, writes

OWS are as varied as people. They can be highly intelligent or slow to understand; friendly, considerate, aggressive, docile, inventive, dull, proud or shy”.

That’s the declaration from author Rosamund Young, in the opening page of her best-selling memoir, The Secret Life Of Cows.

While this may come as news to the ever-expanding Irish dairy farmer, the book, which was re-released this year after its first stint on the bookshelves in 2003, advocates that farmers should appreciate the different personalities that cows pos- sess and treat them as individuals. Young’s parents began farming in the Cotswolds when she was just 12 days old in 1953 and to this day she has been carrying on the tradition of organic dairy farming with her brother Richard.

Speaking to the Farming Independent, Young who rears an eclectic herd of 113 cows which includes two bulls of Murray Grey and Aberdeen Angus breed, says she believes that cows should be allowed to live in non-cramped conditions as it improves milk quality.

“I think many farmers have experienced individuality in the animals they keep. It would depend on how the animals were looked after but I do believe that milk quality depends on many factors including what the cows eat as well as how they live and who cares for them,” she says.

Young added that she hopes she can educate farmers that like humans, cows need to be treated with dignity and allowed social interaction.

“I hope people buy the book because they care that animals are treated well. Fortunately there are many wonderful farmers who treat their animals properly. In the past I knew many farmers who gen-