21 votes

Potty trained cows are no joke for the climate (2021)

9 comments

  1. [5]
    gowestyoungman
    Link
    Having spent a little time on and around a feedlot with several thousand cows, not sure how they're going to get those 'cow toilets' working. And the cows spend a great deal of time out in the...

    Having spent a little time on and around a feedlot with several thousand cows, not sure how they're going to get those 'cow toilets' working. And the cows spend a great deal of time out in the pasture spread over quite a few acres. Gonna have to be pretty creative to have cow toilets out in the pasture cause I dont think cows are going to walk a kilometre to have a pee. They're pretty lazy.

    I understand the rationale, and cow urine runoff is definitely an issue. Just highly suspect its going to be a massive job when there are this many cows needing to use the MooLoo: https://www.farmtransparency.org/uploads/mce/Cattle%20KB/feedlot.jpg

    22 votes
    1. [4]
      BashCrandiboot
      Link Parent
      This is the industry signal my bovine diaper business has been waiting for.

      This is the industry signal my bovine diaper business has been waiting for.

      23 votes
      1. [3]
        gowestyoungman
        Link Parent
        Im right behind you with my newly patented Bovine Beauty Bidet.

        Im right behind you with my newly patented Bovine Beauty Bidet.

        7 votes
        1. [2]
          BuckyMcMonks
          Link Parent
          Behind me is where you're needed... I've developed a beef colonic. Is it a colonic for beef or with beef? First one, then the other!

          Behind me is where you're needed...
          I've developed a beef colonic.
          Is it a colonic for beef or with beef?
          First one, then the other!

          4 votes
          1. gowestyoungman
            Link Parent
            Fintech be damned, where are the venture capitalists when you need them?

            Fintech be damned, where are the venture capitalists when you need them?

            1 vote
  2. [2]
    first-must-burn
    Link
    Weird, I was just talking about this with @kingofsnake in another thread. From the article: This is a good reminder how weird research can be sometimes. But I have so many questions. How do they...

    Weird, I was just talking about this with @kingofsnake in another thread.

    From the article:

    But if they urinated outside the MooLoo, they were given a mild punishment: a three-second squirt of cold water (any longer and the cows began to enjoy it).

    This is a good reminder how weird research can be sometimes. But I have so many questions. How do they know three seconds is the right number? Why do the cows enjoy ling bursts but not short ones? I feel like the journalist is trolling us a little. I'm okay with that. It keeps things interesting.

    12 votes
    1. kingofsnake
      Link Parent
      I saw this too and thought of our thread. Let this be a shout out to Tildes and the value of a smaller social network - I wouldn't likely talk to the same person twice on Reddit. Loving it here.

      I saw this too and thought of our thread. Let this be a shout out to Tildes and the value of a smaller social network - I wouldn't likely talk to the same person twice on Reddit.

      Loving it here.

      3 votes
  3. [2]
    boxer_dogs_dance
    Link
    similar to @gowestyoungman, my first thought is that this might be practical for small agriculturalists in places like the Netherlands, Switzerland, perhaps even Vermont or Wisconsin but that it...

    similar to @gowestyoungman, my first thought is that this might be practical for small agriculturalists in places like the Netherlands, Switzerland, perhaps even Vermont or Wisconsin but that it isn't likely to work on the massive ranches of the american west, and even less likely to be possible where the cows are turned out onto publicly owned range land.

    5 votes
    1. clem
      Link Parent
      I suspect that in that range land, their urine might overall be beneficial to the soil. It's loaded with nitrogen, and since they would be spread out, it might not have the problems that it does...

      I suspect that in that range land, their urine might overall be beneficial to the soil. It's loaded with nitrogen, and since they would be spread out, it might not have the problems that it does where it's concentrated. Generally speaking, cows in sustainable systems are good for land. They fertilize it and cycle the nutrients that the plant life provides. But I'm not sure about all the details of this.

      Pretty neat idea to potty-train them. I almost didn't read the article because it sounded so absurd, but then my urge to find out if they were wrong got the better of me. Combined with a composting operation, this could be excellent.

      8 votes