5	May	2007#=#Nebraska (Litchfield)	A 6-legged calf was born earlier this week -- with two extra (non functional) legs in the back, and male and female sex organs. This is very rare, and normally such creatures don't live, but this little moo seems to be doing well. <a href="http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=456&sid=1133049">WTOP</a>
16	May	2007#=#Switzerland	Naturally competitive cows push each other around to see who is the queen cow. The cows aren't hurt during these contests; the weaker ones back off and let Ms. Bossy win. (One of our visitors sent some pictures of a <a href="/guestcows/guestcows5.shtml#herve">contest<a> a couple of years ago.)
25	May	2007#=#Vermont (Brattleboro)	The 6th Annual Strolling of the Heifers Parade and Festival will be June 1-3, starting off with 100 flower-garlanded cows strolling down Main Street. There is also a Dairy Fest, and the Great Moo-Off. For more, visit <a target="_blank" href="http://www.strollingoftheheifers.com"> www.strollingoftheheifers.com</a>.
28	May	2007#=#New Zealand (Wellington)	Scientists are breeding cows that naturally produce low fat (1%) milk. These cows are descended from Marge, who apparently has a natural genetic mutation for low fat milk. This mutation is dominant, so all the heifers produce low fat milk (once they become cows), too.`Australia (Ballarat)	The noble cow is finally recognized for her contribution to art at the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery in a show called How Now Cow. Moo!
28	May	2007#=#Colorado (Carr)	A local veterinarian offers this advice for raising calm cows: manage/ work your cows by walking around them and spending time with them -- not from horseback or on an ATV. That way the cows get used to humans and aren't afraid of them; they are calmer, and will actually approach a person to see what's going on.
30	May	2007#=#New Zealand	Cow crossings on rural roads can become damaged -- not to mention the moo poo left behind (which farmers have to clean up). A new rubber system called Cow Trax is being tested as a way to protect the road and quicken cleanup.
31	May	2007#=#UK	Teenager Erin Collier won her first breed championship with 3 Ayrshires from her own small pedigree herd, called Erinsway. She started a few years ago with a calf her father bought for her. Erin loves cows and is determined to continue showing and building her herd.
1	Jun	2007#=#Iowa (Larchwood)	The Stensland brothers are making the transition to an all organic dairy operation. They like the fact that the prices for organic milk are consistent, and higher (of course) than conventional. Feed costs more, but the brothers think it will be worth it -- plus the herd is healthier, too.
2	Jun	2007#=#Massachusetts (Southborough)	A local herd of "oreo cookie cows" (Belted Galloways) have moooved to their summer pasture at Breakneck Hill Preserve. Belted Galloways are a 16th century Scottish breed, known for their easy care and the fact that they happily graze on grass and various invasive plant species, helping to keep those pest plants at bay.
4	Jun	2007#=#Vietnam (Saigon)	Cow art comes to town in the form of a herd of model moos decorated to represent the member states of the EU.`Wisconsin (Marathon County)	June is National Dairy Month, and over 3000 people celebrated at the June Dairy Breakfast yesterday. Yummy!
5	Jun	2007#=#California	State officials have approved a plan for using methane from cows to produce natural gas that will ultimately generate electricity. Moo power!`India	Mooing ringtones lure leopards too close to villages into cages. Then the leopards are safely taken and released into forest areas.`Minnesota (Spring Valley)	The Olson's 9 1/2 year old Brown Swiss, named Thane Monolpoly Mitzy, has been ranked number 1 nationally for her breed in genetics. Congrats!
6	Jun	2007#=#Nevada (Fernley) Cow Chip Bingo will happen on June 16. Cows have an hour to do their thing and if a cow pie lands in a square, the one who bought the square wins. Proceeds will go to local charities.`Vermont (Westminster West)      It's taken over a week for Jersey cows who escaped from their home pasture to all be returned, but the last cow finally was coaxed out of the woods and taken back. She'd wandered 4 to 5 miles away from her farm!
7	Jun	2007#=#Iowa (Urbandale)	Living History Farms sponsors "Cows and Ice Cream" this weekend -- teaching visitors about dairy cows and providing samples of ice cream (including root beer floats).`Indiana (Newburgh)	"MOOO!" Hey, there's a cow in the yard -- no, make that 4 cows! A local couple wake up to find some wandering bovines outside. The cows are hanging out waiting for their owner to come get them.`Colorado (Highlands Ranch)	A miniature cow parade was part of the 12th annual Summit View Art Show in Summit View Elementary yesterday. The cows were decorated by art students who visited the Denver Cow Parade last fall. The cows will graze permanently at various locations in the school.
9	Jun	2007#=#New York (New York)	Yesterday, Elsie, a lovely horned Jersey, was on hand at the New York Historical Society as part of the ceremony in which the museum was given material that belonged to Gail Borden, who invented condensed milk and started a dairy company.`Japan	Urban calves spend about 2 years in a northern rural environment to give them the best possible start before they return to urban area farms.
10	Jun	2007#=#Michigan (Traverse City)	A local, family owned ice cream business (Moomers) is in its 10th year of business, and last year sold about 30,000 gallons of the tasty treat to folks at its retail shop and to commercial businesses. A creamery is being built to supply other fresh milk products from the family's small dairy herd. 
11	Jun	2007#=#Wisconsin (Newton)	Yesterday the annual Breakfast on the Farm was held at Soaring Eagle Dairy Farm. The event included a tour of the farm in addition to a hearty breakfast that featured typical morning fare -- and a variety of cheeses and ice cream, too.`Florida (Lakeland)	Publix Super Markets announced in April that its private label milk would be produced from rBST-free cows. In response, Florida dairy farmers are working to stop using rBST on their farms.`Oklahoma (Pryor)	A local man, Harold Blake, trains bovines of various kinds (and related, like yaks) to perform in movies and appear in fairs and parades. Currently he is working with a young male Brahman named Chado, who will ultimately grow up to be about 2,500 pounds. It will take about 4 to 5 years for Chado's education to be complete.
12	Jun	2007#=#Wisconsin (Pierce County)	21 decorated cows graze at area businesses in celebration of "2007 Cow Parade - Pierce County."  A silent auction is being held for the cows and the proceeds will benefit art departments at local schools and the county 4-H program. Visit <a target="_blank" href="http://www.piercecountycows.com">Pierce County Cows</a>.
13	Jun	2007#=#Texas (Schulenburg)	Earlier this month, the second annual Holy Cow Dairy Daze cattle show gave children in three age categories a chance to show dairy moos. The participants can get started in and learn about showing cattle. Parents got a chance to show, too.
14	Jun	2007#=#Massachusetts (Pittsfield)	A local moo wandered off the farm, and took a dip in a family's pool on Tuesday. The cow was returned home safely, if a bit wet.`Australia (Sydney)	Researchers have developed a collar for cows that are linked to a GPS. Farmers can program coordinates in which the cows need to stay. If Bossie tries to escape, she gets a little zap to tell her not to go. In a field trial, cows learned to stay in their boundary in less than an hour (with no fence).
