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Why fully pastured cows are often healthiest and produce the best and safest milk with the lowest somatic cell count when a small grain ration is provided during milking rather than “100% grassfed”.
The dairy cows we see nowadays are not the same cows we see in old pictures from the 1930s.
The cows in those pictures were high-producing beef cows.
They have been selected for higher production and the self-preservation mechanism to drop that production when feed is unbalanced (i.e., too much grain OR too much grass/hay), has been bred out of them.
Cows are fermentation vats which means they depend on microbes and beneficial bacteria to digest forage and break down forage in their gut.
This digestive fermentation allows a cow to absorb the nutrients and produce milk and meat as well as calves and breed back (get pregnant).
Microbes and beneficial bacteria need starch (energy) to multiply to digest large amounts of protein or too much lignin.
Too much protein comes from too much short grass or too high protein hay.
Lignin comes from too-mature hay, or too-tall pasture.
Can Pastured Cows Get Too Much Grass?
Does this mean a cow can actually get too much grass or hay?
Yes, it does.
Cows on too much protein (short grass with very little energy) drown the microbes in their guts resulting in very little forage being digested and utilized.
This can result in a situation where the cow is more prone to mastitis which may go undetected. Low-grade infection can trigger somatic cell counts in the milk to rise, a risk to consumer health.
This situation can also create high nitrogen (urea) in the bloodstream. The results are a negative effect on body weight, milk production, milk quality, and breedability because the cows are actually starving even though they constantly eat.
Cows on too much old hay do not have the energy to digest the woody fiber of the hay and end up losing weight and/or reduced milk production and do not breed back because, once again, they are starving even though they constantly eat.
Cows only take so many mouthfuls a day, give or take a few minutes.
They meet their needs or lose body weight, and/or milk until they die prematurely.
Forms of Starch
Balanced grass can have starch, and proper protein levels to match that starch, but that only happens on grass for a very short period (hours), unless one can control water and height.
But….
Most cannot.
So starch (energy) must be supplied to the cow in a form of grain, in an appropriate amount to meet the energy needs of the cow given the other forage she is eating.
A good dairyman knows this and will not withhold the grain when it is necessary for the cow’s health.
The more balanced the forage and grass she is eating the less grain she needs and the more nutrient dense the milk is.
However our soils are very much out of balance, so incomplete proteins are made which go into the blood stream quicker if microbes and beneficial bacteria are not in sufficient number to utilize the protein.
Small Amounts of Grain Compensate for Soil
So, grain has been fed to make up for the lack of soil mineralization and balanced forage as well as to meet a milking cow’s energy needs.
Soil has been degraded to the point that farmers have problems holding on to the right amount of energy-to-protein ratios in our pasture.
Cows cannot travel to maintain the balance of energy to protein (new grazing grounds) as their Bison cousins did.
Humans are servants to cows until the consumer and producers reestablish the soil and forage balance.
The grain versus grass debate is not black and white.
Both are a valuable part of a cow’s diet but not a complete diet in and of themselves.
The principles of the cow are what they are.
It is not fair or wise to put the burden of unrealistic consumer choices on an animal or a farmer in an unsustainable way.
I am very sympathetic and appreciative of the sentiment that I think the article is trying to convey, that we should understand that 100% grassfed dairy is in most cases not what we are going to get and perhaps not what we should expect. I fully understand that all farmers (even local, organic, raw milk providers) are not going to be able to live up to this standard and I am okay with that, for the moment. However 100% grass fed dairy is possible! We need to encourage and SUPPORT our farmers in raising the bar and improving their pastures.
Part of seeking traditional and nourishing foods is keeping the animals welfare in mind. Cows being ruminants are not made to process grain. It has been found that if you give your cows a small amount of grain while milking (to keep them still) they will be okay, however a large portion of their diet being grain will alter their stomach forever and be incredibly incredibly harmful to them.
However we traditional food enthusiasts are at the cutting edge! 100% grassfed milk is possible and it is done. In fact it is the gold standard. It definitely requires a much higher level of skill, cows who have never had grain and a deeper knowledge base from the farmer but but that is okay too. Just like human mothers dairy cows need Excellent Excellent nutrition, any old pasture does not cut it. Part of increasing the carbohydrates in grass involves frequent rotation, known as management intensive grazing.
