Young calves and old cows on dairy farms are typically sent to slaughter because they are no longer useful for milk production.
Are there any farms (past or present) that operate as a business and avoid the routine and early killing of cows and calves? (Selling live cows to get them off the farm doesn't count because buyers are likely to slaughter them. I'm looking for farms that keep cows around even into old age.)
Ahimsa Milk in the UK operated between 2014 and 2017 and during that time they collected and sold cow's milk according to their Ahimsa Manifesto. However they seem to have suspended their operations for the time being.
Calves are kept with mothers and elder cows are retired into a non-slaughter herd when their productive days are over.
The retail price of Ahimsa fluid dairy milk is about five times higher than conventional milk. The 30 cows at Ahimsa Dairy live on 72 acres and are expected to produce 23,000 litres of milk annually, or about 1/10th the amount of conventionally farmed dairy cows.
Gita Nagari Eco Farm in Pennsylvania has been operating continously since 1974. However, they seem to rely on donations and retreat experiences for revenue more than sales of liquid milk.
A non-profit organization established in 1974, Gita Nagari is home to the first and only certified slaughter-free dairy farm in North America.
The retail price of this slaughter-free dairy milk is roughly quadruple that of conventional milk. The 80 cattle (mix of cows and oxen) live on 350 acres.
https://www.longdreamfarm.org/dairy.html
This one is in California! I would be curious what people think about it
