This is the first interview we did. On a rainy day we went, with a camera, to a farm for the interview.

What kind of animals do they keep?
At the end of the Oosterweg in Haren is a farm from the farmer Mr. Hoving. Father and son work together in the farm. They have 55 cows, mottled, from the Holstein Frisian breed. They're milked in a fish bone milk sty. This means the cows are standing in a fish bone pattern when they're milked. 12 cows can be milked  at the same time. 

Where do the cows eat?
The cows are in the grassland outside from May 31 till November 1 . At about 6 am and pm they go into the sty and then they're milked.  
They get ensilaged grass, morsels and grass. In the winter the grass doesn't grow fast enough, so they have to stay inside, then they also get remainder material from the suger factory and the potato flour factory, corn- and citrus remainder, which contains minerals, and coconuts. 

When does a cow produce milk?
A cow gives milk about 300 days a year. A cow gives birth to a calf once a year . A new-born calf weighs about 45 kg, a full-grown cow weighs a 600 kg and a bull weighs 650 kg. When a cow is born  the farmer will often keep it, but a bull will be sold and will go to the butcher. 
A cow can reach about 12 or 13 years of age. 
Calf's gets to eat milk during the first three months . Then they drink water and eats the same things as a cow. In the second month they start get morsels and in the third month hay too.  
A cow gives about 160 Litter of milk a week. This milk can be infected with diseases or inflammations. The percentage of fat can differ too. The milk is collected at the farm every three days.

Johanna's, Tina's and Dora's
Al cows have a name. There are Johanna’s, Tina’s and Dora’s. After one of these name's you  get a number. A cow can get the name Johanna 138 in this way. The cows are recognized by looking at the drawing. Of each cow a drawing has to be made. The farmer does this him self. 
All the cows get a yellow ear marker.. On the ear marker is a number. A cow gets a ear marker when it's 14 days old. The farmer doesn't need the ear markers. 

Old cows
Old cows are brought to the butcher when they don't produce enough milk. When a cow dies, it's picked up at the farm to be burned.  

Dung
The dung that is produced by the cows is spread over the grassland and used for the kitchen garden. Only when it's winter the farmer finds the dung annoying. Then they produce as much as 14 cubic meters of dung.

Bio-industy
The farmer's opinion about bio-industry;" I don't have any problems with it, as long as the animals are kept in a good way." He has no plans in the direction of becoming a bio-industry farmer; "It's not allowed here and I don't have time for it.".   

Read about how this can be done in a different way  

 
 Drinking calf's  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 Cows in the sty