Volume 8 Issue 2 The International Society for Cow Protection 1998

he Minimum Cow ProtectionStandards are ready for com-pletion after a year of net-working with its main au-

thors. These standards have been writtenwith the ISKCON society in mind but canbe adapted to all those persons who wishto establish cow protection facilities offer-ing lifetime protection.

Our new web page is availablefor viewing at http://www.angelfire.com/co/iscowp. It is still under constructionand we have plans for much more in depthinformation to be viewed. It will be an on-going process of distributing cow protec-tion information through the Internet.

The cows viewed on this pageare part of an Adopt a Cow or Ox programat Vrajapura Farm. In the top picture,Vraja, who is already adopted, is happilyeating hay from a hay ring and Subhadra ishappily grazing on the hillside. In this is-sue, read about their varied personalities.

This issue also brings news offinally locating all of ISCOWP at Vra-japura Farm. Ending this year, we arehappy to refer to these accomplishments.

Inside This Issue

ISCOWP Defined page 2

Letters From Around theWorld

page 3-4, 15,19

Minimum Cow ProtectionStandards

page 5,10-14

Meet the Cows and Oxenat Vrajapura Farm

page 6-9,

ISCOWP Update page16 -18

ISCOWP Wish List page 17

ISCOWP has Moved to Vrajapura Farm

Meet the Cows and Oxen!

Page 2 THE ISCOWP NEWS

ISCOWP ProfileISCOWP was incorporated in the state

of Pennsylvania, U.S.A., March 1990, as anon-profit educational organization.William and Irene Dove (Balabhadra dasand Chayadevi dasi) are its managing di-rectors. They are disciples of His DivineGrace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhu-pada, the Founder Acharya of the Interna-tional Society for Krsna Consciousness(ISKCON). Through their spiritual master'steachings, they have imbibed the practicesand benefits, both spiritual and material, oflifetime cow protection.

ISCOWP's primary concern is to pre-sent alternatives to agricultural practicesthat support and depend upon the meat in-dustry and industrialized, petroleum pow-ered machinery. To this end, ISCOWPtrains oxen (male cows or steers) to replacefarm machinery and thereby show an alter-native to their slaughter. The tenets of cowprotection and ox-power are universal andnonsectarian, available to all regardless ofrace, creed, or nationality.

ISCOWP Goals1) To systematically educate all people inthe practice of cow protection in order tocheck the imbalance if values in life and toachieve real unity and peace in the world.

2) To bring the members of the Societytogether with each other, thus developingthe idea within the members, and humanityat large, the great necessity and benefit ofrecognizing the cow as the mother whogives milk to the human society and thebull as the father whose labor in the fieldproduces food for humanity in the form ofgrains and vegetables.

3) To teach and encourage peaceful dietarypractices based on lacto-vegetarianism.

4) To establish branches of the Interna-tional Society for Cow Protection Inc. andencourage any organization that complieswith this charter.

5) To bring the members closer togetherfor the purpose of teaching and establish-

ing a simple agrarian lifestyle based on acow-human-land relationship and utiliz-ing the principle of cruelty free, lifetimeprotection toward all God's creatures,especially the cows and bulls.

6) To establish and maintain a traveling,educational program representing therelevance of the cows and bulls in societytoday.

7) With a view towards achieving theaforementioned purposes, to publish anddistribute periodicals, books and otherwritings.

8) To receive, administer and distributefunds and all other things necessary andproper in furtherance of the above statedpurposes.

ISCOWP ActivitiesOx-power, An Alternative Energy

At ISCOWP's headquarters, Vra-japura Farm, fields for all crops (rice,rye, wheat, herbs and vegetables) are pre-pared by ox-power. In the winter, log-ging by oxen provides wood for heatingand cooking. Due to the oxen's ability tohaul loads, petroleum powered machin-ery is being replaced for farm chores andplans are developing for ox powered ma-chinery to provide electrical power.

Ox-power Seminars

Seminars are given in living class-room settings involving hands-on instruc-tion at locations such as Russia, NorthCarolina, Pennsylvania, and West Vir-ginia, U.S.A. If you wish to partake insuch a seminar or wish to have one inyour area, contact ISCOWP for seminarschedules.

Training Teamsters and Oxen

Teamsters and oxen are trainedworld-wide. Prospective students are en-couraged to contact ISCOWP for eitherindividual instruction or seminar sched-ules. At Vrajapura Farm there are 6trained ox teams available for the train-ing of students.

Educational Videos, Newsletters, and

E-Mail Network

"Training Oxen by Voice Com-

International Society for Cow

Protection, INC. (ISCOWP)

mands" and "ISCOWP Travels to Be-larus" are videos filmed and produced byISCOWP. 8 years in publication, thequarterly ISCOWP News informs itsreaders of cow protection activitiesworld-wide. 5 years in existence, theISKCON COM cow conference offers aforum for practical and philosophicaldiscussions to over 80 members from 18countries. ISCOWP's WEB page offersoriginal cow protection T-shirts and fur-ther information.

ISCOWP Outreach

5 years of travel with oxen through-out the United States’ major cities andtowns has resulted in presenting thou-sands of people with the message of cowprotection and ox-power.

Developing Vrajapura Farm

ISCOWP's headquarters, consistingof 137 acres, provides a setting for sem-inars, hands-on instruction, ISCOWP'soffice, and an example of ox-power andlife centered on the land and cows. AtVrajapura Farm, twenty-four cows andoxen are provided lifetime protection.Recently purchased, it is presently in thebeginning stages of development

ISCOWP ContactUSA Federal Tax Number

All donations to ISCOWP within theUSA are tax deductible.The tax numberis 23-2604082.

ISCOWP Mailing Address

ISCOWPRD 1 NBU #28Moundsville, WV, USA, 26041

ISCOWP Phone & Fax

Phone:1-304-843-1270Fax: 1-304-845-5742

ISCOWP E-Mail

ISCOWP@ovnet.comISCOWP@com.bbt.sehttp://www.angelfire.com/co/iscowp

ISCOWP 3x yr Newsletter

Within the USA: Send $21 check tosnail mail addressOutside USA: Send $25 bank draft ormoney order to snail mail address

ISCOWP T-shirts, videos, information

Please inquire at above addresses.

THE ISCOWP NEWS Page 3

LettersBack to the Land

An elderly Oriental gentleman madesome tours of America and Europe, makinga point to avoid Western clothes and stickto his native dress everywhere. He criti-cized our meat based diet its effect on theland. He spoke to large crowds about thetrue purpose of life, reminding them that"Man does not live by bread alone." Hesaw through the pretensions of advance-ment and spoke strongly about the percep-tions that the people were actually poor,and their diet pathetic, and their culture in acondition of degeneration, not progress. Healluded to the root causes in western philos-ophy that sees humans’ role as conqueringand dominating Nature. I’m referring to theJapanese farmer and writer MasanobuFukuoka. His well known books are One Straw Revolution and The Road Back to Nature.

