MONEE, Ill. — Farmer Luz Klotz straightened the bow to the brightly striped hair of Reba, a 1,600-pound heifer lying on the ground under twinkling fairy lights. Teenager Joey Pachl, hoping to impress his girlfriend by inviting her to the high school prom, paid $75 for an hour-long session of cuddling with a cow on the farm.
Pachl managed to seduce Emma, his animal-loving girlfriend. For Luz and her husband Dan Klotz, these visitors have become essential to covering food bills and keeping their small farm running.
Paying farmers to snuggle up with half-ton heifers is becoming all the rage in the United States thanks to social media. For visitors, cuddling dairy or beef cattle can be therapeutic, or simply an adventure for city dwellers looking for some good country fun.
But this practice of opening barn doors to the public faces a new risk, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed bird flu in dairy herds in nine states.
Scientists said the outbreak was likely most widespread among the country’s more than 26,000 licensed dairy farms, based on the presence of H5N1 particles in about 20% of milk samples. A Texas dairy worker tested positive for the virus, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitored more than 100 exposed people.
Government officials say the risk of human infection is low. But state and federal officials are urging livestock and dairy farmers to limit outside visitors as much as possible.
In Michigan, where a dairy herd tested positive, the head of the state’s agriculture department signed an emergency response order this week providing new health measures and limitations on access to farms commercial dairy and poultry farms from May 8.
The ordinance does not specifically prohibit cow cuddling. But Tim Boring, director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, told Reuters: “From a human and animal health perspective, this is not a good time to cuddle cows. It s “It’s about protecting cows and people.”
Any restrictions could pose economic problems for small family farms that rely on cow cuddling and other agritourism practices to ensure their financial survival. Cow cuddling sessions at De Vor Dairy Farm and Creamery in northern Michigan must be booked weeks in advance and cover the farm’s insurance bill.
“I’m not worried about bird flu, because the farm is already open to the public and we already have safety measures in place,” said farmer Henk De Vor.
Luz and Dan Klotz in Illinois, owners of Luz Farms, have also implemented protective measures to keep their visitors safe and keep their farm in business. An hour of cuddling with a cow earns a bale of hay, enough to feed their small herd for a week.
“It helps a lot,” Dan Klotz said.
Weekend sessions at Clarksville Cow Cuddling at Mary’s Land Farm in Maryland are booked for the next two months. Demand is also high at The Cuddle Corral in Arizona, Texas Gaushala Farm in Texas and Sunset View Creamery in New York, farmers said.
From yoga classes with baby goats to feeding baby piglets, corn mazes and picking sunflower fields, more than 28,600 U.S. farms offered agritourism or recreational services on their land in 2022, generating 1 .26 billion dollars in revenue, or 32%. more than five years earlier, according to USDA data.
Such sources of income are essential right now: U.S. farm income is expected to see its biggest drop in 18 years due to falling crop prices, according to USDA data, and small farms are particularly affected.
“Agritourism is a real economic driver for small farmers who have found a niche,” said Curt Covington, senior director of institutional credit at AgAmerica Lending.
She wanted to say “yes”
Avian flu has spread from migratory birds to dozens of species around the world, worrying public health experts. The USDA believes the virus spreads among cattle primarily through contact with raw milk, Rosemary Sifford, the agency’s chief veterinarian, said on a media call.
Although the USDA has not publicly named the dairies where cows tested positive, the agency told Reuters that the size of affected dairy farms ranged from 300 to 23,000 head.
“Regardless of the size of their farm, all dairy farmers should step up their biosecurity efforts and be vigilant about monitoring and controlling disease in their herds,” said a spokesperson for the dairy service. USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection in a press release.
Cuddly Cow Hosts say they are taking steps to keep visitors and their animals safe.
It was Linda Pachl, Joey’s mother, who first saw a post about Luz Farms’ cow cuddle sessions on Facebook – and suggested the idea to her son. Joey asked the farmers if they could make a banner in Emma’s school colors that said, “Prom?
A week later, as country music blared from the barn’s dilapidated radio, the banner hung on the body of Yogi, a calf from the farm. Pachl elbowed his girlfriend Emma Maiers in the shoulder. “GOOD?” He asked.
“I love cows!” 16-year-old Emma shouted. Pachl smiled. It wasn’t exactly the answer he expected, but he thought she meant ‘yes’.
News Source : www.ksl.com
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