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The humble cow

Rob McFarlane, Commercial Director, Alltech (NZ) Limited on COVID-19

The humble cow:  A positive and sustainable thought around COVID-19

How about this definition of COVID?

Cows Over-produce Volume In Demand

This morning, as New Zealand remains in lockdown, the humble dairy cow, once a threatened species due to the number of ‘toilet visits’ she made in a day, is now, thankfully and rightly, classified as an ‘essential supplier.’ She, with her co-worker — the hardworking dairy farmer — clocked on at 4 am this morning when many of us were asleep in our beds, worrying about COVID-19 and our emptying pantries.

The humble cow, who also put in a nightshift, consumed large volumes of grass. Grass is a green, herb-like substance that humans cannot digest. It grows abundantly around New Zealand, but sadly it is only the ruminants and other farm animals that can digest it.

The humble cow also managed to pack in an extra two kilograms of a dry, bad-tasting by-product called palm kernel. She does not like it that much but knows that she, like all of us, must do her bit for the environment by recycling it.

It is worth noting that this by-product is a leftover waste material from the skin creams, make-up and cooking oils that humans demand. Once again, palm kernel itself cannot be digested by humans. Before the humble cow and her colleague, the farmer, stuck their hands up to help out, these large volumes of sharp, nutshell-like substance would typically be dumped, even end up in the sea, which could lead to pollution.

Thankfully, the humble cow, with all her friendly internal bacteria and enzymes, can break this fibrous material down and digest it.

After having her fill, her own engine, which is called the rumen, went to work during the night. It managed to break down and convert all of these fibrous, feed materials into an extra four litres of a white, highly nutritious, liquid protein called milk. Now, the good news here is that this milk can be consumed and digested by us humans, providing us with energy, protein and minerals. The clever dairy industry can then convert this milk into products like cheese, butter and yoghurt.

The humble cow has many mates; together, they are known as a herd. Up and down the country, herds like this are following the same routine. Even her closest relative, the beef family, are committed. Every day, these ruminant animals will convert their food into valuable protein that will help feed us humans. Those of us with ‘sensitive stomachs’ need not worry, either. The humble cow’s cousin, the dairy goat, is also in on the action, helping to provide alternative milks and cheeses.

So, as we wake up, put on the jug for a cuppa, pull out the cereal box, then the milk and or yoghurt from the fridge, and just take a moment and think about our humble cows.

Thank you to all our hardworking farmers who continue to work long hours each day to provide us with highly nutritious food that we need each and every day.

I conclude with a pause for thought – What is happening to our GHG emissions now? 

Could our humble cow be the best recycler in the world?

#ThankaFarmer

 

- Rob McFarlane 29/03/2020

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