Once Upon A Cow Micro Dairy is a small farm in Western NC that makes yogurt out of cow’s milk. Although they are the spitting image of what one would imagine a “family-run” small dairy to look like, familiar imagery doesn’t cover up the cruel practices that take place there.
The former barn at Once Upon a Cow Micro Dairy
At the beginning of our tour we quickly learned that to begin the process, all female cows are artificially inseminated, and will repeat this process year after year until they are unable to become pregnant.
After their babies are born, they “allow” the mothers and newborn calves to spend a “couple of days” together before separating them for good. During this process of forceful separation, they put them in separate stalls near each other where they can still hear each other crying out, before they eventually break them up for good.
Female calves will eventually become mothers, while young male calves will be slaughtered for veal after they reach weaning age. The hardest part of this dairy tour was meeting the only calf on the farm at the time. He was a young male, all alone and desperate for attention.
He was lying under a patch of shade to hide from heat, and as we approached him it only took him a few moments for us to gain his trust. He showed how curious and playful he was as he tried to gently headbutt us and follow us around the small space. This small calf followed us all the way to the gate as we were leaving, and it was easy to see that he craved more attention and affection.
The Once Upon a Cow Website highlights that they have “well-treated cows” and that they practice “non-violent farming.” Forcing females to give birth, stealing away their babies, and slaughtering young calves in no way demonstrates a commitment to good treatment or non-violence.
Their barn burned down in in December of 2020, but they plan to “come back stronger.”
Before the fire, they sold their products online or for pickup at the Columbus Farmers Market, Asheville City Market, and West Asheville Tailgate market. They also delivered to homes in Polk and Henderson counties.
Asheville Dairy 