The exploitative, adversarial attitude tothe land is a key aspect of the demoniacmentality. Sooner or later, it results in soildepletion and catastrophic environmentaldegradation. Depleted soils give only poorquality foodstuffs., and low quality food re-sults in low quality people. That is our pre-sent astonishing situation —we are lost thatwe don’t even know we are lost. In Amer-ica, people tolerate the trashed up soil be-cause they have no idea anymore whatgood land looks like. Land that has been ru-ined by scientific, industrial agriculture andovergrazing of cattle. It is very hard to seeand root out our contamination by the per-vasive conventional assumptions about theland and agriculture. Reading books byFukuoka, Sir Albert Howard, Bill Mollisonet al. is a necessary corrective, a way out ofillusion into truth.

Healing the land and doing only properagriculture is the critical issue of our time.We can heal and purify our minds andhearts at the same time. Cultivating the gar-den of the heart can dovetail nicely withour attempts to work towards the perfectionof love, harmony and beauty on the land.But success requires study and research toclearly identify the problems—the full con-text of how destructive improper agricul-ture has been in world history—so that wecan grasp the solutions. Srila Prabhupadawanted us to be part of the solution, notpart of the problem.

The media today are always pushingthe delusion that the information technol-ogy and “virtual reality” are satisfactoryconsolation prizes for our accepting mas-sive, irreversible environmental degrada-tion. They want to hide the fact that thereis no human health or happiness or peacein a place where the forests and soil havebeen destroyed. This is the central factthat must be in the forefront of our mindsall the time. Also never forget that thereare INHERENT problems with agricul-ture. Read Daniel Quinn’s books to findout how there was no famine, starvationbefore agriculture. And Fukuoka andQuinn both point out that "the momentthat people hearken to the view that firstthere is man and he produces crops of hischoosing, humanity is transformed intoan arrogant lord who commands nature."

“Primitivists” are a segment of theintelligentsia today: they have a deep andbroad critique of agriculture past and pre-sent. Their views are cogent but there area few problems. They have no positive,practical agenda, since for various rea-sons humans can’t go back to the forag-ing way of life. Also they don’t acknowl-edge the existence of the few peasant tra-ditions that did farming in a pious and/orsustainable fashion. E.g. Vedic cultureand cow protection. They correctly fulmi-nate against large-scale agriculture withartificial irrigation that transforms fertilemoist places into desserts through salin-ization...but they have never heard of pi-ous horticulture where people pray fortimely rainfall. Probably Lord Krsna ap-peared when and where and how he did,in order to mercifully highlight the properway people can live on this planet. A wayof life that mitigates the inherent prob-lems and traps of the new farming way oflife. The important features are — every-thing is offered to the Lord. Life is cen-tered on God and permeated with spiri-tual energy. The leaders take vows ofpoverty and service. Peace comes frominterdependence through cooperation, notcompetition. There is very little of the lat-ter, and economic activities are restrictedto one group of the population, for e pe-riod of their lives.

Cows are handled in a certain waythat could be described as protection bor-dering on worship. Why? I’ve been sur-prised at how urban devotees don’t really

understand this. If cows are protected andnot killed, what does that mean? It has abasis beyond the sentimental and reli-gious. Cows are the mother of peaceful/brahminical culture because without theall-important manure, the farmers wouldhave to always be at war, conquering newland, since the old fields would lose fer-tility. The taboo on killing also forces re-strained breeding, and therefore avoidsovergrazing, which also destroys the landand puts peace at an end. It was a perfectsystem whose real goal was to protect theland.

Prabhupada’s goal was to train Brah-mans for leadership and service, high cal-iber people who could discriminate fac-tors of time and circumstances, and thusorient their activities. So, we have to becareful when we quote his words aboutfarm communities in the last years of hislife. For example, in the last newsletterMadhava Gosh quotes Srila Prabhupadaas advocating that ISKCON should be acommunity “independent from outsidehelp.” But that was when ISKCON was ahuge organization that could have been a“parallel subculture.’ Now it is a tiny“enclave subculture.” There is absolutelyno way that any one farm or ISKCON it-self, can be independent/self-sufficient. Ireally think devotees should talk aboutthis and get clear that the goal of devoteefarms are to heal the land, and within thecontext of improving fertility, producefood compatible with the primary goal.The secondary goal is improving food se-curity—and the way to accomplish it is toobey Srila Prabhupada’s guidance thatfarm life be centered in the local scene.Healing the land AND promoting foodsecurity requires farm devotees to net-work with the local and regional progres-sive people who are doing the samethings. These kinds of alliances andbonds are the way to security. These al-liances of local interdependence of sus-tainable farms will lessen the risks offailed harvests and confiscation of plotsby local police and bureaucrats. We can’tafford the naivete that thinks that sinceour work is righteous we will be toler-ated. Any group that can be perceived asa cult cannot afford s posture of isola-tionism.

When devotees think and read a lotabout the four varnas, I’ve noticed they

Page 4 THE ISCOWP NEWS

sometimes slide into a fallacy of attribut-ing validity/legitimacy to this society’slaw enforcement system, etc. What dan-gerous fuzzy thinking! In general, con-sciousness of the four varnas has beenmore harmful than helpful. I’d like to en-courage devotees, especially urban ones,to realize that proper farming, and mak-ing cow protection work, is a critical tasktoday, and one that only high caliberBrahmans can perform. We can’t affordthe luxury of division of labor yet, in ourtask of restoring the land and society.Proper farming today requires a lot of re-search and many skills. Only Brahmanscould do it!

Vandana dasiOzark region USA

Saving SeedsFrom: krishna@spnetctg.comTo: <Cow@com.bbt.se>Subject: Seed saving circlesDate: Saturday, November 28, 1998 8:15PM

Madhava Gosh Prabhuji,You mentioned 'Seed Saving

Circles', are there any such circles amongthe devotees? Are they preserving theseat NV or anywhere else that you know of.We are having a lot of REAL problemstrying to keep alive just 3/4 heritage 'landrace' varieties of paddy (out the manyhundreds that have been lost forever).

The government is still 150%behind these hybrids, and have forced allfarmers to use them in order to get loans,which they need because.(it's a long, cir-cular, and vicious story). I am very muchconcerned about the future of these. Thenew hybrids concocted by IRRI(International Rice Research Institute)branches in Bangladesh (heavily fundedby the Ford Foundation, World Bank, USAid & friends) started off here about 10years ago with seed names like IRRI-1,IRRI-2, now we're into IRRI-36, IRRI-28c, etc. When the crunch comes, andthese new hybrids succumb within a yearor two to the natural environment, thewhole country will face a famine.

It's of course the same story withall the other essential crops vegetables,jute, mustard seeds, etc. Of course wewouldn't be able to use any of the westernseed stocks, but I'd be interested to dis-

cuss the problem(s) involved with anydevotees involved in this area. As far as Iknow, there's no such program in Mayapur.I remember some letters about it in IS-COWP News, but can't seem to find the ap-propriate back issue.

Help? Comments?

