Animal Protection Assignment 5 Natalie Krivas

Fair Oaks [Factory] Farm: An Atypical Experience

The Business

Fair Oaks Farm, Fair Oaks, Indiana

There is a dairy farm (with approximately 6,000
cows in the five farms = 30,000 cows total)
There is a pork farmhouse that is new (built two
years ago), but I only toured the dairy adventure.

At Fair Oaks, you have a choice to do the Dairy Adventure

or the Pork Adventure (not Cow or Pig). You can do
both, but at $27 per person, it gets quite expensive. The
tours are also quite lengthy; one and a half hours per
tour. I visited on my way back from my in-laws cottage,
so I had my husband, daughter, and dog with me. Of
Figure 1. Welcome sign at front entrance of Fair Oaks
course, this complicated the visit because our daughter
Farm, Indiana. (nwitimes.com, 2015)
wanted to visit the cute animals, but I was there for the
field experience, and Perry, our companion dog, could not be left in the car for more than five minutes.
Consequently, we organized the visit so that my husband and daughter could walk around with Perry
(touring the outside of the facility, where there were games and play areas for kids) and I purchased the
Dairy Adventure.

Research and Observations

Fair Oaks Farm has a good reputation as a family-fun activity. Researching the company, I found many
excellent reviews, and read that the company prides itself on its excellent treatment of its cows and
pigs. During the tour of the Dairy Adventure, I was
handed a script and got to listen to the history and
description of the farm while on a bus touring the cow
facilities. I was given the script because I specified at the
time of reserving the tour that I was visiting for a school
assignment. I was sure to keep my attitude and tone
upbeat and that of curiosity because I wanted to ensure
that I got as much information as I could without
making the employees and tour guides uneasy or
suspicious of my intent. This act proved to be quite
Figure 2. Fair Oaks busses are "Powered by Poo"
difficult at times because I had to ask challenging
(fofarms.com, 2015)
questions and hold back the fact that I was pretty upset.
I did not get all of my questions answered, but gathered enough information for my first trip there. I
plan on returning to do the Pork Adventure. I still dont know why the tours are called Adventures.

Animal Protection Assignment 5 Natalie Krivas

The Tour
As the tour bus entered the first dry
facility (dry, meaning, cows who are not
currently producing milk), the 1,200 cows
were lined up in small stalls, eating the
fermented corn/hay/vitaminenriched/soy mix provided. It looked like
hay, but as the tour explained, it was a
mix of many different elements, in
order to provide the best meal to
support a happy and healthy cow.
There were large fans for every two or
Figure 3. My first look at the "Dry Facility". (NK, 2015)
three stalls, and water was sprayed
through hoses onto the cows regularly. We were told by the audio script that studies show that a cow
chewing cud is a clear indication that the cow is comfortable. Underneath the cows (in their stalls and
mostly everywhere on the floors) is sand. We are told that sand is inorganic so as to prevent a buildup of
bacteria and spread disease, that the cushioning feel of sand is comfortable for the cows and that it is

Figures 4-5. Cows move about the stalls as they return from milking. (NK, 2015)

changed frequently and replaced by more sand that is sprayed through large hoses. The cows stalls
were not big but looked much bigger than the typical factory farm stalls I have seen. The cows were able
to lie down, move in and out (though I never saw one actually turn around),
and walk around freely from facility to facility. The combination of the open
sides (no walls, just support columns and a slanted roof), the fans, the water
spraying, the sand, the moving cows, and the cud chewing, gave us tourists
the impression that the cows were comfortable. The bus did not drive
through the facility, but drove about one-quarter of the way into it. We got to
see the cows up close. To my right, there were several bigger areas with hay
where mothers and their newborn calves spent their first 24 hours together.
After that, the female calves were brought to their home, which comprised of
what looked like dog houses caged in with a perimeter of about eight feet by Figure 6. Female calves are
moved to their new home,
five feet of metal fencing similar to chicken wire. The fifty doghouses were
where they live until they are
all located outside, about forty feet from their mothers. The male calves were old enough for insemination.
sold to another farm. No other information was provided.
(visitindiana.com)

Animal Protection Assignment 5 Natalie Krivas

The Rotary: The Spinning Wheel of Udder-Pumping
The last stop on our tour was of the rotary. From an industrial perspective, the rotary was ingenious.
The cows stepped in, one at a time, to a stall, where their udders were checked, cleaned, disinfected,
and then hoses for milking were attached to their udders. The cows are in the rotary for about eight
minutes, and are milked for five minutes. As each cow stepped into the rotary, another was exiting.
According to the tour guide, cows love
routine and they want to be milked.
The cows are milked three times a day,
repeating their rotary experience three
times each day. The process gives each
cow four hours of break time before
they start the process again. To the
average person, this process may seem
quite humane. This is if one believes
the gentle older mans voice in the
audio script that cows want to be
milked three times a day, and that they
Figure 7. Cows line up in the rotary to get milked. (NK, 2015)
love routine. Arent they smart? the
tour guide asked as she pointed out the
cows stepping on and backing out.
The audio tour scripted a lot of
information, but there was definitely a
focus on building up the companys
quality of product (milk, and the process
of extracting it from the cows), as well as
how well they treat the cows.
My experience was anything but
enjoyable. While others were curious and
Figure 8. Noticing the branding, I had to hide my tears. (NK, 2015)
intrigued, enjoying all of the beautiful
cows, I was staring at the not-so-subtle brands burned into each cows back. I felt at this moment, after
having seen the calves in dog houses and these mothers branded, that my quintessential idea of farming
had truly shifted: this existence was not enjoyable for them, no matter what the tour guides were telling
us.

