What is a Herdshare Farm Like?

Herdshare Farm

vs.

Average Dairy Farm

• Small herd, privately owned and shared by many local families,  not selling milk.

• Large herd, owned by one family or business, selling milk to processors which then sell it to the public.

• Providing  food security to many families.

• Providing a cooked product to grocery stores.

• Milking up to 20 cows or up to 30 goats (or sheep  – BC has at least one sheepshare).   Most commonly 3 to 6 cows or 10 to 20 goats.

• Milking large herds of cows.  The average commercial dairy farm milks 135 cows (source: B.C. Dairy Association) and the largest in B.C. milks over 3,000.

• Grass fed and grazing on the pasture as much as possible, lots of sunshine for Vitamin D production.

• Cow are living indoors.  Some farms let heifers and dry cows have access to the pasture, but milking cows are usually kept in the barn.

• Healthy diet based on long stemmed forage promotes healthy digestion and resilience to pathogens like E-coli and salmonella.

• High protein diet, based on GMO corn silage.  High energy diet favours maximum production but compromises the overall health of the cow.

• Solid manure is composted. Small number of animals  sustainable on a small acreage.

• Liquid manure spread on fields, high rainfall washes it out, resulting in high nitrate levels in lakes and in the ground water.

• Healthy animals are cycling and reproducing in a natural rhythm without the use of hormones.

• While the bovine growth hormone is not legal for use in Canadian dairy cows and the milk is advertised as “hormone free”, fertility hormones are used routinely. Hormones are used to manipulate the cows’ estrus. Embryo transfers are common practice and require intensive hormone treatments, those hormones end up in the milk, in the environment and in the water.

• Families who own the animals are directly involved in the care of their animals, and thus see first-hand and monitor the conditions their animals are housed in.  The agister is directly  accountable to these families.   Ongoing on-farm education for parents and children about the animals’  needs and good farming practices.

• Consumers don’t see the farm and don’t know the conditions the animals are kept in.  Many people choose a dairy-free diet because of their valid concerns about animal welfare (during a recent 18 month period,  27% of dairy farms failed to meet provincial animal welfare standards).

• Calves can socialize and play together, and on some herdshare farms the calves stay with their mothers until weaned.

• Most farms keep calves separated in individual small stalls where they cannot see or play with each other.

• Small neighbourhood farm, families return re-usable glass jars to be filled with fresh milk.

• Milk of thousands of cows is mixed, transported, processed and mostly packaged in plastic and distributed. Unsold packaged milk goes to waste.

• Surplus milk is distributed to livestock owners or used to raise offspring and other livestock.  No waste.

• Surplus raw milk is either dumped, sold on the black market, or (illegally) distributed to farm employees, friends, and family.

• Attention to detail, more labour-intensive but prevents contamination of the milk.

• Mass production and pasteurization allow for milk to be produced at a fraction of the cost.

• Over 100 herdshare farms

• “Just under 500” licensed commercial dairy farms (source: B.C. Dairy Association)