I saw a few times in these comments people mentioned that it is easier to grass finish beef than have dairy be 100% grassfed. In theory this is true, but in reality much of the grass finished beef on the market just isn’t very well finished. This is a fledgling science and most of us are still getting the hang of it. Allan Nation of the Stockman Grass Farmer (the most influential Pasture based farming magazine) says that it takes most farmers 10 years to really hone the skill.
I used to find conventional milk acceptable until I found out about all of the nasty stuff in the milk, the way the cows were treated, etc. Then my family started drinking ultra-pasteurized organic milk thinking this was the answer. But now I know that ultra-pasteurization kills almost everything beneficial in the milk. Now we drink raw milk from a local dairy where the cows are pastured and live a lovely life. However they are being fed grain. Where do I go from here? I plan on having a dairy cow of my own, or perhaps three ewes and a ram (sheep) so that I can give my family the best possible nutrition and start to build up my knowledge base.
Candace, would be very interested in this information on alfalfa hay if you are able to find it.
she says alfalfa is goitrogenic. and I’ve also read somewhere that it disposes livestock to carry heavier parasite (worm) loads, which I have found to be true. I always thought it was best for my animals (and used to pay more for it), but I’ve switchd over to mixed grass or orchard grass hay. She has several books on natural animal care
Thank you Candace. Will pass this on to my farmer. He uses alfalfa, but hey .. if he can make an improvement and save money at the same time, what a win-win for him and the customer.
I do not agree with some of Pat Coleby’s opinions/recommendations for livestock care. She suggests some things for cattle care that would be extremely detrimental to the health of the animal – some are quite potentially deadly to the animal.
I agree. Just when you are told something is one way, you quickly hear someone telling you something different. Many times over it’s the same person you listened to in the first place who will end up telling you something different down the road. It’s frustrating. I know plenty of farmers (I live in farm country so my exposure is definately not limited) and MANY of them in this area have only grass fed grazing beef. They have some of the healthiest, prettiest vibrant and thriving cows and calves I have seen. To say that MOST farms can not raise totally healthy and thriving cows is a far stretch sorry… No offense to this writer but he may be a beef farmer of over 30 years… so are most of the farmers in my farming community who have been breeding healthy calves for many many years as well. You would think if this theory was accurate the quality of the young would be diminishing after so many springs of calves.
It is important to research and learn truths about the foods we choose but there is a point where you are no longer enjoying your food you are always worried about what you were told being healthy turning out to be “wrong” once again. Ya know what? Eat organic, eat your veggies and your meats and treat your animals humainely, replenish your lands that you grow food out of… eat, drink be merry!! I find the more I put everything under a microscope the more I LOOSE MY APPETITE!! God wants us to live off his land and respect it and ENJOY our foods.
We get our grass-fed meat and raw milk from a 100 percent certified organic farm which does not feed any grain to their cattle. They do get alfalfa, and they have very good soil (the farm has been in the family for nearly 80 years and careful attention has always been given to keeping healthy soil). I work on this farm and I have seen some stalks of “grain” type grasses in the fields where the cattle graze, but beyond that I know they don’t get any grain. The farmer is very knowledgeable about sustainable practices and he makes sure the cattle are given the very best care possible. They receive homeopathic treatment for any sickness or illness that comes along, but I can honestly say these cattle are the healthiest I’ve even seen in my life. The cattle also receive organic kelp in their diets, and other animals on the farm such as the pigs and chickens receive yogurt and sour raw milk in their daily diets. So I know our farmer is more mindful than many about how the animals are treated and what they consume. I’m not worried at all about the meat and milk we are consuming, but it’s possible what Tim is talking about could be an issue for other farms, should the balances be wrong and diet not what it should be.
This is a great starting off point for a very complex concern. I think a lot depends on the farm itself of course, as others have stated, but breed, overall care and I think most importantly- the type of grain(and the form it’s given) all play roles.
Grain free poultry? Hmmmm. That just doesn’t seem right to me, but either does vegetarian chickens :P.
The famous Pat Coleby does not recommend the use of alfalfa hay. I would have to go look up her reasons in my book if you are interested. If they are feedig a lot of alfalfa hay it’s no wonder they do’t have to use grain. But it might not be the healthier choice for the animals.
