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Comment by pkaye | Hacker News Reader

So are cows in Europe, Australia, New Zealand fed 100% grass throughout their life?

In New Zealand, dairy cows, no. Probably 80% - 95%. Many, perhaps most, herds will be 100% pasture fed (grass/clover mix, or just grass.)

There is often supplementary feeding of palm kernel (the solid bits of palm oil seeds left over after the oil is pressed out) maize, and/or lucerne.

Beef cows, these days, yes, almost all. It's part of the branding the country's big meat packers are going for (100% grass fed).

Not 100% but a very large majority of their feed would be fresh grass or silage[1]. If you can't make a profit feeding them grass why are you raising cattle? The economic calculus changes a lot if animal feedstock is highly subsidised like soy or alfalfa in the US but for all its many, many flaws the EU's common agricultural policy is mostly about things people want to eat.

[1] Less confident about this for Australia but I still think that's true.

Frankly, the same is true in Northern California. I see lots of cows out to pasture at all times of year. I'm sure there must be somewhere in the country where it's cheaper to feed grain (or too cold to go outside?), but even with the crazy land prices out here it's cheaper to feed them grass. It's the same price as everything else:

https://cloversonoma.com/

In NorCal there would be more demand for “better” cow products from local grass-fed cows/steers, even if more expensive, right? Some of those West Marin cows have a heck of a nice ocean view while they graze.

This has been going on for a long time. I imagine it’s simply because you can’t really grow crops on the hills but you can use them as pasture.

There are plenty of large concentrated feed lot dairy operations in Northern California as well. Take a look over here, for example, there are several: https://www.google.com/maps/place/36°44'03.7"N+120°14'28.2"W (switch to Satellite view)

Yep, that's Fres(hell)no, the very definition of Central California. Welcome to COVIDlandia! Not much water unless you got rights 100 years ago either. At least they don't grow as much rice in that part of the desert.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_California

I believe it is always cheaper to feed cows grass. The grain is more expensive, but fattens the cow up and produces better marbling, and most would say better taste. That is why it is done.

How can this work, then?

https://www.kerrygoldusa.com/irishgrassfed/

What is confusing you? If you explain what you find puzzling i can try and answer.

Uhm. IIRC the statement that the economies of scale, and subsidies make it economically infeasible (the grass feeding, mostly), and then a company advertising irish dairy products shipped over the ocean (guess they don't do air freight).

I said that a very large majority of at least West European and Kiwi cows' feed is grass so we're in vigourous agreement on the economic viability of grass fed cattle agriculture. If other people think that can't work you provided a good existence disproof.

Oh!

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