From:<Madhava.Gosh.ACBSP@com.bbt.se>To: COM: Cow (Protection and related is-sues) <krishna@spnetctg.com>Subject: Re: Seed saving circlesDate: Sunday, November 29, 1998 10:25AM

There are several groups in theUS working on these problems. Of course ,their focus is seeds from this environment.If you are interested, I could contact themto see if they know of groups in climatethat are working with them.

The preservation of heritagebreeds and seeds is an area devotees couldget into and get donations and good public-ity from in mood of goodness circles.

From: krishna@spnetctg.comTo: <Cow@com.bbt.se>Subject: Seed saving circlesDate: Monday, November 30, 1998 12:25AM

DEFINITELY INTERESTED - ifyou could and it's not too much hassle.There may be some people around, perhapsin India, who are involved in heritage seedpreservation. It might be invaluable to bein contact with them, let's see. Who knows.maybe even someone in this forgottencountry (Bangladesh) that I'm unaware of,unlikely as it seems.

Even US or EC-based groupsmight be of some help to us (if they're'hands-on' people) as we just need informa-tion on how to overcome some practicalproblems:- Maximum storage times (howoften to replant to replenish seed stock);Avoiding cross-pollination with adjacentHybrid & other varieties; Storage, labeling,record-keeping methods; etc..

I'm not so sure about getting dona-tions or funding from others. It's somethingI've always avoided so far, there are far toomany NGOs in this country (all too readyto 'help'). So much funding comes stringsattached, and you must toe-the-line towhatever is the 'in thing' with the interna-tional agencies this season. Although I pre-

sume you are speaking of a quite differ-ent set of people. Are there any mode ofgoodness people with much funds tospare? Of course, time is of the essence(take or leave the 0000 craze), and withso much yet to do, devotees may need toget assistance from any available source,within reason. Certainly there must be atleast some devotees involved in thisarena in the States or Europe.

From:<Madhava.Gosh.ACBSP@com.bbt.se>To:Cow@com.bbt.se;krishna@spnetctg.comSubject: Re: Seed saving circlesDate: Wednesday, December 02, 19989:35 AM

IF you don't have internet access, here isone address I found.

Beauty Without Cruelty,4 Prince of Wales' Drive,Wanowrie,Poona 411 010,India.

Although they may not be directly whatyou want ( I got it from an anti McDon-alds page), they may be able to pointyou in the right direction. I am sendingother separate cover another article fromthat website.

If you have access, here is a great placeto start from.

http://csf.colorado.edu/sustainability/seeds.html

From: COM: Pancaratna (das) ACBSP(Mayapur - IN)To: <Cow@com.bbt.se>; kr-ishna@spnetctg.comSubject: Re: Seed saving circlesDate: Wednesday, December 09, 199811:33 PM

Beauty Without Cruelty is avery nice organization, but they have lit-tle money. They focus on lobbying, likePETA and have been successful. I am amember and get their periodicals. Theymay be good for networking.

> It's of course the same storywith all the other essential crops

(Continued on page 15)

THE ISCOWP NEWS Page 5

MINIMUM COW PROTECTION STAN-DARDS

The following is a list of cow protectionguidelines for ISKCON farms to be pro-posed for acceptance at the 1999 GBCMayapur meetings. Most of the points inthis proposal have been discussed and for-mulated on the Com cow conference most-ly by devotees who have had many years ofexperience caring for cows and/or the land;ISCOWP (Balabhadra das & Chayadevidasi), Madhava Gosh das (NewVrindavana, USA), Hare Krsna dasi (BTG& ISKCON Farm Committee), Rohita das(New Talavan, USA), Radha Krsna das(ACBSP), Shyamasundara das(Bhaktivedanta Manor, England), Laban-galatika dasi (India), Pitavas das & Arad-hya dasi (France), Nistula das(Bangladesh), Dvibhuja das (Talavan,USA) Gopal, Inc. (Yugoslavia), Suresvaradas (ACBSP, ISKCON Farm Committee)and some of its other members. Anuttamadas (ISKCON Communications) has alsocontributed. The purpose of this proposalis to institute a world-wide cow protectionminimum standard within ISKCON. Theproposal represents a cooperative spiritbetween the devotees involved, often ofdiverse views, to come to a general agree-ment in a joint effort to help prevent anymistreatment of ISKCON cows and helpdevelop cow protection programs that ex-emplify Srila Prabhupada's vision of cowprotection.

Mistakes have been made on ISKCONfarms in the past which have created pre-sent problems that will take time and effortto correct. The "Recommended" is the ide-al, the "Permitted" is an exception to theideal, and Not Allowed is self explanatory.There are further issues that need to bestandardized and such proposals will bepresented at the Mayapur meetings of2000.

Your input through suggestions and com-ments are needed to finalized this proposal.Please communicate your response to is-

Minimum Cow Protection Standards

Proposed by members of ISCOWP’s Cow conference

cowp@ovnet.com or ISCOWP, Rd 1NBU #28, Moundsville, WV, 26041USA.

THE COWS ARE AS IMPORTANT ASTHE CITIZENSKrsna Book, Volume 1, Chapter 5

"It is also significant that Vasudeva in-quired about the welfare of Nanda Ma-haraja's animals. The animals, and espe-cially the cows, were protected exactlyin the manner of one's children. Va-sudeva was a ksatriya, and Nanda Ma-haraja was a vaisya. It is the duty of theksatriya to give protection to the citizensof mankind, and it is the duty of thevaisya to give protection to the cows.The cows are as important as the citi-zens. Just as the human citizens shouldbe given all kinds of protection, so thecows also should be given full protec-tion."

BRAHMINICAL CULTURE CANNOTBE MAINTAINED WITHOUT COWPROTECTIONSrimad-Bhagavatam Canto 8: Chapter24, Text 5 Purport

"Without protection of cows, brahmini-cal culture cannot be maintained; andwithout brahminical culture, the aim oflife cannot be fulfilled."

MINIMUM COW PROTECTIONSTANDARDS

The term cows is used herein to meancows, calves, oxen, and bulls.

Cows are domestic animals, not wildanimals. They are dependent on the careof humans.

A) STANDARDS OF AHIMSA (NON-VIOLENCE)1) Protection:2) Organization of Cow Care Facilities:3) Shelter4) Feeding

5) Milking6) Training Oxen7) Traveling Oxen Programs8) Use of Krsna's Properties

1) PROTECTIONRecommended:1) Lifetime ProtectionMaintaining an animal for its full life-time, seeing to its training and engage-ment in productive service.2) Daily Observation of HerdAll animals should be given a daily headcount and health check.3) RecordsShort concise records of conditions of thecows, land and weather must be kept on adaily basis. These records should be reg-ularly consulted and used as a tool toidentify where to improve conditions.4) FencingStone walls, board fence, woven wire,living fences (except Multiflora rose), orhigh tensile is recommended to containby creating an impenetrable border.5) Safety and SecurityAdequate arrangements should be pro-vided to ensure the safety and security ofthe cows from theft, abuse, maltreatment,etc., these may include locking gates,lighting, security surveillance, restrictedaccess or any other arrangements as perlocal circumstances.6) Deatha) While dying the cow should be kept ascomfortable as possible and given asmuch association and transcendentalsound vibrations as possible.b) Calf mortality rate should be nogreater than 5%, the achievable standard.

