Drought = Cow Slaughter

[Guest guest]

I'm just back from visiting Ohio and Michigan. I have to say that the

corn and soybeans look really bad -- especially the corn. Some of it is

only 2 feet tall -- in August. Much of it has yellowish or browning

leaves. It should look very tall and green and lush by now. The drought

is really hitting hard.

 

It's hard to tell how prices will go, because of global competition, but

in general a drought means that prices for feedgrains and hay will

increase. When they do, farmers suffer a loss, because the income they

get for milk is less than what they pay to feed their cows. The usual

result is that during drought years farmers slaughter a higher percentage

of their cows and slaughter their bull calves earlier than they would

normally do. (They don't fatten them first.)

 

In turn, this pushes down the prices for meat, and the meat from the

extra slaughtered cows floods the markets. In turn, this can push down

the price for the animals themselves. In particular, male dairy calves

are often sold on a per pound basis which is the same as the per pound

price for beef.

 

On one hand, this is a tragic situation for the cows. On the other hand,

if there are any devotees who are thinking of getting a cow or a couple

bull calves for oxen, this may be a very good year to do so. Naturally,

getting them from a stockyard is a risky business because of the

likelihood of getting diseased animals.

 

On the other hand, maybe this fall is a good time to look up a Brown

Swiss or Guernsey or Milking Devon (etc.) farmer in your area and let him

know that you might be looking for a good animal that he can no longer

maintain. For example, a cow with coliform mastitis in one quarter might

be too expensive for him to keep. But if her lineage is good, she might

be perfect for you. She can produce perfect daughters and perfect sons

and still give you plenty of milk for your family and a few others. Your

needs are different from the commercial producers.

 

So, many devotees may want to keep this opportunity in mind this year.

 

your servant,

 

Hare Krsna dasi