I raise a few dairy goats and I can say that they need grain. They browse and browse and browse but do not make much milk if they don’t get grain on the milk stand. I would hate to see what kind of shape they would be in without it (they would get so skinny). They are quite selective, though, and won’t eat just anything. I think I would have a vey difficult time managing them if they didn’t get grain- meaning they would always be hungry and would find ways out of their fencing (electric or not).
As a consumer, I expect a dairy farmer to feed his dairy cows some grain AT LEAST part of the year if not the entire year. If not, I worry the cows are paying for it with their health and that the milk is not as nutrient dense as is being claimed. Especially where I live in FL where the soil is sandy and not very nutrient dense at all. Grain less than 2% bodyweight per day is the rule of thumb I personally look for. If the cows is getting 2% or less in bodyweight per day of grain, then it is generally fine and not going to trigger acidosis and is likely very much benefiting a cow that is free to roam on pasture at all times.
Tim, thank you for taking the time to expand on your fantastic guest post. This information is so valuable and needed. As consumers we need to come together with our producers and work to rebuild our soils and not put the burden of unrealistic expectations upon them else they will not be there for us and our children tomorrow.
I think the point is to keep one’s mind open to new possibilities and change as we move forward trying to rebuild our soils and our agriculture system from the shambles it is in. What is a truth today may not be so tomorrow. Some grain is needed for most grassfed dairy cows today but as the soils rebuild it will not be so tomorrow. We need open minded people who do not get emotionally attached to “this” idea or “that” idea and who are critical thinking problem solvers!!!!
Greeting All….
Lets start with a few principals to back fill what I wrote about…
Soils,
except in very few places the soils in our country do not have sufficent levels of “all” the base minerals for life so plants can uptake proper levels of all minerals needed to meet the needs of any grazing animal. If one has extreme diversity in the plants on the pasture or forage fields one can shorten that defeciency given different plants uptake different minerals to make thier profile.
However that does not happen very well given soil biology is low and plants cannot establish given excesses or severe deficencies.. However our pastures and forage fields are monocultures and the best we can do for pastures unless they are virgin prairie is around 9 plants per square foot. It has been reported that virgin prairie has well over 100 plants per square foot.
Add extraction of our mineral base with the farming practices of the past (pasture or crop) and the normally low soils in the majority of our country are lower yet so we get a lower quality plant that is improperly mineralized and in this senario creates incomplete protiens and or excessive legnin levels and a very narrow proper level window of consumption.
Either situation needs starch to provide energy to microbes to digest both, the microbes are different to each situation but the microbes all need fuel to multiply, digest forage, die off and offer in thier death the nutrients that rumenents need to live.
One pet peeve I have and we will deal with it now…beef cows are not dairy cows. Beef have a better conversion rate of lower quality feed to meat, but they also can take thier time getting to proper weight without any detriment to the animal, unless it is starved and stunted which can happen on very low quality feed and or too high a protein feed for proper rumen function.
You have a lot of grace with beef cows one cannot afford dairy cows.
Most beef cows are male and only live to age 16 to 19 months.
Dairy cows life span can be 7 to 15 years, one will find defecincies in 5 years where unless starved one will not see in 19 months.
Remember a 24 month old dairy cow that just had her first calf is loosing 40 to 80 lbs per day of her body weight in milk, and if her needs are not met another 1 to 2 lbs in body mass trying to create that milk for her calf or what was traditionally her calf.
If she receives the info that an unbalanced diet is present she thinks she is starving and cuts off the milk supply, self preservation. However most of that self preservation has been bred out of cows these days so they will not breed back, another self preservation aspect and milk themselves to death. This may take a few years but is common on many small dairy farms.
What effect does this have on the milk, low butter fat, low protien levels low enzyme and mineral content, a broke farmer and an auction is soon to follow.
Creamline does not indicate quality milk, the value of the cream determines quality milk. Cows will give a certian amount of cream per day and it is diluted with milk to arrive at various cream levels given a wide range of variables. A 8000 lb a year cow may have 8.5 % cream but does that cream yeild anything, only a total solids and cream test will determine. Demanding 8.5 % cream will break the producer in a heartbeat given most consumers pay by the gallon not on cream content.
The other situation is most of the cows have died off and the remaining are survivors, a few female calves are born some live and the rest are bought in regularity. Soon the farmer with low production has no money left to buy more cows and the auction happens just a few years later.