Permitted1) Daily Observation of HerdFor larger herds with and/or a shortage ofcare givers it is acceptable for the healthcheck to be done on each animal on aweekly basis. However, they must all beobserved and counted on a daily basis.2) RecordsKeeping a farm journal in lieu of individ-

(Continued on page 10)

Page 6 THE ISCOWP NEWS

very cow is different fromevery other cow just as everyhuman is different from anyother. The soul within thecow’s body gives a unique

individuality. If you spend a little timeobserving the cows and oxen, you will no-tice this and come to realize the cows havea society of their own.

In a herd there are those who arethe leaders. In this case it is Vraja andGita. They have the biggest bodies andhorns, so in the bovine society they havethe power. And of the two, Vraja is theking. The reason is that Gita is a gentle-man, and it is not in his nature nor his top-most desire to lord it over others. WhereasVraja takes pleasure in doing just that.

The upside of Vraja’s bullyingnature is that he considers the position ofleader as filled with responsibilities. Ifthere is any danger to anyone in the herd,he is ready to fight. He will give a lowmoan and kick the dirt under his feet.

A few months ago the neighbor'sbull got loose and entered our pasture.Vraja approached him in his fightingmood. However the bull was not afraid ofhim and proceeded to put his head underVraja’s stomach, lift him off his feet (all2000 pounds) and throw him. Vraja didn’tget hurt, but his pride was a little hurt andhe quietly walked away from the bull.

The cow is a very sociable ani-mal. All the cows will stick together mostof the time. When they are in the pasturechewing on the grass, sometimes one willloose awareness that the others havemoved to another pasture. All of a suddenthe cow will look up and be surprised tofind no other cow or ox. Usually you willhear a lot of mooing, and then once shefigures out where the others went she willstart running in that direction. It is quitefun to watch such a big animal run. Theyare surprisingly quite agile.

Right in front of our house is acow path that connects one pasture withanother. The path goes downhill and thecows like to run down the hill and thenwalk in front of the house. So we can lookout the kitchen window and see them run-

Meet the Cows and Oxen at Vrajapura FarmAdopt A Cow or Ox at ISCOWP’s Vrajapura Farm.

Bottom: Name: Bhima, Age: 3 1/2 years

old, Breed: Holstein & Simmental, Herd

Status: Honest worker, Nature: Bhima is

stoic in nature yet affectionate and a

loner. He knows the voice commands

and has hauled firewood.

How to Adopt:

1) Adoption is $420 for one year or $35 a month for one year. Adop-

tion helps to cover the maintenance of your cow or ox.

2) Put your check, addressed to ISCOWP, in the enclosed envelope for

$420 or $35 and the name of the cow or ox you have chosen to adopt.

2) You receive a monthly picture update on your adopted cow or ox ,

an "8 by 10" photo of the animal of your choice, and the good feeling

that you are helping to protect Lord Krsna’s cows.

ning and then look out the living roomwindow and see them walking. Some-times Gita or Vraja stop walking andthere is a traffic jam in front of ourhouse. Everyone has to wait for them todecide to move, the other cows wouldnever dare to shove them.

There are subgroups within the

major group. For instance, Jaya andNanda, a trained team, will often be seentogether but a little distant from the oth-ers. The young girls have a tendency tostay with each other. Separate from the

herd, Gita or Vraja can be seen with agirlfriend. They will stick with that onegirl for awhile and then start associatingwith another girl for awhile.

(Continued on page 8)

THE ISCOWP NEWS Page 7

Left Top: Name: Ganga, Age: 3 years old in March,

Breed: Holstein, Herd Status: Princess, Nature: Ganga is

very affectionate, but at the same time she can be very

pushy with the other cows. Strong willed, she knows what

she wants and how to get it when it comes to eating. She

is curious and therefore has been found numerous times

on the other side of the fence enjoying herself, always

with a smile on her face.

Left Middle: Name: Gaurangi, Age 3 1/2 years old,

Breed: Holstein, Herd status: Honest cow, Nature: From

birth she has been shy, but she definitely likes to receive

her share of affection (pats and rubs) on her head, throat,

back and chest.

Right Middle: Name: Virendra, Age: 2 years old,

Breed: Jersey Holstein, Herd Status: Mid manage-

ment. Nature: Thrifty, protective, loner, intelligent,

very loving. He is already adopted by Kamalesh &

Arti Shah.

Right Bottom: Name: Bhumi, Age: 3 1/2 years old,

Breed: Holstein, Herd Status: Princess, Nature: She

is very pretty with a distinctive white band on her left

side and different colored eyelashes on each eye.

One eye has white eyelashes and the other eye has

black eyelashes. She also has dainty upturned horns

and knows how to use them if she is displeased.

Whenever Ganga is found on the other side of the

fence, Bhumi can be found also, a partner in crime.

She is capable of being a rascal, but most of the time

she is loving and affectionate. She is trained to voice

commands.

Page 8 THE ISCOWP NEWS

It’s not that we have a uniqueherd, all herds have a society structure.There is always the possibility that whenyou introduce a new cow or ox into theherd they will not be accepted. When wemoved to Vrajapura Farm in September webrought Jitendra (adopted by Kamaleshand Arti Shah) and Partha with us. Wewere a little concerned that they would getbullied. There was a little pushing andshoving at first, but they ended up gettingalong nicely.

We have 23 cows and oxen atVrajapura Farm. Vraja and Gita are IS-COWP’s original oxen and came with usfrom North Carolina, the place of theirbirth. Nineteen of the herd are from NewVrindavana’s herd.

If you have taken a look at theMinimum Cow Standards in this issue youwill see that there are many problems toavoid when dealing with a cow protectionprogram. One of them is over breedingwith the inaccurate concept that you canrun a cow protection program as youwould a commercial dairy. This happenedon many ISKCON farms, New Vrindavanabeing one. The reason this doesn’t work isbecause in a cow protection program youdo not kill the young bull calves, unpro-ductive milk cows and the old and infirmas you do in a commercial dairy program.The killing provides you with a profit mar-

(Continued from page 6)

Top - Name: Agni, Age: 3 years old in

March, Breed: Limousin & Holstein,

Herd Status: Honest worker , Nature:

Sweet, intelligent, honest worker who

pays attention during work and ex-

tremely handsome. The black and white

photo does not give him justice as he is a

beautiful red color characteristic of the

Limousine breed. Trained to basic voice

commands, Agni is part of the team Agni

and Shyam who are used for basic train-

ing for new teamsters.

Middle: -Name: Kalki, Age: 3 1/2 years

old, Breed: Simmental & Holstein, Herd

Status: Honest cow, Nature: She can be

very affectionate, but can also be quite

guarded with her affection. She had a

brush with death two summers ago but is

now doing very well. She is built like a

tank and has on many occasions pro-

tected smaller cows from bullies in the

herd.

