MONEE, Illinois – Farmer Luz Klotz straightens a 1,600-pound heifer with a brightly striped hair bow. Teenager Joey Patchell, hoping to impress his girlfriend with an invitation to his high school prom, paid $75 for an hour-long cow hug at his farm.
Patchel successfully impresses her animal-loving girlfriend, Emma. For Luz and her husband, Dan Klotz, such visitors are key to covering feed bills and running their small farm.
Paying farmers to snatch half a ton of heifers is popular 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 old country fun.
But this practice of opening barn doors to the public faces a new threat, with the US Department of Agriculture confirming cases of bird flu in dairy herds across nine states.
Scientists said the outbreak was widespread at more than 26,000 licensed dairy farms in the country, based on the findings of H5N1 particles in 20 percent of milk samples. A Texas dairy worker has been confirmed to have the virus, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tracked more than 100 people.
Government officials say the risk of human infection is low. But state and federal government officials urge cattle and dairy farmers to limit foreign visitors as much as possible.
In Michigan, where one dairy herd tested positive, the head of the state Department of Agriculture this week signed an emergency response order beginning May 8 with new sanitation measures and restrictions on dairy and commercial poultry production.
The commandment does not expressly prohibit hugging a cow. But Tim Boring, director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, told Reuters: “From a human to animal health perspective, now is not a good time to hug cows. This is to protect cows and people.”
Any restrictions could create economic hardship for small family farms that rely on cow-hugging and other agri-tourism practices to provide a financial lifeline. Reserve cow-hugging sessions at De Voor Dairy Farm & Creamery in northern Michigan 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 Devore.
Luz and Dan Klotz, owners of Luz Farms in Illinois, have taken precautions to ensure the safety of their visitors and keep their farm running. An hour of cuddling a cow pays for one bindo of straw – enough to feed their small herd for a week.
“It helps a lot,” Dan Klotz said.
Weekend sessions at Clarksville Cow Cuddling at Maryland Farm in Maryland are booked for the next two months. Farmers said interest was high at Cuddle Corral in Arizona, Gaushala Farm in Texas and Sunrise Creamery in New York.
From yoga classes to feeding goats and pigs, to corn mazes and sunflower fields, more than 28,600 U.S. farms will offer agro-tourism or recreational services on their land by 2022 — $1.26 billion in revenue, up 32% from five years ago, USDA data show.
Such sources of income are key right now: U.S. farm incomes are expected to hit their biggest level in 18 years as crop prices plummet, USDA data show, and small farms are being hit especially hard.
“Agri-tourism is a real economic driver for small farmers,” said Kurt Covington, senior director of lending at AgAmerica Lending Institute.
She said ‘yes’
Bird flu has spread from migratory birds to dozens of species worldwide, according to public health experts. The USDA believes the virus is primarily spread between cattle through contact with raw milk, the agency’s chief of veterinary medicine, Rosemary Seaford, said on a media call.
The USDA has not officially named the dairies where cows have tested positive, but the agency told Reuters the number of affected dairies ranged from 300 to 23,000.
A USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service spokesperson said in a statement: “All dairy producers, regardless of size of operation, should strengthen biosecurity efforts and be proactive in monitoring and controlling disease in their herds.”
Cowshed operators say they take steps to ensure the safety of visitors and animals.
It was Joey’s mother, Linda Patchell, who first saw a post on Facebook about Luz Farms’ cow trick sessions — and suggested the idea to her daughter. Joey calls the farmers in Emma’s school colors, “Prom?” He asked them if they could make a banner.
A week later, as country music blares over the barn’s beat-up radio, a banner hangs over Yogi’s calf on the farm. Patchel shook her girlfriend Emma Myers’ shoulder. “all right?” he asked.
“I love cows!” shouted Emma, 16. Patchel smiled. Not exactly the answer he was expecting, but he thought it was a “yes.”