We drove all the way to Tamworth, NH tonight to listen to a presentation by Steve Taylor on one of his favorite topics: cows. This man knows more about cows than most anyone you could meet. He branding guidelines know. He is a dairy farmer with about 60 milk cows in his herd.

This was the second attempt to hear this talk. The other time, last year, we had traveled to Bradford, NH and come away with nothing more than some photos of a covered bridge, and the memory of a ready-set audience who was disappointed when illness prevented the speaker from arriving.

Tonight, the library hall was packed with interested people who were eager to hear the talk. I am especially fond of cows. My brother, the late Steve Grace, earned a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture at UNH, and worked as a herdsman for several NH dairies, after giving up on the idea of teaching agriculture. Steve was first introduced to vocational agriculture at Alvirne High School in Hudson where he was able to have hands-on experiences with raising heifers and performing farm chores.

Taylor’s talk tonight covered a broad time period, from the arrival of the first cows, to present-day breeding methods and care of livestock to prevent disease, and to provide adequate nutrition. He referred to a time when the family cow was so important, she lived inside the home (“hovel” he called it) with family members. Taylor knows a lot about processing milk, product safety, and the major distributors in New England. He pointed out how industrialized the process of gathering and packaging milk has become, and also the dangers of the new trend to consume raw milk that is not pasteurized to kill bacteria.

The talk was very informative and we are so happy to have heard it. We enjoyed Steve Taylor’s lecture about sheep last year in Francestown, an extraordinary affair that I wrote about here, at that time.

These events, sponsored by the NH Humanities Council are priceless, although they cost the public nothing to attend. They are always an enriching experience! For more information, please visit:

Patricia Cummings

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