The limestone outcrop of the Burren is one of the natural wonders of Ireland — if not Europe — it’s criss-crossing grikes supporting a unique microenvironment and a similarly unique and varied flora. Not to mention generations of botanists. It is also, incidentally, “rich in historical and archaeological sites,” and a great tourist attraction for all these reasons. Now, cows are to play a part in maintaining the landscape.
Or rather, they are to continue playing such a role:
BurrenLife has provided the evidence that the role of cattle is the key factor in conserving the Burren: in controlling the spread of scrub; in ensuring increased biodiversity and in improving water quality.
I ran the article past the only Irishman to hand, and Danny said that
he thought the Burren is one of the only places in the temperate regions of the world where cattle are housed outside throughout the winter. Something to do with heat retention by limestone, or some aspect of the geology. Can anyone expand on this?
No word on whether the eco-friendly Burren cows are a local breed, though.
It’s common to outwinter cattle, especially in the grass fed, low cost producer community. They need shelter from wind to avoid frost bite in very cold areas, and there is a metabolic cost since it takes energy (and so food) to stay warm. Some breeds are more cold tolerant than others but it’s mostly an economic issue. Mostly. There are killing blizzards that tax them beyond their natural ability to handle cold.
A semi-interesting aside is that cows are hot. Their eponymous rumens run at about 104F due to the furious activity of rumen biota. This means that heat is often a worse problem than cold since it takes energy to stay cool as well as warm, yet they need to eat and so refill the rumen to get energy. The hurrier they go the behinder they get. Shade in summer is as important as wind shelter in winter.