The life of a dairy cow
Dairy farming is a key sector of Luxembourg’s agricultural industry. Today, most dairy cows are kept in loose housing systems.
Most dairy cows in Luxembourg belong to the Holstein or Fleckvieh breeds. A female bovine is called a cow once she gives birth to her first calf and begins producing milk – usually between the age of two and three. A cow produces milk to feed her calf. In the first few days, the calf drinks its mother’s milk, known as colostrum. This contains vital nutrients that help build the newborn’s immune system. In dairy breeds, calves are separated from their mothers shortly after birth and raised in groups with others of the same age. Most of the female calves remain on the farm and are later raised as dairy cows. The remaining female calves and the male calves are sold, fattened and used for meat production.
After giving birth, a cow produces milk for around 340 days. If she did not have another calf after that, she would stop producing milk. That’s why a cow is usually inseminated again or mated with a bull a few weeks after giving birth. After the milking period ends, the cow is “dried off” for about 60 days, which means she is no longer milked. This allows her body to prepare for the birth of her next calf. Following this cycle, she gives birth roughly every 400 days.
Farmers have to check on their livestock several times a day, ensuring they are well-fed, healthy and properly tended. For dairy cows, this involves feeding and milking them, cleaning out their stalls, providing fresh bedding, trimming their hooves and maintaining both the milking equipment and the barn’s resting, walking and feeding areas. On most dairy farms, cows are kept in loose housing, where they can move about freely. Many barns are also equipped with a milking robot, which the cows can use whenever they like. When cows are milked in a parlour, they are taken there twice a day at set times. The milking equipment is attached manually. Depending on the farm, cows may have access to pasture from spring through to autumn and can graze on grasses, herbs and clover.