← on nowLGR-148 · v0.1.0 · model · estimate bobby calves: the numbers
bobby calves · what a bobby is, and what happens to the sons
a bobby calf is a dairy farm’s male calf, a few days old. a cow only gives milk after she has calved, so a dairy herd makes about a calf per cow per year, and half of them are sons: on the order of a hundred million male dairy calves a year, worldwide. none can make milk. dairy breeds grow too slowly for good beef. so almost all are killed young.
method FAO dairy cow numbers (~270 million) × calving rate (~0.85) × half male; national figures from MPI NZ, Dairy Australia, AHDB.
live. this is the channel itself. embed it anywhere:
<iframe src="https://thetoll.earth/?channel=bobby%20calves" width="100%" height="520" style="border:1px solid #D9DDDB" title="the toll · bobby calves"></iframe>
or the whole broadcast, every channel, the same for everyone:
<iframe src="https://thetoll.earth/?embed=1" width="100%" height="520" style="border:1px solid #D9DDDB" title="the toll · on now, everywhere"></iframe>
how this number is built
- method
- FAO dairy cow numbers (~270 million) × calving rate (~0.85) × half male; national figures from MPI NZ, Dairy Australia, AHDB.
- range
- 90–130 million male dairy calves/yr
- confidence
- estimate
- weakness
- the fate split (days / veal / dairy-beef) varies by country and is stated as such; 'almost all killed young' is true everywhere, the age is not.
- dispute
- dispute LGR-148 · corrections are credited
- data
- channels.json (sign-in) · full entry · CC BY 4.0