The Birthing Barn: Green Means Go

Visiting the birthing barn was bittersweet. How incredible, it
was, to watch the beautiful birth of a newborn calf.
Every time a new calf is born, a green light displayed outside
lights up, encouraging customers to enter the birthing barn.
The light goes off at least once an hour. Certainly, this works
Figure 9. Entering the birthing barn. (NK, 2015)

Animal Protection Assignment 5 Natalie Krivas

well for business, because it insures that most customers will get to witness at least one birth during
their visit. However, this was a disturbing inference to me; it prompted the conclusion of how many
thousands of calves are born each year, and their fate. The woman who helped the cow birth her first
calf didnt seem particularly excited. When I saw this, I asked her a
few questions (post-birth). She had been doing this for 12 years, but I
do not believe that it was her long-term employment and
desensitized experience that had this woman looking down. When I
asked her what sex the newborn was, she said, Male, in a
disappointed tone. Perhaps she was upset for the welfare of the cow.
I am not sure and didnt ask.
The dissonance between Fair Oaks Farm and conventional factory
farms has upset me most. The cows and pigs who live in the Fair Oaks
facilities will live better lives than most factory farms; less stress,
better food, and basically better treatment. But at the end of the day,
this is the best life that an average cow can expect to have in this
country, and it just isnt good
enough. These cows will never
live out their lives on a pasture.
They never leave the facility.
They will give birth to four to
Figure 10. The second birth in one
hour about to occur with the help
seven calves, whom they will only
of Fair Oaks employee. (NK, 2015)
ever see for 24 hours. They
themselves were victims of this from their birth, and the cycle
continues. They are our objects as we seem them fit, and that is
their only purpose. This is the best they can ever hope for. This is
the best theyll ever see and live. You can give them good food, the
happiness of licking their young just after birth, but they do not live
in comfort. Theyre just surviving, not thriving. It just isnt good
enough.
The tour guides were happy to answer my questions. Of course, I
posed more difficult questions carefully. Some I even had to leave
out, as I was placed in a tour with a group of children from a local
day camp. Ironically, one boy did ask what happened to the boy
cows (thank you, young sir!) at which point the tour guide explained Figure 11. A rather disturbing
observation. Calves like this one spend
that they were sold to another company for processing. When the
24 hours here, with their future role
boy questioned further, the tour guide awkwardly explained that
ironically posted above them in what
that is where our beef and hamburgers come from. As it had become could be described as branding, "Drink
Milk". (NK, 2015)
more and awkward for the children (who were surprised at the last
response), the tour guide changed the subject and continued on with our tour. I wish I would have been
able to find the words to continue that conversation diplomatically.

Animal Protection Assignment 5 Natalie Krivas

And Now, the Confession
Admittedly, I did not realize at first that Fair Oaks Farm was a factory farm. They successfully though
temporarily pulled the wool over my eyes (where are those great replacements for expressions from
Residency?!). When retelling the story to friends, and discussing the conflict I had with bringing my
daughter there, it was actually Peter who described it as a factory farm. I felt so foolish for not having
recognized its characteristics immediately. At the end of the day, you can dress up a factory farm all you
want, but forcing thousands of cows and pigs into small stalls, forcing them to milk, forcing semen inside
of them, and stealing their newborns from them just 24 hours after birth do represent the
characteristics of factory farming. I want to be happy that the cows and pigs are being treated better
than most factory farms, but it just isnt good enough.

What Can I Do?

First, I can bring my daughter there, certainly, but ask her how she thinks the cows feel, how the pigs
might feel living in little areas like that. How it might feel to have to live without a mommy or daddy, to
have to say goodbye.
Second, I can have meaningful conversations with people about it, maintaining sensitivity. Its not easy
to discuss such things, especially in groups. I am part of an atheist group that is science-minded, so
perhaps talking about the effects of factory farming has on nonhuman and human animals,
psychologically, physiologically, as well as the planet, might be better-reaching.
It might also serve to mention my husbands and daughters experiences, as they are contrasted with my
experience described above. My husband and daughter experienced Fair Oaks Farm as an average
customer would; the games, rides, and tours were mostly enjoyable. My husbands experience,
however, was soured by some of the same experiences that I had, but he had our daughter there, who
wanted to see the cows, and most certainly didnt understand the implications as we did.
I look forward to developing ways to explain the reality of farms like Fair Oaks to my child and future
students.
Personally, I have to remind myself regularly that these special creatures live their entire lives, day in
and day out, in conditions such as these. Reminding myself will help me to never forget or become
stagnant. I try to focus on the eyes of just one cow, or the mother giving birth and then licking her
newborn calf. There is something inside me that pushes me to acknowledge each precious life.

Animal Protection Assignment 5 Natalie Krivas

References
ADMIN. (2010). Fair Oaks Farm: Where your milkshake came from. Retrieved from Visit Indiana website:
https://visitindiana.com/blog/index.php/2010/07/19/fair-oaks-farms-where-your-milkshake-camefrom/
Fair Oaks Farm. (2015). Our story. Retrieved from Fair Oaks Farm website: https://fofarms.com/
about-us
Valadez, E. M. (2012). Head to Fair Oaks Farm for 'Cowtober Fest'. Retrieved from NWI Times website:
http://www.nwitimes.com/entertainment/music/head-to-fair-oaks-farm-for-cowtoberfest/
article_bae82933-e43d-5004-bd29-4293c85545d7.html