15	Jun	2007#=#Wyoming (Powell)	Life on the Willwood Dairy Farm (owned by the Easum family) is hard, like it is at most farms. The day starts at 3:30 am and lasts until 5 pm -- or 9 pm in summer. Besides the milkings, cows and calves need to be fed, manure must be cleaned out, milking equipment requires sterilization... the list goes on! But the Easums love what they do.`California (Riversdale)	A local dairy is the first to be approved by the California Public Utilities commission to produce natural gas from manure. Methane from the dairy will be used to generate electricity. The company BioEnergy Solutions will run the project. This effort will cut methane emissions from the dairy as well as supply energy. [Go cows!]
16	Jun	2007#=#Michigan (Saginaw)	At the upcoming "Moo at the Zoo" fundraiser, folks will be able to see a Scottish Highland heifer, a Jersey steer, and a Holstein calf.... And a fiberglass cow with a silcon rubber udder that allows everyone to have a go at milking.`Arkansas (Baxter County)	The Walker family has won Baxter County Farm Family of the Year. They tend 300 bovines of their own, but up to 2000 yearlings each year for other people. The Walkers say that taking care of calves is more work than full grown cows. But, it's a life they enjoy.
17	Jun	2007#=#New York (Saratoga)	Sundae on the Farm is an annual celebration of agriculture at the Hanehan farm. The fun included a tour of the farm, wagon rides, live music... and free ice cream sundaes. Yum!`New Hampshire	Some rural nursing homes in the state are near farms and give residents the opportunity to raise vegetables -- and visit the cows.
18	Jun	2007#=#Arkansas (Hector)	The Chisum family recently won the 2007 Pope County Farm Family of the Year award. They have been farming for over 30 years -- starting with 6 heifers. Now they have over 250 cows, and over 900 acres. In addition to cows, they produce tons of hay for themselves and to sell.`Minnesota (Freeborn County)	Saturday, 50 women met to take part in "Celebrate the History of the Dairy Industry in Freeborn County."  The ladies had all been dairy princesses or milk maids and enjoyed reminiscing over their experiences. The celebration also included a history of dairying in the county and a visit by the current dairy princess.`UK	Over 400 farms participated in "Open Farm Sunday," attracting an estimated 150,000 visitors nationwide. Tours, demos, rides, cookouts, and art projects were some of the activities enjoyed at the farms.
19	Jun	2007#=#Florida (Putnam County)	Along route 315, drivers often stop and stare at the 32 longhorn-watusi cross cattle. The horns can have a spread of nearly 8 feet from tip to tip.`Arizona	Shamrock Farms has added a herd of organic Holsteins and has begun producing organic milk. They claim they are the first in the state.
20	Jun	2007#=#South Carolina (Wadmalaw Island)	The Albers have 5 Jersey cows who graze peacefully on the island. Their milk is bottled and sold without pasteurization (raw milk) under the label of Sea Island.  Providing raw milk is regulated, and the Albers had to get permission from the Department of Health and Environmental Control. Some of the milk they drink themselves, and the rest is sold. It is supposed to be especially healthful. The Albers use a mobile milking parlor to bring the milking operation to the cows, rather than the other way around.`Minnesota	The University of Minnesota Extension and Minnesota Dairy Initiatives are sponsoring tours at dairy farms this summer. For more information: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.extension.umn.edu/dairy/efforts/successfulsystemsfielddays.html">Farm Field Days</a>.
21	Jun	2007#=#India (Lucknow)	City authorities have started planting microchips in cows with their owner's information to help determine where a bovine should go if astray.`Wisconsin (Madison)	A University hockey player and a former player decided to try cow tipping some Cow Parade statues. They were caught and fined $200 each. [Good -- no bovine should be tipped!]
22	Jun	2007#=#Canada (Ontario)	The Ontario Energy Board has been asked by the Energy Ministry to impose strict rules on electricity distribution utilites to limit ground current pollution. This situation can happen with old power lines that can't handle increased electricity flow; instead the excess voltage goes over the ground. This can cause shocks to dairy cows and other livestock, making the animals sick and possibly causing abortions and other problems.`Georgia (Hall County)	Children had a chance to see farm life today at Agriculture Day at Jaemor Farms. Part of the fun was getting an up close look at how cows are milked.`Vermont (Woodstock)	The Billings Farm and Museum is one of the best agricultural museums in the country, and shows visitors life on a 19th century farm -- including milking the cows. There is also a Dairy Bar where local ice cream can be enjoyed. Mmmm...
23	Jun	2007#=#UK (Teesside)	In search of ducks, Ray Sanderson found a herd of Beef Shorthorn cattle. He wanted to start a pedigree herd that was unpopular (at the time), and decided these bovines were it. One of the benefits of this breed is its placidity. Over the years Mr. Sanderson and the farm owner, Michael Abraham, have built up the herd. They have bred several champions -- both bulls and cows. All this, from an accidental meeting while looking for ducks.
24	Jun	2007#=#Massachusetts (Taunton)	MooBella uses a new technology to provide made-to-order ice cream from a vending machine. There are 12 different flavors and 3 mix-ins available to choose from. 
25	Jun	2007#=#Washington (Monroe)	At Monroe Honor Farm, the manure from 3 dairies will be processed in a bio-digester. Perhaps as early as next year, the methane will be used to generate electricity. In addition, the city is looking at using the methane to power dryers to finish processing local sewage, which will solve some problems with the current process.
26	Jun	2007#=#Texas 	The largest herd of purebred Akaushi cattle outside of Japan can be found here, at a ranch owned by Jose Calles. Akaushi moos can be red colored, or black.`Minnesota (Altura)	This Thursday, the folks at Greden Ponderosa Dairy Farm are hosting the Winona Area Chamber of Commerce's Family Night on the Farm. The farm has been run for six generations milking cows.  The farm also has 100,000 trees and shrubs and 35 acres of restored prairie.
27	Jun	2007#=#UK (Rugeley)	4 cows were rescued from a flooded field by firemen, who herded them to a trailer and safety using a boat. `Virginia (Staunton)	At a camp for the blind, the kids were able to visit with farm animals -- including Maggie, a milking Devon. The kids got a chance to pet Maggie, and most of them had never touched a cow before. One boy commented on how big Maggie was -- like the size of a whole classroom.
28	Jun	2007#=#Wisconsin (New London)	Bruce and Brenda Long, owners and operators of B-Long Holsteins, were named as the Distinguished Young Holstein Breeders 2007 by the Holstein Association in Knoxville, Tennessee. They have bred 15 Gold Medal Dams and 9 Dams of Merit. `Arkansas (Belleville)	Bill Stumpf and his partners have a dairy with just over 100 cows (mostly Holsteins). Each cow gets milked twice a day, 12 at a time in two chutes that hold 6 cows each. The udders are given an iodine and then a water spray to remove excess bacteria, before the milking begins. It can take 5-10 minutes to milk one cow. According to Mr. Stumpf, milking is the easy part of dairying -- making the feed and scraping the manure are much harder. (Not to mention enduring the smell of the milk house in summer!)
