free ranging dairy cows…
…in Norway…
through all four seasons…
…oh, but it's cold outside…
While most Norwegian farmers keep their cows indoors during the winter-season, and don't let them out until the end of April at the earliest, we have to officially note the last day of the year as the day we take them in, and the first day of the following year as the day we let them out again. Such an official note is of course just a formality, but there are plenty of such formalities in Norwegian farming.
Our cows come in for milking 2 times (in high season 3 times) a day. They then all spend from thirty minutes to an hour indoors, taking in supplemental feed while the producing cows are being milked. In the dark seasons the wait extends till silage and whatever other food they need is brought out to respective feed stations.
Apart from that: the time our cows have spent indoors is an average of 3 days a year for the last seven years. Come sunshine, rain or snow, once the doors are opened they head for the pastures, water-posts or outdoor feed stations.
all about the weather…
The weather has always been a popular subject in conversations and media, and now that we humans are also
actually doing something about it – in a negative sense, it has become more
“popular” than ever.
This “popularity” will probably increase in the years to come, and maybe we'll see a more positive
trend – over time.
In the mean time we're doing our little part, as our contribution of greenhouse gasses dropped quite significantly when we let the cows out. Cows don't burn fossil fuel while cultivating the land, they burn carbon-emission neutral grass.
seasonal changes…
Cattle change fur-coat to go with average temperatures and weather conditions, so they are normally well adjusted to the seasons. Winter temperatures around here, ranging from +5° to −30°C, (+40° to −20°F), is no problem for cattle – they can easily take −70°C or colder if given time to adjust. Plowing through a meter (3 feet) of snow to create paths, is no problem for a herd of well-fed and well-trained cows either.
We may have problems clearing the roads during periods of really heavy snowfall so we can refill the feed stations, and that's why we keep the animals indoors between milking and overnight now and then. We try to keep these disruptions short, as cattle in winter-coats don't like staying indoors for long.
weather conditions.
We experience a reasonably wide range of weather-patterns in our part of the world, but it hasn't been too extreme in either direction so far. Looks like really cold winters are a thing of the past, and really warm summers too. A higher number of gray and rainy days throughout the year, seems to be the new norm.
The weather tends to change more rapidly and unpredictable than it did only 10 - 20 years ago though, and this creates some practical problems for cattle and farmers since cattle can't change their fur-coats to cope with rapid changes. This means we have to provide the cattle with more alternatives – shelters and such, so they can choose what's best depending on weather-conditions.
freezing cold.
Rain and temperatures just around freezing-point is also something cows don't like, as a wet fur-coat in zero temperature and maybe strong wind, is pretty unpleasant to say the least. They have shelters against rain out there, and they use them quite a lot under such conditions.
Once the temperature goes a few degrees below freezing, the fur stays dry and insulating, and then the actual temperature doesn't matter all that much anymore. High-yielding cows produce so much heat that their fur stays thin with short hairs, while heifers and cows that don't produce milk may get an over-coat of 10 - 15cm (4 - 6in) long hairs, covering a really woolly under-coat.
We check exposed body-parts on our cows and young animals regularly for any signs of frost-bite, damage or pain. So far we haven't observed any problems related to cold weather. We keep on checking though, as one can never be 100% sure each individual animal manages all conditions equally well.
The best thing about the cold season is that there's no flies. Snow makes soft beds, and the animals are pretty relaxed about everything as long as they have access to water and the food arrives on time.
too warm.
The only condition a cow don't tolerate well at all, is heat. If we humans find it to be a bit too warm for comfort out in the sun, then a cow may find it exhausting – and can even die from overheating.
Really hot days are rare around here, as strong sunshine in this mountainous area creates convection – which in a simple word means “wind”. Fresh air from the nearby sea is drawn in over land, giving a natural cooling effect along the valleys directed towards our low mountains.
Provided plenty of water to drink and shades under the trees or behind rocks, not even the hottest days seem to bother our cows all that much. They do wander less around on the open pastures on such days though.
the best of two worlds…
Free-ranging through all seasons gives the animals the best of both worlds: a life in a pretty natural environment, and protection by humans who care. Unscheduled and sometimes hard work for both humans and animals, but flexibility and hard work do no harm.
The daily routines are fine-tuned once we've had a look at the weather and talked to the cows, and from there it's most often “business as usual”, as in every other way of life.
sincerely 
Hageland 15.oct.2007
last rev: 20.oct.2007
free ranging dairy cows…
