Four decades ago, New Castle County here in Delaware was wall to wall cow country, a county green with farms surrounding Wilmington and the little town of Newark. Now I take my portable milking machine and model rubber udder to elementary schools, high schools and youth camps to demonstrate to youngsters where their milk comes from. You should see the happy surprise on those kids' faces when they put a finger into one of the teat cups and feel the vacuum and pulsation that milks the udder. Perhaps we can be thankful for our Amish dairy farmers who still hold on to the farm life that we can only reminisce about. Today it is only 15 percent, a measure of our progress for the common good.
Studies show that for human health people require a certain amount of green space.
Among our five leading U.S. dairy states, cow numbers in California are up by 3 percent. In Wisconsin, cow numbers declined last year by 1.8 percent, in Minnesota by 3.9 percentand in New York by 2 percent. Pennsylvania showed no change. New York had no change. Among better nutrition, better health and better reproduction in our dairy herds, our best opportunities are in trying to improve the many inefficiencies in reproduction.