30	Jun	2007#=#New Zealand (Whangarei)	A new, high-tech, cow shed provides a simple way to handle a big problem with dairying -- what to do with all that cow manure. The floor of the shed as a meter of space below it that takes about a year to fill. Then, the manure can be easily scooped out -- no water flushing manure (and excess nutrients) into the environment. The waste is dry and only smells a little. The shed is also designed to be warm in winter and cool in summer to keep the cows comfortable.`Japan	Despite the intense urbanization of the Tokyo area, there are still farms in the vicinity. Last September, the Kyodo Milk Industry Company began distributing milk from cows raised in the Tama region to stores in western Tokyo. One farm is located in the Hachioji suburb, and has almost 100 cows. To cover up any bovine odors, the farmer uses coffee-bean dust in the barns to mask any offensive smells.
1	Jul	2007#=#Pennsylvania (Warminster)	The local government buildings will soon be powered by electricity from -- cow pies! Well, more specifically cow manure will be used to generate methane that will then be used to provide electricity. The municipality expects 20% of its energy to come from clean energy sources like this.`New Hampshire (New Durham)	The Bickman farm has been owned by the same family for over 200 years, but there was a 45 year gap when the farm had no bovines. A year ago, the family brought Belted Galloways to the farm. The primary business of the farm is hay making now (and the Bickmans have outside jobs), but local people love the fact that the cows are back.`Arkansas (Sardis)	The Grace family, who grow hay and have over 100 Angus-Limousine cattle, were named 2007 Saline County Farm Family of the Year.
2	Jul	2007#=#Wisconsin	Green Valley Dairy uses a bio-digester to turn manure into electricty, fertilizer, and bedding. The system reduces solids and lowers nutrient density, allowing more product to be applied near the dairy without the problems of untreated manure. This situation makes manure management much easier. There are 3 different types of bio-digester, and Green Valley chose the one that is the mesophilic complete mix system. The farm creates all its own electricity. In addition, the farm could supply more energy but the local power company cannot handle it yet.`Kentucky (Shepherdsville)	The Bleemels, owners of Slow Poke Farm, a 240 acre property, host tours and parties for people looking to explore farm life. Kids like feeding the cows because the cows will give them a big lick and take the food out of their hands.
3	Jul	2007#=#UK (Bath)	University researchers have said that cows infected with BSE have elevated levels of the metal manganese in their blood before they show symptoms. It is possible that checking blood levels of maganese may be a diagnostic tool for BSE sometime in the future.`Iowa (Cedar Rapids)	The American Guernsey Association held its national convention here. 216 breeders took the opportunity to visit 2 local farms. One was the Wilgenbusch farm, which has 6 "Excellent" cows. The other, the Knapp farm, has the top producing Guernsey herd in Iowa for milk and fat. 
5	Jul	2007#=#Romania (Ramnicelu)	Farmers play music to help their cows deal with a heat wave. Apparently, the cows don't care what music is played but seem to be happy and relaxed as long as some tunes are on offer.`Pennsylvania (Chester Springs)	Chester Springs Creamery produces great ice cream from the cows you can see grazing on the farm's pastures. Ice cream flavors are named after different cows. 
7	Jul	2007#=#Arkansas (Havana)	Nick and Jamie Fink Taylor have been given the Yell Country Farm Family of the Year award. The Taylors have 300 cow-calf pairs and a total of about 700 acres. They are a young couple in their 20s and hope to encourage other young people to go into farming.
8	Jul	2007#=#Kentucky (Nicholasville)	A local girl, Katlyn loves showing cows. Although other people think she is crazy, she says cows are her best friends [we can understand that!]. Katlyn shows local farmer Stuart Berryman's moos -- 10 of them just yesterday. And she won the showmanship class.`Texas (Stephenville)	Microgy, Inc., recently opened a renewable gas plant in central Texas dairy country -- possibly the largest plant of its kind. Tanks combine the manure from 10,000 cows with food waste and make it into methane. The gas is scrubbed and compressed, then shipped over natural gas transmission lines. At its destination, it is burned to created electricity. In addition to providing energy, bio-digesters like this remove pollutants from the environment and reduce the greenhouse effect of methane.
9	Jul	2007#=#Wisconsin (Rock County)	On Sunday, the local 4-H Fair float parade and contest took place. One of the float categories was dairy float, and one club's float had cows made with moving heads, while another float had cows with papier-mache heads and barrel bodies. These two clubs got first and second, respectively.
10	Jul	2007#=#Spain (Pamplona)	Women are demanding their own day to run with bovines -- only they want to run with cows, not bulls. [Seems appropriate, but has anyone asked the cows if they're interested in all that exercise?] The association that handles the traditional bull run has not responded to the request.`Wales (Ceredigion)	Farmer Philip Reed has bought the Queen's Ayrshire herd of 186 bovines. He is moving into dairy in a big way while other farmers are leaving. The Ayrshires he has purchased are big and strong and will give a lot of milk.
11	Jul	2007#=#UK (Swanage)	Scary cows? A group of students got lost orienteering and ended up after dark in a field -- with a group of scary bovines! Well, cows can be big and may well be very intimidating after dark!`Wales (Aberystwyth)	Researchers here are trying to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by cows. Feed containing garlic cuts the production of cow gas by up to 50%. Cows are the biggest source of methane, which is a greenhouse gas over 20 times worse than carbon dioxide. Cows introduce methane into the atmosphere mostly from belching. Methane originates in their digestive track, caused by organisms inside helping to digest their food.
12	Jul	2007#=#Spain (Pamplona)	It doesn't pay to mess with bulls -- 7 men were gored during the Spanish bull run, a couple of them seriously.`US	The Agricultural Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture is studying various crops for use in producing ethanol, as well as looking at microorganisms that might be useful in the process of generating biofuels. As part of this research, scientists are reproducing the digestive system of cows to help make fuel from plant cellulose. (Microorganisms inside the cow's digestive tract "eat" the grass and other plant fibers the cows ingest so the nutrients can be absorbed by the cows. Something similar may also work for creating fuel from plant material.)
13	Jul	2007#=#Maryland (Creswell)	The Dallams have more free time now -- because a robot watches over the dairy herd. The $180,000 computerized system milks the cows, records yield data, and calms the cows. The system is called Lely X-Link and runs 24 hours a day, all week long. The farmers gain flexibility in their schedules and the cows get to choose when they want to be milked. If a cow hasn't come by for her milking after a certain amount of time an alert is given. The robot recognizes the cow by her udder, cleans and sanitizes it, then attaches the 4 milkers. After a few minutes, all is done and the cow is back with the herd. The system works best for farms with 60 cows or fewer, and does take time to work out the glitches. But it is hoped that systems like this will help small farmers stay in business by making it easier for them to pursue other farming opportunities while the computer cares for the cows.