Bottom:- Name: Jaya and Nanda, Age:

gin. When you provide lifetime protec-tion for such animals there is no profitmargin unless you work the oxen.

We have helped to relieve theovercrowded conditions at the NewVrndavan barn by providing shelter for19 cows and oxen. Most of our oxenare trained to various degrees and canbe productive. Your adoption helpsprovide for their upkeep. It does nottake into consideration barn construc-tion and upkeep, water maintenance,training, and basically all the ingredi-ents of a working farm. But it does

THE ISCOWP NEWS Page 9

provide for your adopted cow’s generalfeed and care. And it helps tremendouslyin carrying on the goal of establishing cowprotection.

The goal is that the cows and oxenwill eventually provide for themselves bythe oxen working the fields and producingvegetables and grains that we can use forour own consumption (thus lowering thegrocery bill ) and the excess we can sell.At this point, as you may know, we are atthe beginning stage of establishing Vra-japura Farm as a cow protection facility,and so it is a gradual process of putting allthe pieces in place to accomplish the endresult of an ideal cow protection facility.But as you can see the cows and oxen hereare enjoying a very nice environment andare happy. Adoptions help us to providefor their lifetime protection while we builda working farm for them. Most of our read-ers are responsible for this present resultby supporting us through the years. Wethank you very much, and so do the cows.

4, Breed: Simmental and Holstein, Herd

Status: Of the big animals they are at the

bottom because of their gentlemanly de-

meanor. They are a handsome trained

team who have hauled firewood. Jaya is

mostly white with light brown spots,

Nanda is mostly medium brown with white

spots.

Top: Name: Vishaka, Age: 3 1/2 years old

in April, Breed: Holstein, Herd Status:

Upper level management, Nature: Ex-

tremely shy as a young calf and not until

she was 6 months old did she become com-

fortable with people. She is partially

trained to voice commands and now you

can walk up to her and give her a big hug.

She is intelligent, likes hanging out with

the big guys, and will stand her ground if

picked on. With an extremely white face, on each eye it looks like she is wearing

black eye shadow.

Top - Name:Padma, Age: 3 years old at the end of October, Breed: Pure

Holstein, Herd Status: Senior man, Nature: He was abandoned at birth by his

mother and since the second day of his life he has been handled, treated and

trained with a lot of love. Very intelligent and humble yet he will stand his guard

when need be. In addition he is very handsome with beautiful horns, fully trained

and experienced in the woods.

Middle- Name: Ganda, Age: 3 years old at the end of October, Breed: Pure

Holstein, Herd Status: Senior man, Nature: He is very honorable and honest, a

hard worker, handsome and not afraid to stand up to the big guys. Padma and

Ganda (Ganda also fully trained and experienced in the woods) are a hard

working team.

Page 10 THE ISCOWP NEWS

ual records.3) Fencinga) Electric wire fencing permitted when inneed of temporary and immediate fencing.It is particularly useful for rotational graz-ing.b) Barbed wire permitted in areas of lowpressure and where other types of fencingwould be impractical to use, but should notbe used where animals are concentrated.

Not Allowed1) Transferring OwnershipTransferring of ownership or the use ofcows to a non-devotee.2) Deatha) Failure to provide adequate feed, shelter,and health care.b) Performing euthanasiac) Placing a sick animal in a position wherehe/she will be eaten, frozen, etc. causingdeath.d) Neglecting the cow while she dies.e) Calf mortality rateHaving a rate of 10% or more indicates aserious problem in the cow protection pro-gram. This can be determined retroactivelyby seeing how many cows are milking, orhave been milking in the last 2-3 years anddetermining how many of their calves arestill alive.3) Daily Observation of HerdFailing to perform regular observationsresulting in loss of animals to rustlers.4) FencingFailing to provide adequate fencing to con-trol animal's movement. There should beno barbed wire in areas where animals areconcentrated and in areas of high pressure,i.e. it shouldn't be used between a pastureand a meadow or crops field.5) Safety and SecurityFailing to provide adequate arrangementsto ensure the safety and security of thecows as stated in #5 of recommended.2)ORGANIZATION OF COW CARE FA-CILITIESRecommended1) Devotees owning their own land andcows with communal grazing and harvest-ing.2) A Cow/Land Trust established to securecow care.3) Breeding conducted with careful consid-eration to land capacity.

(Continued from page 5) Permitted1) Centralized temple goshalla operatedby a few devotees where there is an abun-dant congregation to support the goshallaand a Cow/Land Trust to secure the cowcare.2) Small privately owned family farmsworking with the Cow/Land Trust.3) Both following breeding programsmaintaining proper proportion of animalsto land capacity.

Not Allowed1) Maintaining a centralized templegoshalla without appropriate manpower,congregational support, and Cow/LandTrust.2) Breeding without consideration forland capacity.

3) SHELTERRecommended1) Winter Sheltera) All cows should have available shelterfrom the wind, rain, and snow. An openbarn or shed facing away from the direc-tion of the prevailing winds is much pre-ferred to a closed building. Many dis-eases thrive in a warm, humid environ-ment as found in some closed buildings.Drafts should be prevented as much aspossible in open buildings.b) Adjoining outside exercise lot.2) Clean water and salt available at alltimes.3) Summer Sheltera) All cows should have shade from thesun, either in tree shade or housing.b) All feed must be fed so as to preventmixture with manure.4) All shelter should have available sun-light and ventilation.5) All shelters should have clean floorswith bedding.a) Use of dry bedding of some type isimportant. Maintaining cows on dry sur-faces helps prevent many foot problemssuch as hoof rot.b) Pens should be cleaned daily.c) Pens with concrete floors are prefer-able to muddy lots and should have a suf-ficient layer of bedding6) Feed isles or mangers should be pro-vided within the shelter so feed can notbe pulled into the area where the cowsare, therefore preventing waste and feedbeing mixed with manure.

Permitted1) Clean rest areas without bedding.

Not Allowed1) Failing to provide shelter that does notprotect against the wind, rain, and snow.2) Failing to provide shade in the sum-mer.3) Failing to provide sunlight and venti-lation.4) Failing to provide clean feeding condi-tions.5) Failing to provide water (also in freez-ing weather) and salt.6) Forcing cows to lie in sloppy, filthypens.7) Forcing calves to nurse on cows whichhave been lying in manure.8) Overcrowding.

4) FEEDINGRecommended1) All cows should have pasturing facili-ties. Herding and intensive rotationalgrazing are the recommended methods ofpasturing.2) Dieta) Milking cows, growing and workingoxen, and breeding bulls should be fedgrains or high quality supplemental feedssuch as silage.b) Change from one type of feed to an-other, especially from dry feeds to freshfeeds, should be done gradually so thatbloating, which can lead to death, doesnot occur.c) Clean water and salt should always beavailable.d) All feeding should be done under thesupervision of the primary cowherder.e) There should be sufficient feedingspace so that all animals can eat withoutundo stress from herd mates.f) Hay or other feed should be availablefor all animals when natural browsing isinsufficient to provide minimal require-ments.

