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Tagged: dock

Business Beat
2:07 pm
Wed September 26, 2012

Should dairy farmers cut cow tails?

Credit Abbie Fentress Swanson/Harvest Public Media
This cow is getting a hair cut on her tail so her milker won't get whacked in the face with manure.

To dock or not to dock? That is the question.

Well, that’s the question some Midwest dairy farmers are debating now that the National Milk Producers Federation has taken a stand against the widespread practice of cutting off cow tails -- or tail docking. It started decades ago as a method to stop the spread of disease because the tails often becomes slimed with manure. Recent studies suggest the practice isn't necessarily effective, but many dairy farmers still employ the technique to avoid a face full of slimy cow tail.

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Agriculture
5:50 am
Fri September 21, 2012

Here's the short story on cow tails

Many people who haven’t stepped foot on a dairy might think milking a cow is a sort of Emersonian back-to-the land moment, where a milker bonds with his or her cow while communing with nature. Just milk her for a while and voilà: fresh, creamy milk. But the truth is, milking can be a very dirty job.

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