14	Jul	2007#=#California (Orange County)	The Orange County fair begins today with the usual fair stuff -- and a lot of bovines, too. The theme of the fair this year is "Cowabunga! The Year of Herefords, Surfers, and Sand" to honor the county's bovine history (and some more recent cultural events). A herd of 300 Corriente steers will stroll through Costa Mesa along several streets before entering the fair gates. Go COWS!`Missouri (Neosho)	10 year old Madelaine loves to work on her family's small dairy farm of about 20 cows. She helps with the milking, feeding and watering. She hopes to take over her parents farm when she grows up. `Michigan	Cows and stored manure may contribute up to 25% of the world's methane, which is a greenhouse gas. A doctoral student at Michigan State University, Marcus Hollmann, has been researching the use of coconut oil in cattle feed to help reduce methane production. He has won a scholarship to continue his research.
15	Jul	2007#=#US	Today is Cow Appreciation Day -- Give a cow a moo of thanks for all that she does for us humans. (Some people celebrate C.A.D. on July 14.)
16	Jul	2007#=#Ohio (Bazetta)	Children and their cows participated in the Dress-a-Kow contest and included a hula cow, a milk truck cow, and an ice cream cow. The milk truck cow, Windy, won the day, although she was reluctant to wear her costume at first. 
17	Jul	2007#=#Wisconsin	This is the only state with a cheesemaker licensing program. In addition, Wisconsin is the only state with master cheesemakers who work under a strict program run by the state's university. Increasingly farmers here are turning to the more profitable business of artisan cheesemaking and selling directly to restaurants, speciality stores, and customers by mail order. One reason for success is the lush pasture -- and using milk obtained from cows when grazing on this high quality moo-food.`New Zealand	Next year the "Astronaut A3" robotic milker will be introduced. The technology is such that larger herds can be handled than previously. Cows are typically lured to robotic milkers by food and water. The robots detect the cows' teats and then can milk them. The cows like being able to get milked when they want to.
19	Jul	2007#=#New York (Cooperstown)	Last weekend, the Farmer's Museum held its 60th Annual Junior Livestock Show, with about 300 participants (of the human kind) and about 750 animals. Some of the kids have been showing for many years, others are just getting started. But for all it gives them a chance to practice their showing skills and to meet other young people interested in the same things. One of the winners was Rachel Stone, who got a first place with her Jersey calf in a junior heifer class.
20	Jul	2007#=#UK	What color would cows' milk be if cows ate grass? The Dairy Farmers of Britain gave this question to 1000 children ranging in ages from 8-15, and a surprising 8% said the milk would be green! Nope, the answer is white -- cows eat grass and their milk was, is, and always will be white!
22	Jul	2007#=#Wisconsin (Fond du Lac County)	At the Fond du Lac County Fair last week, 216 dairy bovines competed. Kyle Natzke's spring yearling won the junior registered Holstein Class. Cole Tidemann won for his fall calf. Ashley Hass got grand champion in the senior and overall grade Holstein show for her 4 year old. Katie and Jessica Lomira also won honors for their cows. As the kids say, the cows have to have top potential and look "very dairy".`Iowa (Johson County)	Next week the county fair starts and kids will be bringing their calves and cows for competitions. What do the judges look for? There are 3 main criteria: production, breed standards, and composition. Production takes into consideration if the calf grew at the proper rate, generally at least 3 pounds a day. If competition is in a purebred class, the moo will be compared to the characteristics for that breed. Composition takes into consideration the frame and musculature of the cow, the structure, and how well she carries herself.
24	Jul	2007#=#New York (Boonville-Oneida County)	One person who regularly attends the fair is livestock photographer Susan Menendez. A former 4Her and shower of cows, as well as a current owner of 70 cows, Susan understands how to get a bovine to look his or her best. She has the owner stand the moo in the best position and keeps the cow or calf's attention and ears perked by waving something or dropping grain pellets in a bucket.
25	Jul	2007#=#Rhode Island (Hopkinton)	Yesterday, cows escaped from a farm through a fence that the state is supposed to maintain. The cows wandered onto Interstate 95, which is extremely dangerous for the cows and the travelers. State troopers used air horns to get the cows to leave the roadway.`Minnesota (Verndale)	The Middendorfs have 180 cows on irrigated pasture and are participating in a University of Minnesota study on the economics of irrigation and water profiles on intense, rotationally grazed, dairy pasture. The irrigated pasture maintains soil and grass health and keeps out many weeds. The pasture reveals the soil type underneath: paddocks on heavy soil have lush grasses, while lighter soils have sparser cover. The plant mix the cows prefer is 70% clovers and 30% grasses. Apparently the clovers taste good, and they also add nitrogen to the soil. Providing excellent pasture, even with the costs of irrigation, helps save money through reduced seed feed costs, and there are fewer costs related to forage harvesting. In addition, the health of the cows' feet has improved.
26	Jul	2007#=#Massachusetts (Westborough)	One calf from the Nourse Farm took off when she was spooked by something last Saturday. She got through the fence and disappeared into the woods. Fortunately, on Monday someone at a local school spotted the calf and her owners were called. They were expecting her to be weak from lack of nourishment, but she was doing well, and took off down the street. Finally, they were able to catch her. The next worry was that the momma cow wouldn't recognize her calf again, but she did, and the little one was able to start nursing right away. This adventuresome calf has been named "Little Survivor."
27	Jul	2007#=#Holland	There are about 1.4 million dairy cows here, with the average herd size being only 80 cows. The cows are kept in clean conditions, such as in cubicles with rubber mats and on slatted yards. They spend much of their time on pasture. In addition, about 1000 robotic milkers are in use here, which works well with the herd sizes.`Montana (Spring Brook)	Just outside town, a local ranch has dozens of yaks -- Pleistocene-era cattle, although yaks look more like small bison than cows. Originally from the Himalayan plateau, yaks do well in Montana, requiring no shelter during the winter. They are relatively disease free and hardy. In some ways, yaks are more like horses than cows or bison -- they quickly learn to follow the ranchers around hoping for a treat or a scritch. They are very docile and easy to be around. 
28	Jul	2007#=#Ohio (Williams County)	Bridgewater Dairy has 3,800 cows and is installing a bio-digester to turn the manure into energy. The manure generates methane in the digester, which captures it and turns it into electricity. It is expected that the operation will generate more electricity than the farm will need.`Georgia (Savannah)	A local boy's home has a resident herd of Herefords. The bovines give the boys taking the agri-science class practical experience. In addition, the herd has been having problems recently because of running out of hay in the early spring, and this year's drought hasn't helped. So the boy's home made a deal with the state. The staff cut areas the state would normally mow and use the cuttings to make hay. 
29	Jul	2007#=#North Carolina (Fearrington Village)	Fearrington farm has a herd of Belted Galloways [one of the oreo cookie cows]. The moos like to cool off in the hot weather by hanging out under shower heads that spray cold water. In addition, they share their area with a couple of donkeys. The donkeys protect the cows from coyotes and wild dogs.
