Hug A Cow!

Last weekend we went to my oldest son and his family’s house in Shawano County. Part of the reason we were there was to attend the Shawano County Fair, where my two grandsons display their 4-H projects. Sunday at the fair one of the first places we went was to the Cow Barn where their neighbors, across the highway on a Dairy Farm, displayed their cows. When we were there a little girl, a complete stranger, came up to me and asked me to pet the black and white baby calf that was on display in front of the barn. My first response was to ask her to repeat her request. She again told me to go out and pet the calf in front of the barn. Then her dad told her to stop bothering me and she was gone. After finishing my conversation, I went to the front of the barn to look for the girl and the calf. The baby calf was there but the girl was nowhere in site. I did not think much about the incident until the next day, Monday, when my daughter-in-law asked us at dinner if we noticed that the black and white calf in front of the barn was gone. She explained the calf had gotten ill of heat exposure the day before and had either died or been taken back to the farm. She said that the calf was male, and because of the high cost of feed, baby male calves were going for about $5. She had been told there was a shot that could have been given the calf that was dehydrated, but that the shot cost $15, three times the value of the baby male calf. We do not know if the baby calf was allowed to die or given the shot. Did the girl know that calf was dying when she asked me to pet it?

My son’s family has many acres, and my daughter-in-law and the Graf Kids have planted three gardens on it. Two are vegetable gardens and one, which my son helped to plant, is for fruit trees. Their gardens are overflowing with squash, tomatoes and other vegetables. When my wife asked why our garden did not produce so much stuff, I pointed out that they had many acres of land and we had a very small garden. I also pointed out how our garden lacked the direct sun of their garden and that these gardens had no salad greens, herbs or pole beans, which are plentiful in our small garden. I then put a plug in for making part of our front lawn a vegetable garden. She did not bite. One of the things both gardens, one here and one up north, have in common is the use of compost. Living across the street from a family dairy farm they have plenty of cow manure for their gardens, while my compost is enriched with worm castings.

Cows are important to farming worldwide. In India part of the reason why cows are sacred animals is that cows, although they are not eaten by Hindus, provide a wealth of product for the people. One of the great resources from the cow is manure. It is used for many things from fertilizer to an ingredient of toothpaste. Gandhi wrote a lot about cows and their contribution to society. As we approach the Pilgrimage of Peace, which some of us are taking to India later this year, there will be a lot more on the www.nonviolentworm.org about cows. In the meanwhile, even if a young girl does not ask you, if you have a chance, hug a cow.

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