Did you know?

More than half of all endangered species depend on or benefit from grazing cows. Many insects originate from cow manure. Important food sources for insects include pasture plants, such as clover. As cows walk from pasture to barn for milking, their hoof prints make room for sedges on the roadside.
 
Cattle grazing keeps cultural landscapes open, taking care of sea bays and lake inlets. When grazing ends, lush plants such as rushes and reeds quickly take over the area. The shade of the reeds displaces the growth of many plants and bird species fly away, disappearing from the landscape.
 
Livestock not only improves the natural environment, but also improves the structure of arable land. Livestock manure increases the humus structure of the soil. Grassland, which requires livestock, also increases the humus structure of arable land. Humus keeps the soil loose and acts as a water reservoir. Humus acts like a sponge. It can bind a lot of water and release moisture during dry periods. This enables grain to grow even when extreme weather events increase. If the climate changes as predicted, fields with a good humus structure are needed. Fields that regularly receive livestock manure and grow the grass that livestock need.

You may have noticed the disappearance of cows from our rural landscape. In the last decade, around 6,000 dairy farms have disappeared, and since the 1990s, as many as 40,000. The drastic reduction in the number of farms and the increase in the average farm size continue.

It's no wonder, then, that bird and insect species that depend on cows and grazing have declined dramatically, with roughly 40,000 fewer places to live and breed than they did just 30 years ago.

From an environmental perspective, the core of the problem is not the increasing size of farms, but the disappearance of small farms.