30	Jul	2007#=#Utah (Logan)	Utah State University chemist Phil Silva is studying air inversions and pollution and says that emissions from cows and cars are sources for the winter inversions seen in the Cache Valley. The precise chemical details of the smog are not known and will be studied in the lab.`Turkey (Istanbul)	On August 1 Cow Parade begins here. Colorful cows -- 190 of them -- each decorated by a Turkish artist, will graze in various locations around the city for 12 weeks. At the end of the show, the cows will be auctioned and the proceeds donated to several charities.`UK (Darlington)	A heifer escaped and was considered to be extremely dangerous -- due to her size, which is about a 1/2 ton. She was found in a field with other cows and her owner is going to collect her. [We're not sure why police felt she was such a threat to the public since she probably was only spooked and looking for some other cows to hang out with -- which she finally did.]
31	Jul	2007#=#California	The Rumiano Cheese company has been given the American Humane Certified Free Farmed (R) designation.  Farmers who supply milk for the cheese allow their cows to graze in lush pastures year round. The cows also have ready access to fresh water, superb medical care, and a generally stress-free environment.
2	Aug	2007#=#UK (Mayford)	5 Holstein-Friesian steers are grazing on a local common area called Smart's Heath this summer, thanks to efforts by the Surrey Heathland Project and the local community. Cattle are good for heathland because they eat lots of grass, preventing it from taking over the heath, and allowing other plants to grow.
3	Aug	2007#=#California (Merced County)	The harvest for corn silage is underway: corn choppers are slicing 12 foot corn stalks down into bite sized chunks. Corn silage is a feed used for dairy cows and is the ninth most valuable commodity here, being worth nearly $60 million in 2006.
4	Aug	2007#=#Massachusetts (Whitman)	The folks at Peaceful Meadows may not milk their own cows now -- they get their milk from a local co-op -- but they do still make their own ice cream. And they still have Holsteins for people to admire and pet after they've enjoyed some of the cold, creamy good stuff.
5	Aug	2007#=#New Jersey (Wallington)	Herds of local Jerseys will be getting their own brand of milk -- Jersey Fresh Skim Free -- at stores in the state. All the milk will be from New Jersey Jerseys.
7	Aug	2007#=#New Zealand	Some cows naturally produce a particular protein in their milk called A-2. These cows are identified by genetic testing and then put into their own herd. The cows are milked separately and the resulting milk is not mixed with other milk. It is believed that A-2 milk is easier to digest for people who are lactose intolerant.
8	Aug	2007#=#Nebraska (Firth)	Prairieland Dairy is the first in the US to have cows that product A-2 milk. The cows naturally produce the milk with this special protein. (This type of cow was  discovered in New Zealand). The milk may be healthier than regular milk.
9	Aug	2007#=#UK	Virtual cows? When you team up virtual reality experts and a veterinary surgeon you get a model that feels just like the inside of a cow. The vet student's hand is connected to a device that senses the hand's movements and provides resistance just like a real object would -- although there is nothing there. With a click of the button the student feels a cyst -- or a calf. Because there is nothing there, the instructor can see the student's hand and give directions on what to do. Plus there is no cow to get hurt accidentally. Sometimes students have a hard time because there isn't a cow there, so the device can be put inside a fiberglass cow to give a little realism to an otherwise unreal situation.
10	Aug	2007#=#US	According to the EPA, there are about 135 anaerobic digesters on US farms producing electricity -- for a total of about 248 million kilowatt-hours annually.`UK (Hampshire)	Julie Cheyney and Stacey Hedges have created a wonderful new cheese called Tunworth soft cheese. It was named supreme champion at the British Cheese Awards last year. The cheese is made from unpasteurized milk from a local herd of Ayrshire cows. The cows' diet is closely watched and controlled so that they are supremely healthy and the milk has the best flavor.
12	Aug	2007#=#Pennsylvania (McEwensville)	The local public library hosted its 40th anniversary this weekend. Cow pie bingo was held to raise some funds for the library. 3 cows from the North Mont Dairy club were turned loose in a field marked with 200 squares (each purchased for $10). The first square to receive a deposit won $300.
13	Aug	2007#=#New Zealand	40 cows are trapped on an island in the middle of the Waikato river and are starving. The SPCA was sending bales of hay over on a boat, but this was too slow and difficult. Fortunately, the navy was able to fly 30 bales to the cows by helicopter, which was a life saver for the cows.
18	Aug	2007#=#Michigan (Kalamazoo County)	At the Scottish Festival, all sorts of things related to Scottish culture were on hand -- music, sports, food, games, and animals. Including our favorite, Highland cattle -- who, according to Gloria Culp (spokesperson for the Kalamazoo Scottish Festival Association), look like "big furry cows that are wearing toupees." She says, "You could watch them all day." We agree.
19	Aug	2007#=#Arizona	Just south of the Utah border, conservationists are running a ranch, and are aiming on doing it the "green" way. They are working to balance the grazing intensity of their 1000-plus cattle with ecological integrity. Various sites on the ranch are being studied to see how to restore and manage the areas. 
20	Aug	2007#=#New Zealand (Petone)	Several local bands will be giving a concert next weekend for "Cash for Cows" -- a fundraising effort for Cow Bank. A cow bank is a project that provides poor families with calves and the skills to raise them. When a new calf is born, it is given to the bank so another family can benefit.  This cow bank will help families in Vietnam.`Virginia (Loudan County)	Two farmers have crossed yaks and cows. And what did they get -- yattle.
21	Aug	2007#=#Northern Ireland (Coleraine)	Wilson Agriculture will use a government grant to help in the production of Pasture Mats and Poly Pillows to make cows who have to lie on concrete floors comfortable. The mats and pillows are like beanbags covered with blankets. The cows like them, and comfy cows make more milk.
22	Aug	2007#=#Ohio	Ohio State University researchers have used the microbe-rich fluid from a cow's biggest stomach (the rumen) in a fuel cell. The microbes break down cellulose in a biofuel cell and produce electric current. Right now, the current is only enough for a tiny bulb from Christmas tree lights, but they are working on making the cells more efficient and able to create more power.
23	Aug	2007#=#New Zealand	Cows have a 1 in  2,000,000 chance of having and delivering healthy triplets. A rare event, but one that happened to a cow at Massey University. Momma cow is a 3-year-old Friesian/Jersey cross. She and her calves are doing fine.
24	Aug	2007#=#Minnesota (Lewiston)	During the flooding last weekend, one of the barns at Andre Postier's farm was flooding. All he could see were the heifers' heads and toplines. Then, his fall senior yearling, Carmel, started swimming out of the barn, leading the others out to safety. They swam to a dry part of the pasture, where they stayed and chewed their cuds, seemingly no worse for their swim.
25	Aug	2007#=#New York (Chazy)	The owners of Rovers Farm have decided to make their property a perpetual farm -- the first in Clinton County -- by accepting a sizeable payment and giving up most development rights. The owners want to make sure their 1600 acres stay as farmland, and additional farm owners in the area are planning to do the same.
