Rockwood interviewed 400 farmers in 21 states during the summer of 1995. Butler from University of California at Davis and Vernon Crowder with Bank of America. Cows eat more feed when they're on rBGH and feed prices are sky-high right now. Monsanto's research shows that 30 percent to 40 percent of dairy farmers plan to leave the industry within five years, Mr. Steiner said. A new generation of dairymen have different views.
Many older farmers believe their cows are more than mere milk factories to be used up and discarded.
Injecting rBGH reduces a cow's life expectancy and increases her risk of disease. Normally for about 12 weeks after a cow calves, she produces milk at the expense of her own tissues. Eventually her milk output diminishes, her food intake catches up, and she begins to rebuild her body. By injecting rBGH, a farmer can postpone for another 8 to 12 weeks the time when the cow begins rebuilding her body. This means that the cow is stressed for another 8 to 12 weeks and is more susceptible to infection during that period.