P 14 Extended milking A cow is most vulnerable during the calving period. This is due to a negative energy balance which is the result of cows, who just had a calf, consuming too little feed in relation to the quantity of milk they produce. The traditional custom is to let a cow calve every year. We choose to let our cows calve once every two years. This not only reduces the number of vulnerable periods in the cow’s life by half, promoting the cow’s, but also results in more moderate growth of the total amount of livestock. Moreover, we are currently investigating the option to extend the calving period to once every three years. We believe that this will benefit animal welfare and extend the total lifespan of our cows.
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