26	Aug	2007#=#Iowa	Iowa State University will open a new Dairy/Animal Science Education and Discovery Facility in October. It will be a fully functioning dairy farm with 450 milking cows. There will be a cow maternity barn, a calf barn, a barn for dry cows as well as one for heifers. A milking parlor and a freestall barn for milking cows will also be part of the facility. Cow comfort -- beyond just keeping cows warm or cool -- is of prime concern; various surfaces, matting and mattresses will be investigated to see which ones work best. In addition, there will be manure storage, a liquid/solid separation system, a composting system due to be operational next spring. The facility will be used by students and researchers in Animal Science, Veterinary Medicine, and Ag and Biosystems engineering. It replaces an older facility that was further away from the university campus.
27	Aug	2007#=#South Africa	How many cows does it take for a groom to be allowed to marry a Zulu princess? In the case of Sipho Nyawo and Princess Bukhosibemvelo, Mr. Nyawo gave the princess' father 120 cows.`India (Murshidabad)	Along the border with Bangladesh, authorities have come up with a way to prevent smuggling cows out of the country. Photo ID cards for cows. People have to get their cows photographed in local studios to get the ID cards. The details of the cow and her owner are registered making it easier for authorities to track which cows are Indian and which are not. Un-ID'd cows will be confiscated.
28	Aug	2007#=#UK (Yorkshire)	Blue and grey shorthorn cows in the Dales are being given collars with GPSes, which will track their locations. These cows live in a nature reserve and are free to roam over a large area. The goal is to see where the cows go and where they stop to eat. This will help determine the cows' impact on the local ecology and lead to better management techniques.
29	Aug	2007#=#Wisconsin (Rushford)	The Knigges installed their hands-free milking system 7 years ago. The robotic milker, free-stall barn, manure pit and the cows cost about 1 million dollars. The farm has 95 cows. The farm owners like the fact that they have time for other chores and money making operations. And for family time, too. The one downside is a phone call in the middle of the night from the robotic system if it detects a mechanical problem with itself. But otherwise, humans are not needed. The cows are enticed into the milking stall with a sweet treat, their udders are washed, and the milker attaches itself and begins milking the cow. The computer system records various data such as the amount of milk for the cow. The cows choose to be milked about 3 times a day, on average, although some prefer much more often -- up to 6 times. (Perhaps it's due to those sweet treats).
31	Aug	2007#=#Illinois and Iowa	A 2-year-old purebred polled Hereford bull from Fleisher farms won Grand Champion Bull at both the Iowa and Illinois state fairs. He weighs about 2,400 pounds and is a good mover despite his size. And he has an athletic build the judges liked. 
1	Sep	2007#=#New York (Chautauqua County)	The Aldrich family participated in Pasture Walk Friday. Visitors got to see the cows and their pastures, and learn some of the finer points of raising heifers. The Aldriches have two separate herds -- dairy heifers and dry cows -- on 100 acres.  The property is divided into a number of pastures that have grain and clover as well as native grasses. These conditions provide perfect grazing for the herds. 
2	Sep	2007#=#Connecticut (West Hartford)	This is the home of CowParade Holdings Corporation, founded by Jerry Elbaum. The company sells the licensing rights and helps people who want to hold a cow parade in their city. The first cow parade was staged in 1999 in Chicago. That event featured 300 cows sculptures and drew in about 2 million visitors; $3.5 million were raised by auctioning off the cows and donated to charity. Mr. Elbaum did not come up with the idea -- he saw an exhibit in Zurich and wanted to do the same in the US. He negotiated for the right to do so through the Zurich Retailers Association. But now, his company owns the worldwide rights to CowParade. And, although organizing a cow parage goes through the company here in Connecticut, the blank cow sculptures are made in Poland.
3	Sep	2007#=#Switzerland (Geneva)	A report by the UN highlights the concern about the decline of unique livestock breeds around the world. These local breeds have developed special characteristics enabling them to live well in particular regions and climates; these characteristics mean genetic diversity. This diversity could be valuable for treating diseases and other problems. One such breed is the Ankole -- cattle who are especially good at resisting drought and who give very rich milk. These cattle are native to east and central Africa. The UN would like to preserve all these different breeds by supporting farmers who want to keep raising them and by creating gene banks.
4	Sep	2007#=#Ohio (Canfield)	The 35th annual dress-a-cow contest took place last weekend, with dairy and beef cows competing for top honors in five categories. One cow was dressed in a shower curtain and cap as "Bath and Bovine Works." Another cow was decked out as a character from Shrek. A third cow wore a cloth with 11 of the "12 Days of Christmas" verses on it, while the family women and girls came as the "8 Maids A-Milking." As you can see the humans got in on the dressing up, too.
5	Sep	2007#=#Virginia (Charlottesville)	Feast, a local specialty store that features locally produced food, sponsored a Virigina Artisan Cheese Tasting recently. Cheeses made from goat, sheep, and our fav -- cow, were available. The cow's milk cheese was called Appalachian from Meadow Creek Dairy. It has a natural deep yellow color due to the grass-based diet of the cows. All the cheesemakers pride themselves on how well they care for their animals, allowing them to roam freely and eat what nature intended.
6	Sep	2007#=#Pennsylvania (Cochranville)	The day after tomorrow, Canine Partners for Life will host its annual Cow Pie Bingo fundraiser. A cow will be turned out onto a one acre field that has been divided into 3,000 squares, each on sale for $10. If the cow drops a pie in your square, you win $5,000. Chester County Dairy Princess Alternate Kelly King will take her Ayrshire cow on to the playing field and the game will begin. Proceeds will go toward the cost of training service dogs for people with disabilities.
8	Sep	2007#=#Pennsylvania (St. Thomas)	About 100 fourth-graders got an up-close experience of cows and other farm animals as they took part in the 11th Ag. Ed. Institute at Myra-Brek Farm. The kids learned how cows digest their food and how they are milked, as well as other things about farm life. They also got to pet newborn calves -- always a super experience!
9	Sep	2007#=#UK (Waddington)	The Macalpines, after seeing the benefits of Jersey herds in Denmark, decided to have their own. They have 165 acres with 200 Jersey cows. Jerseys are small, efficient cows, and they give a lot of production from limited acreage. They also have superb milk quality. Jerseys have smaller rumen (one of the cow stomachs) so they do better on feed designed for their smaller intake. 
10	Sep	2007#=#Maine (Rockland)	This week's children's drawing workshop at Rockland Public Library will teach the kids how to draw farm animals -- including cows. What fun!
11	Sep	2007#=#New Zealand (Waikato)	Marisa Till, a PhD student at Waikato University, is studing the bacteria that live in the cow's rumen (biggest stomach). The bacteria she is especially interested in are the ones that break down plant material to make the nutrition in the food able to be digested by the cow. Her research could lead to improvements in how to make biofuels from plants, because some of the process of making biofuel requires the same kind of "digestion" as occurs inside the cow.
