Happy cows in mobile milk mode
From a paddock in North Canterbury, dairy farmer Glen Herud is breaking the mould.
He doesn’t own land.
He doesn’t have a permanent milking shed or effluent system.
Calves stay with their mothers for up to 15 weeks.
In almost every respect, the Happy Cow Milk Company flies in the face of New Zealand’s biggest primary industry.
‘‘I suppose we’re different in quite a few ways really,’’ the 39-year-old said, seemingly unaware of the disruption his model could have.
Herud milks his 60-cow herd once a day from a mobile milking unit parked on leased land.
Rather than making his cows walk from the paddock to the shed, he brings the shed to the paddock.
On some dairy farms, Herud said, herds could walk up to 4 kilometres multiple times a day on the way to and from the milking shed.
He designed and built the mobile shed himself, the only one of its kind in the country.
‘‘We’re the first to do it, so we had to get it through Ministry for Primary Industries and all the food safety authority people as well.’’
On the move
The cow shed is moved to a different part of the paddock every day, the herd continually feeding from a different section of grass.
The incentive of new grass means cows voluntarily file into the mobile milker, patiently waiting as Herud attaches soft rubber cups to their teats.
After 15 minutes, the cows move into fresh pasture and Herud washes down the trailer before inviting the next group in.
By constantly moving the milking operation, Herud also solved the effluent issue most dairy farms face.
‘‘Most cow sheds have a holding yard where most of the effluent is collected, and then that has to get spread out on the paddocks.
‘‘By moving the shed every day, the cows will stand in one spot one day, then the next day stand somewhere else, so they are spreading the effluent naturally around the paddock.’’
Animal welfare
But how does this make the cows happier than other dairy cows?
‘‘We leave the calves with their mothers [for up to 15 weeks], so we are really putting the emphasis on animal welfare and sustainability.
‘‘When the calf is ready to be weaned, we remove them from their mums then.’’
The happiness seems to translate into flavour too, with Christchurch baristas endorsing Happy Cow milk as creamier and better to steam.
Herud went into business in 2014 with seven cows, originally named Nature Matters Milk Company.
He now supplies about 30 cafes in Christchurch and Rangiora, as well as stocking shelves at Raeward Fresh stores.
He hopes to expand into more supermarkets in the near future.
Herud’s small-scale farm is unusual.
Of the almost 12,000 herds across the country, fewer than 200 have less than 100 cows.
There are currently about 4.8 million cows in New Zealand, according to the latest statistics from DairyNZ.
Threats to the global dominance of Kiwi dairy should be pushing the industry towards doing ‘‘the moral thing’’, Herud said.
‘‘I mean to be honest most dairy farms do take care of their animals [but] I think New Zealand really needs to become known for being pasture based, being much more natural and having higher levels of animal welfare.’’