Permitted1) Pasturing with as much rotation ofpaddocks as possible.2) Tethering is permitted when sufficientpasturing grounds are not available. Teth-ering with consistent availability of greengrasses and exercise can be done underexperienced supervision with the safetyand comfort of the animal as the primary

THE ISCOWP NEWS Page 11

consideration.3) If cows are being fed bhoga andprasadam scraps (not from human plates)in addition to their other feed then suchfeeding must be carefully monitored by theprimary cowherder.4) While pasturing in sufficient greengrasses hay may be omitted for healthycows.5) Where there is a restriction in movementat least an exercise yard with access to sun-light and/or daily walks must be provided.6) If grazing grounds are limited, or non-existent in ratio to the number of cows thenthere must be a plan to provide grazingland or replenish existing land.

Not Allowed1) Tethering without care and attention tothe cows safety and comfort, without ac-cess to hay or other fibrous type of forage,salt, or water after tethering, without suffi-cient exercise, with access only to poorquality forage, and with unsafe equipmentsuch as a rope around the neck.2) Confining totally.3) Dieta) Feeding by-products of animal slaugh-ter.b) Feeding prasadam scraps from humanplates.c) Throwing cow's hay and grains on theground where they can walk on it and passstool on it.(refer to 3b & 6 of Standard 3Shelter).c) Feeding a diet consisting entirely ofbhoga and prasadam scraps (scraps notfrom human plates).d) Failing to follow 2a through 2e of rec-ommended.

5) MILKINGRecommended:1) Training CowsCows should be trained in voice commandsfor the purpose of safety during events,every day health checks, etc.2) MilkingMilking should be done by hand by trainedexperienced milkers who regularly milk thesame cow(s).3) A Calf and Mothera) Should have continuous association forthe first ten days so the calf can acquire theessential colostrum.b) Should have access to mother aftermilking morning and evening for at least

fifteen minutes each time.c) Should be weaned no earlier than sixmonths, weaning must be gradual.

Permitted1) Training CowsCows can be trained to lead by halter orgentle herding techniques. This is forsafety and health checks, not working asoxen.2) MilkingMilking should be done by hand.3) A Calf and Mothera) Calves may be bottle fed, the time andduration of feeding to remain unchangedfrom the recommended.b) A plan must be presented to correctbottle feeding allowing for the calves tobe with their mothers.c) Gradual weaning can be prior to 6months If the calf changes color or loos-es interest in milk (ruling out illness),

Not Allowed1) Ill TreatmentFailing to develop a personal relationshipleading to excessive use of: whips, prods,beating, rough treatment, and violence tothe animal.2) Milkinga) Milking by hand in which the follow-ing occur: pinch, pull or any other meansthat may result in the animal becomingdisturbed.b) Milking by machine is not acceptableand can only be done when in a crisissituation, i.e. lack of sufficient cowherd-ers. A plan to correct the crisis situationmust be presented.c) Failing to provide all calves access tomother's milk either directly from thecow or by milk bottle.d) Feeding calves milk replacement or bythe bucket method.3) Working cows as oxen except in direemergency.

6) TRAINING OXENRecommended1) Training oxen should begin at 2-4months to develop a relationship of loveand trust. No work is done at this time.2) Training should be by voice com-mands or Indian technique of piercednose with rope halter.

Permitted:1) Training at a later age but still devel-oping a relationship of love and trust.

Not Allowed1) Using whips excessively, beating,rough treatment, and violence to theoxen.

7) TRAVELING AND PREACHINGPROGRAMS(Such programs represent ISKCON tothe public. If there is an unfortunate inci-dent it is ISKCON that can be sued andattacked, not the individuals handling theanimals. With this fact in mind, the fol-lowing is written:)

Recommended:1) Before traveling, all oxen must be welltrained with a proven working reliabilityby an experienced teamster.2) All cows and calves involved must betrained to voice commands and/or halterbroken.3) All animals in such programs musthave had previous experience in the as-sociation of people so as to not be in astate of shock when taken to be viewedby a crowd.4) The health, safety and general well-being of all animals in such programstakes priority over achieving inappropri-ate daily distance or preaching goals.5) The fair and considerate treatment ofany uncooperative animal.6) Oxen should be handled by experi-enced teamsters only.7) Cows, calves should be handled bypersons approved by the primarycowherder. They should have had someprevious experience caring for the ani-mal.8) Transported OxenMust be Well-provided at All TimesWith:a) Sufficient space to lay down and rest.b) Sufficient ventilation, sunlight andprotection from bad weather.c) Safe & secure transport facilities(doors closed while traveling,vehicles and/or trailers must be a in well-maintained condition).d) Sufficient food, water, and salt.e) Sufficient exercise by being un-trail-ered at night and when not traveling.f) Daily health check.

Page 12 THE ISCOWP NEWS

9) Walking OxenIn addition to all the above should have:a) Appropriate and timely foot-care(including shoeing, when needed).b) Extra rest time and health-care.c) Their load must be appropriate to theirstrength, health, and age, and approved byan experienced teamster.f) Daily health check, legs and feet ofwalking oxen given special attention.11) On a monthly basis, the oxen shouldhave a complete health examination by alocal government orapproved veterinarian.12) Short concise records of health andtemperament of the oxen, local land condi-tions, weather, distances traveled, and pub-lic interest shown to the oxen should bekept on a daily basis.13) All local laws of health and insurancemust be followed.

Permitted1) If the person handling the oxen is not anexperienced teamster it is to be understoodhe is in training and under the strict super-vision by an experienced teamster.

Not Allowed1) Training programs consisting of only 1to 7 days previous to beginning traveling.2) Preaching or traveling goal taking prior-ity over the health and well being of theanimal.3) Inducing an animal to cooperate with theprogram's goals by excessive violence.4) Handling of oxen by persons who do notmeet the definition of an experienced team-ster and are not in training to be teamsters.5) Handling of cows and calves by personswho have had no previous experience deal-ing with them.6) Failing to provide transported animalsand those traveling by foot the recom-mended of #6 through #10.

8) USE OF KRISHNA'S PROPERTYRecommended1) Any property (land and cows) belongingto the Deity is to be protected by environ-mentally sound/Vastu sastra conservationpractices designed with the long term fer-tility and preservation of the soil in mind.2) Construction of convenient wateringplaces like ponds and tanks and easily ac-cessible shade is appreciated by the cows.

Permitted1) Land maybe burned only when densegrowth needs to be removed to increaseproductivity.2)Timbera) Conditions for TimberingIndividual select cuttings of trees may bedone for the erection of homes, roadright-of-ways, construction of fence lines,crop land, or pasture.b) Use of Timber CutTrees so cut must be utilized for con-struction purposes or firewood.c) ReplacementWhen deemed necessary to forest healthand supply, trees cut should be replacedby planting new ones in appropriate lo-cations

Not Allowed1) Grazing of animals on ISKCON/devo-tee property who are destined for slaugh-ter.2) Removing sod or yearly burning ofcrop or grazing land.3) Clear cutting of trees.4) Cutting of trees on steep land or landwhich may be prone to erosion or anyother activity that may lead to erosion.5) Performing activity that may lead tocontamination of any bodies of water.6) Selling or exchanging land used bycows except where the cows will directlybenefit or such sales will increase theassets of the cows.7) Allowing unauthorized passage ofpeople without permission from templemanagement and the knowledge of theprimary cowherder.