12	Sep	2007#=#Connecticut (West Hartford)	60 colorful cows began grazing around West Hartford Center this week for Cow Parade. As usual, different artists paint the cow sculptures, which are sponsored by various organizations. At the end of the show, the cows will be auctioned off in January for charity.
13	Sep	2007#=#Wisconsin (Elkhart Lake)	Whom do you call when you want to go away and leave  your dairy cows for a few days? Brian Herr -- he is a relief milker. His duties include milking but also attending births, giving medicine, feeding, and occasionally repairing  machines in an emergency. It is a tough job, but Mr. Herr enjoys it and likes being able to give farmers much needed vacation time. 
14	Sep	2007#=#Texas (College Station)	The Texas Water Resources Institute received a grant to test an on-farm, manure-to-energy conversion system. The system uses a thermophilic digester (thermophilic means it has bacteria in it that like higher temperatures) to create energy from cow manure. It is portable and can be taken around for educational demonstrations. Manure is also used as fertilizer, but too much causes water pollution. Consequently, by using the manure for energy production an additional benefit is to reduce the amount of manure that can be a potential pollution source.
15	Sep	2007#=#Ireland (Roscrea)	Michael and Kate Cantwell, who specialize in the production of farmhouse ice cream, won two golds in The Great Taste Awards. The two winning flavors were Apple Sorbet with Calvados and Hazelnut Ice Cream. The Cantwells have 60 dairy cows, and began making ice cream to supplement their income.
16	Sep	2007#=#Pennsylvania (Harrisburg)	Tomorrow, the first annual "Blue Ribbon Cows Making Blue Ribbon Cheese, Ice Cream, and More" takes place to celebrate cows and tasty milk products from Pennsylvania and nearby farms. Displays and demonstrations will show visitors about things like how milk is made into different products. This "blue ribbon" event takes place during the All-American Dairy Show at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center.
18	Sep	2007#=#Wisconsin (Albany)	Today is the opening of the 2007 Wisconsin Farm Techology Days at Plain View Stock Farm. This event celebrates the heritage and the future of farming. Brown Swiss cows were on hand to welcome visitors -- moo!
19	Sep	2007#=#California	Ellie spends a lot of time educating children about cows through her profession as a traveling dairy cow.  Demonstrators with the show milk Ellie by hand and by machine to the amazement of the watching children. Then, Ellie's little calf Della is introduced and the kids get to pet her. Lots of fun -- and learning, too.
20	Sep	2007#=#Vermont (St. Albans)	Montagne Farm has become the latest to join the CVPS Cow Power program -- creating electricity from cow manure. The farm is expected to produce 1.4 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year. In addition to farms joining the program as producers, customers sign up to receive either all, one half, or one quarter of their power from Cow Power. They pay an extra 4 cents per kilowatt hour to do this, but the money goes to participating farm producers and into the renewable energy fund. All around a worthwhile effort.
24	Sep	2007#=#Australia	16-year-old Brad Allot has been to nearly 100 shows with his cows. And he's been doing this for 8 years, with no plans to stop. At a show in Malanda he won a competition showing someone else's cow -- and then decided to buy her for himself. Her name is Striker Buttercup and she'll make a great addition to his family's Holsteins. Brad plans to follow the family tradition and be a fifth generation dairy farmer, and is already playing a big part in running the farm.
25	Sep	2007#=#United States 	Miniature cow breeds are becoming popular for folks who have some acreage but can't support full-sized cattle. These cows are small and generally docile. And cute, of course. Miniature Herefords are less than 4 feet tall, but still have the same markings and shape as their fuller-sized cousins. If you decide you want some mini-moos, make sure you research the breed you want, find a reputable breeder, have the right sized property, and can devote the time necessary to care for your cows.
28	Sep	2007#=#UK (Somerset)	A local dairy farmer has set up 4 webcams to let folks enjoy his herd and see what happens during milking and other activities. Currently, there are over 100 moos in the herd, all pedigree Jerseys and Guernseys. Visit <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bigudder.co.uk">Big Udder</a>.`Maryland (Beltsville)	The Agricultural Research Service is beginning a test on a plant-produced therapeutic protein that goes after bacteria that cause inflammatory udder disease in cows. The protein is normally found in the cow's milk and blood, but increased quantities help provide more protection. The plants that will produce the protein are "infected" with a virus that has the protein gene added. The virus delivers the new gene to the plant, which then begins making the protein encoded by the gene. The protein can be recovered from the plant and made into medicine for cows.
2	Oct	2007#=#Wisconsin (Madison)	The World Dairy Expo kicks off today and lasts for 5 days. Over 65,000 visitors are expected to the largest, strictly dairy-focused event in the world. There will be handsome moos of different breeds -- Ayrshires, Guernseys, Jerseys and more -- plus educational seminars designed to help dairy farmers get the latest information. Virtual farm tours and vendor exhibits will also be on hand. Moo!
3	Oct	2007#=#Massachusetts	At the Topfield fair, there's a lot of cow manure to deal with. Volunteers like Robin and Rob Doolen step up and help out. With pitchfork in hand, they scoop up what the cows put out, plus help push them outside for a wash down. If any calves are born, they are on hand for that, too. It's a labor of love, they say, but they do love it.
4	Oct	2007#=#US	More than 13,000 Limousin cows (in 126 herds) are part of the voluntary Limousin Inventory Management System. The system helps farmers register and track their cows -- they can contribute more complete and extensive production information to help generate more accurate genetics-based data on the cows and calves.
6	Oct	2007#=#UK (Suffolk)	Two cows infected by the insect-borne disease called bluetongue are recovering here. Signs of the disease are lesions on the nose, sore teats, a slightly swollen face, and conjunctivitis around the eyes. Sometimes the tongue appears blue-ish.  The best prevention is vaccination. Treatments are not often successful so it is a good thing these two moos are getting better. As serious as the disease is for bovines, it does not affect humans.
7	Oct	2007#=#Switzerland (Semsales)	Yesterday the village celebrated the return of the cows, coming to their winter stables after a summer spent on pastures up in the mountains. The name for this is the "desalpe," and in addition to seeing beautiful cows parading, visitors enjoyed a market with local products and crafts.
10	Oct	2007#=#New Zealand (Tarankai)	A yak-a-moo? Supposedly, efforts to cross yaks and dairy cows have met with some success here. Not sure how the cows feel about it!
12	Oct	2007#=#Ohio (Columbus)	Scientists at Ohio State University are looking to see if birds are bringing E. coli to cattle. The birds would do this by putting their droppings in cattle feed. DNA samples will be taken from birds and cows to see what matches and to find out if the birds are at fault. The birds may also spread E. coli to vegetable farms as they fly over.
14	Oct	2007#=#California (Sacramento)	Yesterday, local volunteers were tested in their emergency skills. Part of the training dealt with saving people, but another part concerned saving animals from, for example, a burning barn. In addition the volunteers learned skills in tracking and treating animals, including our fav, the cow.
