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When these Ontario dairy cows see spring pasture for the first time, they jump for joy


In Denmark, it’s called “Dancing Cow Day.” In Ontario, it’s simply the magical spring day when dairy cows are sent back to the fields.


It has been an extra long, brutally cold Canadian winter and “the girls” are twitchy.

The May air is finally warm and scented with fresh pasture. There is human movement at the gate.

The girls — who are dairy cows — surely must remember the 155 acres of paradise that lie beyond the barnyard?

“Once the cows get out that gate,” says farmer Deb Vice, “they’re like kids at recess — pushing and shoving.”

Have you ever seen a dairy cow run? Jump for joy? Kick up its hooves? Buck like a rodeo bull?

That’s what these working girls do on the gorgeous May morning that Deb and Ron Vice let 48 of them out of the barn, out of the corral and into the field for the first time in six months.

Organic dairy farmers Ron and Deb Vice, of Birchwind Holsteins near Oshawa, are just as happy as their cows are when it's warm enough to open up the pasture.

Organic dairy farmers Ron and Deb Vice, of Birchwind Holsteins near Oshawa, are just as happy as their cows are when it’s warm enough to open up the pasture.

The delighted cows stretch, socialize, push and shove, lick each other and take dust baths.

“Getting rid of the winter itchies,” as Deb puts it.

Then the cows lower their black-and-white heads and get down to the serious (but boring to watch) business of grazing.

“Moo,” bellows one cow after an initial frolic.

“You’re welcome,” replies Ron.

“It’s really quite comical,” the third-generation farmer adds. “When I let them out tomorrow it will be like they’ve been doing this for six weeks.”

As far as “letting the cows out” days go, this one at Birchwind Holsteins near Oshawa is picture perfect. Not like last year when the girls blithely walked out and gave a couple of token kicks.

In Denmark, this annual spring ritual has become an informal national holiday as thousands of organic dairy cows are released into the fields at exactly noon on the third Sunday of April.

Danes — nearly a quarter million of them — travel to farms to watch. There’s an online countdown clock already keeping track of the days, hours, minutes and seconds until next year’s event.

They call it “Dancing Cow Day,” although it’s formally called Okodag, or Organic Day, because Organic Denmark organizes the celebration to show how organic dairy cows must be let out to pasture from April to November.

In Canada, the Vices are also organic farmers who are part of the Organic Meadow co-operative. Mother Nature dictates their grazing season, which runs from April or May until October or November.

“For our farmers, heralding the start of pasture season is an exciting time of year,” says Organic Meadow marketing manager Michelle Schmidt. “There is definitely an intrinsic sense of joy in watching their cows graze on fresh, green pasture.”

Nobody’s pushing for a formal “Dancing Cow Day” here, so you’ll have to get to know a farmer to wrangle an invitation.

Ron Vice has never actually heard of the Danish celebration, but once he opens the gates for his herd every spring, it’s like a national holiday — for him.

“Sending the cows out means they can feed themselves and I only have to clean up manure in the barn once a week instead of once a day.”

The idea for this story came from my Star colleague Malene Arpe, who grew up in Denmark. She died this week before we got to show her the “happy cows” video. We will miss her.

Source: The Toronto Star


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