B) BREEDING STANDARDS9) Requirements for Acquiring Cows10) Selection of Breeding Stock11) Castration12) Impregnation of Cows

9)REQUIREMENTS FOR ACQUIRINGCOWSRecommended1) Animal Acquisitiona) A cow should not be acquired or bredwith the intent to furnish milk without aconcrete plan to provide for the care andthe lifetime engagement of its resultingoffspring.b) Cows should be acquired from thenearest local, ISKCON farm.

2) Sufficient LandCare includes sufficient productive land,held in a Cow/Land Trust and maintainedin a self-reliant, low impact manner whichis available to support the offspring.3) Engagement of All Stock.Lifetime engagement includes all malecalves born be trained and worked andfemale calves be trained to voice com-mands or halter broken.

Permitted1) Use of Non-devotee LandThe acquirement of grazing rights, orleasing of land from non-devotees to pro-vide sufficient land for the cows' support.2) Trust funds and Lifetime AdoptionThe establishment of trust funds and life-time adoption, the proceeds of which areadequate to care for the calf through it'sentire life.3) The Purchase of Forage.Purchase of forage without any plan forfuture sustainable agricultural practices.4) Leasing CowsArrangements for leasing cows to othersis permitted where they contribute to theoverall goal of cow protection, andwhere the leaser is legally bound to abideby all Cow Protection Standards, includ-ing, but not limited to, arrangement madefor lifetime protection of both cow andcalf.5) Acquiring Cows From Non-devoteesWhen the nearest ISKCON Farm is prac-tically too far for safe transport, or has noneed to give cows away, purchase fromnon-devotees is permitted.

Not Allowed1) Animal AcquisitionProcuring or breeding of a cow for thepurpose of supplying milk without anyplan for the care, training and engagementof offspring.2) Lack of Land and Funds for AnimalCareFailing to provide sufficient land, cow-herders, and funds to support the cowand/or offspring.3) The Purchase of ForagePurchasing of forage without any plan forfuture sustainable agricultural practices.4) Leasing CowsLeasing cows without the legally bindingand well monitored contracts as de-scribed in # 4 of permitted.

THE ISCOWP NEWS Page 13

5) Acquiring Cows From Non-devoteesBuying cows from non-devotees instead offrom local, overcrowded ISKCON Farmswhen practical transportation of cows ispossible.

10) SELECTION OF BREEDING STOCKRecommended1) Choosing Breeda) Choice should be made on the basis ofretaining traits desirable and appropriatefor ISKCON devotee's particular needs.b) Heritage breeds should be consideredbefore more recent breeds.2) Choosing Desirable Traitsa) Choice should be made on the basis ofdocility, longevity, resilience, and the abil-ity to thrive on low-quality feeds.b) Milking cow traits include, in addition:longevity of milking, ability to producemilk on low-quality feeds, durability, easeof handling and leadingc) Working oxen traits include, in addition,the ability to work well, durability, ease oftraining, and strong hoof history lineage.3) Geographical Considerationsa) Choice of breeding stock depends agreat deal upon local conditions and avail-ability.b) Breeds that are excellent choices for onearea may not be good choices for other ar-eas. For example, the 'Taurean' breeds aregood for temperate climates while the'Zebu' types are better for the tropics.4) CrossbreedingIt is recommended to use existing stockwith an appropriate crossbreeding program,conducted by an experienced breeder, tobreed in the desirable breeds and breed outthe original bloodline.

PermittedNo exception to the recommended.

Not Allowed1) Choosing exotic breeds that are unsuit-able for location and purposes.2) Breeding done without appropriateknowledge.

11) CASTRATIONRecommended:1) Bull calves of European breeds shouldbe castrated at 6 months to a year. Indianbreeds should be castrated at 1 year to 2years.2) The method of castration should be by

emasculation, specifically using the toolbordezio (bloodless castration) performedby a professional veterinarian.

Permitted:1) Cutting by a professional veterinarian.

Not Allowed:1) Banding (using rubber bands aroundthe testicles until they drop off).2) Performing acceptable methods of cas-tration without a professional veterinari-an.

12) IMPREGNATION OF COWSRecommended:1) Cows should be impregnated by usingbulls as requested by Srila Prabhupada.Such bulls must be properly enclosed toensure proper safety and to avoid un-scheduled pregnancies.2) Careful records of breeding must bekept in order to avoid unplanned inbreed-ing.3) When a bull can not be kept safely andhumanely, use of a community bullor neighbor's bulls is recommended.

Permitted:1) Artificial Insemination may be usedwhen in special circumstances bulls can-not be properly maintained. Bulls from aneighbor (even though not farmed ac-cording to Vaisnava principles) may alsobe used if they are suitable.2) Inbreeding maybe practiced only understrict conditions by an experiencedbreeder.

Not Allowed1) Keeping bulls without restricting themin a bull-proof stockade or fence. Suchlack of precaution will invariably lead tounscheduled breeding. It can also be acause of life-threatening accidents to thecowherders, or guests.2) Keeping a bull without following thesame standards given herein for the cows.3) Keeping a bull without association. Atleast one ox should be kept with him, toprevent boredom.4) Keeping the bull in adjacent pasturesor stalls to cows he should not breed.

MANAGEMENT STANDARDS13) Responsibility of Local Community14) Local GBC Responsibility

15) Standing Investigation Committee13) RESPONSIBILITY OF LOCALCOMMUNITYRecommended1) Housing and use of ISKCON landcontracted to devotees who seriouslywish to protect cows and work the land.2) Land BaseCow programs should be increasing theland base available to cow herding, notdecreasing.a) Lands may be sold or exchanged onlyif there is an offsetting advantage and anincrease to the overall program.b) New land acquired to be given, leased,sold at fair market value to those whoseriously wish to protect cows and workthe land. Any income generated fromsuch transferred land should be used tobenefit the cow protection programs.c) The determination of land sales in re-gard to what is best for the cows shouldbe made by the cows primary cowherd-ers, and not solely community authorities.3) Ox-power ProduceOx-power produce should be purchasedfrom the goshalla at above fair marketprice by temple and devotees. Milk fromprotected cows should be sold at a premi-um, with the amount above market valueused to make capital contributions to aCow Protection Trust Fund.4) Cow RemainsAfter all reasonable efforts have beentaken to maintain the soul in the body ofthe cow, when the soul has left the bodyof the cow, there is no bar to someonerecycling the body if they see fit.5) Goshalla ReportingManagers of goshalla should be account-able for quarterly presenting facts andfigures that show the value of the cows,their services provided (i.e. plowing,transport, labor, publicity), their produceand their by-products.