16	Oct	2007#=#Ireland (Belmullet)	Tom Duffy founded Cow Comfort, Ltd., in 1988, and built the company into a market leader of rubber mats for cows. Then one day in 1999, his factory was destroyed by fire, and it was not certain the business could continue. But due to some luck, encouragement,  investment, and hard work, the business was back up in 2000, and today makes 5,000 mats a week. These "Mayo Mats" are famous the world over for giving comfort to cows. And comfortable cows are more productive cows.
18	Oct	2007#=#Georgia (Moutrie)	The Sunbelt Ag Expo showed that cows are good recyclers. They can eat by-products of several human-food manufacturing processes, such as brewer's grain and distiller's grain. These products are healthy for the cows, and when the cows munch on them, these products don't end up in landfills or causing water quality issues.
19	Oct	2007#=#UK	Incidents of mastitis (inflammation of the udder) are more common now than in the past. Previously, it was spread from cow-to-cow, but today environmental conditions are more important. The Milk Development Council has implemented an educational effort to help milk producers reduce the occurrence of mastitis. So far, it has resulted in a 20% reduction. It is hoped that continuing education and implementation of preventative measures will result in a reduction of 33%.
23	Oct	2007#=#Iowa (Ames)	The new Iowa State University College of Agriculture celebrated the grand opening of its Dairy/Animal Science Education Center and Discovery Facility last Saturday. It will allow students and researchers to excel, and will benefit dairy farmers throughout the state. Along the way, there was some doubt that the facility would get built, but the commitment of many people, including the Ag students, made it happen.
25	Oct	2007#=#Bilsborrow (UK)	Three cows (of Lodge Farm at Myerscough College) decided that the grass was greener on the other side of the fence -- broke out -- and got stuck in a deep ditch with a lot of water. The sides were so steep that they could not climb out. Fortunately, their caretaker found them, but he had to call the fire brigade to rescue the bovines. The firefighters worked for three hours, digging and creating a ramp, to get the cows up the embankment. The cows are all doing fine now and back where they belong.`India (Near Mumbai)	Designers in the One Laptop Per Child project are thinking through ways of using cow power to provide the energy to run their low-cost XO laptops. A dynamo taken from an old Fiat would be driven by belts and pulleys using cows. The villages in the area don't have enough solar, wind, or water power, but they do have plenty of bovines. 
28	Oct	2007#=#Wisconsin (St. Croix County)	What is the impact of "cow emissions" to the atmosphere and global warming? To help find out researchers from the University of Minnesota are collecting samples from two barns and a milking parlor on a farm in Wisconsin. An elaborate system of fans, sensors, and tubing collect the samples from the air. These samples are analyzed by various pieces of equipment to determine what gases are present. Eventually, the data will help scientists get a better idea of what cows are producing besides milk. This effort is part of a larger project testing farms in several states.
30	Oct	2007#=#US	If you do not approve of synthetic hormones, antibiotic use, and genetically modified feed for our bovine friends, then you may want to visit <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cowsunite.org">www.cowsunite.org</a> and join the movement to support the Bovine Bill of Rights.`Utah (Elberta)	Japanese boys visiting the US through the Seinate International School volunteered yesterday to help out at dairy farms in the area. They cleaned water troughs and painted fences. Some of them enjoyed it, while others would have rather gone to Disneyland.
4	Nov	2007#=#Wisconsin (Stratford)	Joe Van Groll started up a renewable energy company called the Grand Meadow Energy LLC after buying the coop cheese plant and converting it with a grant from the state. His company produces ethanol and bio-diesel without using corn or soybeans. Instead he buys a by-product of cheese making, adds a special yeast culture, and produces fuel from it. 
8	Nov	2007#=#New York	Scientists have confirmed the presence of brown root rot in farm fields in New York and other Northeastern states. This fungus attacks alfalfa and clover, and there is no way to control it currently. This could pose serious problems for farmers trying to grow crops for their dairy cows.
9	Nov	2007#=#US	Steve Ells, the CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill announced that the company will switch to using dairy products from pasture-fed cows. He explained his decision by saying that these cows are generally healthier and lead better lives, and this method results in a much more sustainable agricultural system.`California	Researchers at the University of California, Davis, are looking into how much methane is in a cow burp. For 4 months, some cows have been spending each night in a sealed dome. The air is monitored for various gases. Cows on different feed mixtures are staying in different domes to see what impact different food has on the mix. In addition to the cows, another source of gas release has turned out to be silage, if it starts to ferment. 
14	Nov	2007#=#Wales (Cwmdare)	Two cows and a calf were stuck in a deep gulley, so narrow that they were wedged in and could not turn around. The family who owned the property discovered them and had to call the local council to track down their owner. The farmer immediately came to rescue his moos -- which turned out to be a major undertaking. But the cows, besides being hungry, were fine, and all are happily back in their field now.
17	Nov	2007#=#Canada (Stony Mountain)	At the "Holstein Hilton" (a farm in Manitoba), cows are milked by a robot milker. The cows walk in and milk themselves by entering an automated stall. A laser scans each cow and identifies her by her tag so the computer can position the milking equipment for her. The cow also gets an extra snack from the milker, which is a great incentive. Many of the farm's 170 cows line up to get milked after they have their morning meal, but they are free to enter the stall when they want to, which they seem to like. Robotic milkers are catching on in the region, although this farm is one of the first in the province.
20	Nov	2007#=#Minnesota (St. Paul)	Despite the University of Minnesota's desire to add amenities for students, the dairy cattle will not be asked to mooove away. The on-campus presence of the 135 member herd is important for the Department of Animal Science students -- both for hands on experience and for investigating such things as the best diet for calves. So for now, the cows and their fields are safe.
22	Nov	2007#=#Wisconsin (Holcombe)	A teen with leukemia asked for a herd of 33 dairy cows from the Children's Make-A-Wish Foundation. Dylan and his step father fixed up an old barn and are getting everything ready for the arrival of the herd, which will be next spring. Dylan wants to have a career in farming and thinks the cows will give him a good head start. Another reason he wanted his cows is because his mother got her own herd of cattle when she was 14 -- the same age Dylan is now.
25	Nov	2007#=#China (Ningxia Hui)	A local cow gave birth to four calves -- a very unusual event. There were 3 female calves and one male, and all are in good condition.  But 4 is not a record -- a cow in Mexico gave birth to quintuplets in March 2005, which is the world record. Still -- congratulations, Momma Moo!
3	Dec	2007#=#Minnesota (Winona)	Assistant herdsman Nick Celius has a long working day, a lot of it spent dealing with manure. But that's what happens when you have to help take care of 800 cows and heifers every day. His day starts at 2:30am to be in time for the 3am milking -- which continues until 9am. Other work keeps him busy until 4pm most days -- but until 7pm if there is a problem or it's a hoof-trimming day. He works 13 days straight and then has 1 day off. Another thing Nick has to do -- make sure the gate is fastened, because cows can sure run fast when they want to.