CowSignals is an approach to observing dairy herds that I have enjoyed using for many years. The idea is that it helps us to identify areas for improvement, and to apply the best principles of dairy farming which will benefit the cows, the people who care for them and the planet. I was recently invited onto the ChewinTheCud Podcast by Andrew Jones, to discuss CowSignals with Jo Speed. The three of us are all CowSignals Master trainers and have recently helped deliver a series

That's a pretty hefty claim, but to what extent is it true? Last week I met a wonderful couple from America, Bob and Brie, and they were...

I don't get asked every day is to take part in a breakfast radio phone-in show, so when the Voice of Islam radio station got in touch, I...

Stress isn’t good for us. It shortens our lives, and it leads to “thinking errors” and it isn’t a nice feeling. On cattle farms, stressed...

I have not written a new blog for a few weeks - oops! So, for those of you who delight in listening to podcasts, you might enjoy this...

Cow tipping is the supposed activity of sneaking up on a resting cow and tipping her over so she cannot rise. It is rumoured to be...

A cow spends 8 hours a day chewing her cud. Just lying there, chillin' Cudding is an essential part of digesting her food. First, a bolus...

My Grandad used to have a Jersey herd. That was long gone by the time I was born, but I do remember two old cows, which My Uncle Tony...

Earlier this month, the 9th November, was Govatsa Dwadashi, marking the first day of Diwali celebrations for the Hindu faith. Basically,...

Earlier posts discussed how primitive life forms (archaea) produce methane in the rumen, and how this is an essential part of a...

(Before I write this blog proper, I have to say the most immediately memorable thing I recall as I think about Mr Sábado was how he splat...

This post follows on from talking about the rumen and other three stomachs of the cow. We'll just chew the cud on fermentation a little...

Around a third of a cow is its rumen. That’s stomach number one. It's huge - certainly taking up well over half of her abdomen. The rumen...

There are around 8 million cattle of all ages in Great Britain, with another couple of million in Northern Ireland. We'll stick to GB, as...

The beginning is a strange place. Is it with Buttercup, the Jersey house cow who was such an important part of my childhood? Or Daisy,...