The New York State Fair celebrated the 10th anniversary of its dairy cow birthing center, which aims to educate the public about the dairy industry. The center features six pregnant Holstein dairy cows from Patterson Farms in Auburn, New York.
On the day of the event, three of the cows were showing signs of labor. Tad Patterson, a seventh-generation dairy farmer and assistant herd manager for Patterson Farms, said the cows are all experienced mothers but being in front of a crowd can make them a little nervous.
"They get a little camera shy, so it might take them a little bit longer than normal," Patterson said. "But when that baby wants to come out, they'll make sure it happens."
After about two hours, Mama cow 10146's water broke and she laid down to give birth. At 2:40 p.m., a black 87-pound dairy-beef heifer calf named Reilley was born.
The mother licks off her calf and shortly after Reilley is removed from the pen for safety reasons. Patterson said calves can be stepped on by other cows or contract diseases from their mothers.
Reilley is named after Reilley Patterson, Tad's sister, who had the honor of bottle-feeding the calf its first milk — the colostrum from its mother. She said it felt absolutely amazing to have the first calf of the day named after her.
"Very grateful for it because this is something so meaningful to me to be here," Reilley Patterson said.
The event was also attended by Erin and Claire Malay, of Dewitt, New York. Claire had never seen a cow birth before and said it was "kind of gross". Her mother, Erin, said it made her want to do her homework to know that animals are being treated well.
After the birth, the Patterson Farms cows were sent home and the next group of pregnant cows was brought in. As for what will happen to Reilley the calf next? Tad Patterson said because she's a crossbreed, she'll be sold to a beef farm where she'll live until she's old enough to be processed.
"We could raise all these black cows ourselves and we could have a business doing that," Tad Patterson said. "But that would take away investing into our main profit source, which is the dairy cows and producing milk for consumers. And we just don't really have the land base really to even feed any more cows."
The dairy cow birthing center is a unique opportunity for the public to learn about the dairy industry and see firsthand how cows are born. It is also a way for dairy farmers to educate people about the importance of their work.
Photo Credit: New York State Fair
Categories: New York, Education, Livestock, Dairy Cattle