If one of the boughten cows does not bring in a pathogen which ends all mlk distribution, reputation, and a future.
The population of this country is very much removed from what the needs of animals are in order to create longevity let alone healthy products. Most producers are in the same boat and follow “consumer rules” production models and try to meet a demand.
The local nutrient dense food movement has adopted a policy of opposites, ran a few tests to create a market for this and that, and moved consumers right along the path of consumersim and called it progress.
We cannot go back to the way thing were, not ever.
We can however move forward to better animal products given what we have to work with.
This means we must understand where we are now, be open to the ugly facts and agree to move forward. The nutrient dense food movement has the idea that we do this for ourselves, in some small part that is correct.
However, the action we do today in partnership with our soils animals and producers will actually benefit our children most, IF we understand where we are in our current food production models, eat better than we did before, but not let emotions ruin the possiblities of our children.
The last principal I want to share is the fact that “production follow quality”.
Laymans terms, IF you meet the needs of the soil by balancing the minerals present and missing, and IF you meet the needs of the animals by balancing the excesses or deficencies found in the forage from those soils until they DO balance out, you get quality products and you get A LOT of them.
Wine growers use to think that the less production they get the better the product, however put these principals to work in a vineyard and you get higher quality than they ever had before, and they get more grapes than they ever had before.
Economics of effeciency is the “perk” of nutirent dense food.
However, it will take each and every nutrient dense consumer working in partnership with producers to gain this effeciency back.
Money invested now in reclaiming that soil and ration for that we depend on will pay handsom dividends in the future, with reduced costs of final products, and sustainability of the producer and the soils in his charge for future generations.
Everyone alive owes a debt to the soil we rely on, to demand a product of a certain quality without repayment of that debt will only quicken our pace to a very ugly end.
Grain is a bridge, crutch, call it what you may to that eventual remineralization and reactivation of the soil and all that depends upon it. Those who are sensitive to its effects have a challange to find nutirent dense soils for the products that they need to survive.
Demanding them from a producer who is not prepared to do so with the condition of their soils, is putting your own experience and or anger of a system on that producer, which was not his fault.
As we learn more about what we as a species has done to everything we have ever touched, we will learn that we have to live with those actions of our ancestors, effect change in the pace we can, and pass that knowledge on to the next generation and hope that we begin to leave what we pass on, in better shape than what we found it.
Sincerely
Tim Wightman
definitely a huge difference in the needs of meat v dairy animals! I do not give non-breeding males grain- they don’t need it and it causes all kinds of urinary problems.
“We cannot go back to the way thing were, not ever”
How pessimistic. If Salatin went back, others can too!!!
“We cannot go back to the way thing were, not ever.”
A bit apocalyptic there, no Tim? Joel Salatin states that to be a cow farmer you have to be a grass farmer. Your first job is not milk, but grass. His farm was a disaster when his father took it up, but the patient work of good agricultural practices have done for his farm what they have done for soils throughout history: improve its fertility. Orgainic or grass-fed is the same as conventional if the underlying philosophy and work ethic are resource exploitation. Agriculture is a symbiosis. There are plenty of amazing examples in Europe and the US that WE CAN GO BACK. Soil fertility can be regained. Natural grasses can be allowed back in the farm. Animal grazing can be managed in a way that it improves the grass quality and quantity and auto fertilizes the soil without tilling or adding any fertilizer, not even natural compost. This will result in better soil, better grass, healthier animals, better milk, and less work.
Before we go around stating absolutes like that, we should take a look around and see if it has or is being done, and it is. So then that statement is not true. We may not want to go back because it means we have to do things in unconventional ways. We may not like to make the initial investment it takes to go back, but we could go back, and some farmers do.
Tim’s whole point is that these things take a lot of time, which Salatin has done. Tim is talking about farmers that don’t have the soil that Salatin does from the get go yet consumers are demanding 100% grassfed from the start which is impossible without harming the dairy cow. Also, there is no way we will ever go back to the way things were .. we have technology now that we didn’t back then and we won’t have the black prairies of yesteryear from thousands of years of bison dung fertilizing the plains and prairies. Of course things will never be as they were back then when this country was first settled and the soil was virgin territory. Even Salatin’s farm isn’t that good.