Permitted1) Milk and Ox-power Producea) When cows and cowherders are suffi-ciently supported by temple, milk andproduce can be given to the temple.b) Milk and ox-power produce bought atmarket value by temple and devotees.2) Land BaseLands may be put into private hands ifthere is a means easily monitored andmanaged by which the land will continue

Page 14 THE ISCOWP NEWS

to be used for cow protection, i.e. retentionof grazing rights, leasing agreements, orthe establishment of a fund dedicated toobtaining new land.

Not Allowed1) Land Basea) Selling lands for the sake of generatingcash flow to deal with non-capital expen-ditures is strictly forbidden except inemergency situations and then only afterapproval by the Minister of Agricultureand the approval of the GBC.b) Selling land currently used by cowsshould not be undertaken that decreasesthe over all land base available to thecows.2) Taxing of goshalla.3) Milk and Ox-power ProduceConsuming milk and produce withoutcompensation to the goshalla.5) Cow RemainsUsing the body of a dead cow by cow pro-tectors for profit making activity to such apoint that it encourages negligence thatcontributes to the cow's death.6) Goshalla ReportingFailing to present facts and figures thatshow the value of the cows, their servicesprovided (i.e. plowing, transport, labor,publicity), their produce and their by-prod-ucts.

14) LOCAL GBC RESPONSIBILITYRecommended1) The GBC Should Quarterlya) Meet with cowherders and ox trainersb) Visit the cow facilitiesc) Present written reports to the Ministryand for his/her own files.d) Report forms will be provided to theGBC2) Investigation of AbusesWhen a GBC receives reports of cowabuse in his/her locale, the complaint mustbe investigated by the GBC and if foundtrue, the situation must be corrected byconsultation with local Farm Council andthe Ministry.3) Follow-up by Investigation Team.Where no action has been initiated afterone week following investigation or theMinistry deems the action insufficient, theMinistry will appoint an investigation teamto create a report specifying actions neededto correct the situation.4) ISKCON's Ministry of Justice In-

volvement.If corrections are not initiated within onemonth following the initial abuse report,the problem will be referred toISKCON's Ministry of Justice for furtheraction to protect the cows.

Permitted1) Monitor Appointed Substitute.The GBC may appoint a monitor to rep-resent him in investigating cow abuse inrelation to these standards and to fulfillhis quarterly meetings and reports. TheGBC must personally make one visita-tion to the cowherders and cow facilitiesannually, the monitor fulfilling all otherduties.2) Selection of Monitor.The monitor may be chosen from the Lo-cal Farm Council (the intent being he isknowledgeable in agricultural practices)or come from outside the communitychosen because of nonagricultural rea-sons) and to be chosen at the GBC's dis-cretion.

Not AllowedFailing to follow the above standards inpart or whole.

15) INVESTIGATION TEAM (IT)Recommended1) Selection of ITThe Ministry will collect a world-widelist of devotees to act as a resource pool.Such devotees will be knowledgeable ofthe standards and have agricultural expe-rience. From this list the Ministry willselect an appropriate IT.2) TravelTo defray travel expense, members of thelist who live closest to the problem inquestion will be chosen first. Membersare encouraged to provide travel ex-pense. A fund can eventually be set up tohelp with travel expense.3) Membership of ITThe IT should consist of 2 or more devo-tees not involved in the management ofthe program being investigated and aprofessional suited to the particular situ-ation selected by the IT. The professionalshould not be currently employed by thefarm under investigation (this cost is tobe met by the local temple).4) Duties of ITThe IT will arrange for group meetings

and individual interviews with partiesconcerned and is responsible for the com-pilation of reports given to all GBC con-cerned (Local Commissioner, GlobalSecretary, Justice and Cow ProtectionMinistries).

PermittedSame as recommended

Not AllowedFailing to follow the above standards inpart or whole.

GLOSSARYBy-products:Leather and bones are by-products of the cow after death

Clear cutting: Complete removal of allnatural species of plants.

Concentrates: Protein supplements andgrains.

Cow/Land Trust: Capital funds set asidefor long term production. Use of assetsand income generated from assets benefitthe cows.

Exotic Breeds: A breed that is not nativeto your area.

Experienced Breeder: One who has aminimum of three years working withcows and bulls under guidance. He mustknow how to interpret breeding chartsand be able to distinguish the weaknessand strengths of particular animals whencompared to other related or non-relatedanimals.

Experienced Teamster: One who has hadat least 2 years experience with caring forcows prior to becoming a teamster andhas at least one year experience workingwith oxen both in the field and at preach-ing events.

Forage: Food for horses or cows includ-ing high protein supplements and grains.

Goshalla: A cow sanctuary, where cows,bullocks and bulls are fully protected,productively engaged, and receive tenderloving care for their entire lives.

(Continued on page 19)

THE ISCOWP NEWS Page 15

vegetables, jute, mustard seeds, etc. Ofcourse we wouldn't be able to use any ofthe western seed stocks, but I'd be inter-ested to discuss the problem(s) involvedwith any devotees involved in this area. Asfar as I know, there's no such program inMayapur.>

Not yet. But it is on the agendafor our Sustainable Agriculture project inthe Sri Mayapur Vikas Sangha (the NGOwe have set up to do development work inthe region of Mayapur - particularly in thevillages and particularly with poor peo-ple). Dina Dayal prabhu is working on it.We should form a partnership. I feel thereare many areas we could collaborate on.For example, we are also putting togethera "heritage breeds" revival project to try torevive the various indigenous pure cowbreeds which are dying out. We have spo-ken to the program officer of the India sec-tion of the Global Environment Facility.He has encouraged us to submit a grantproposal in their medium projects category(up to $1 million) for this as part of theirefforts for bio-diversity protection and en-hancement.

We would also build in the seedsaving program. We want to tie up withVandana Shiva, who is the leader in Indiain this area. We are also considering tyingup with another NGO that is doing a suc-cessful seed exchange program amongstlocal farmers.

Do you have an ISKCON inde-pendent, non-religious NGO set up there?If you do (or could set it up ) we could dosome joint projects. Let's discuss this morein private e-mail (so as not to burden thisconference).

From: iscowp <iscowp@ovnet.com>To:<krishna@spnetctg.com>Cow@com.bbt.se <Pancaratna.ACBSP@com.bbt.se>Subject: Re: Seed saving circlesDate: Thursday, December 10, 1998 12:16PMDear Nistula prabhu,

We received recently a letterfrom a disciple of Srila Prabhupada by thename of Vandana dasi who lives in theOzark region of America. In her letter wasan article about Vandana Shiva and herwork. Your concerns are her concerns aswell and somehow to connect with herwould be wonderful . Some Resource

(Continued from page 4) contacts were listed in the article.Dr. Vandana ShivaFoundation for Science, Technology,andNatural Resource PolicyA-60, Hauz KhasNew Delhi 11016IndiaFax (011) 91-11- 6856795

There was no e-mail addresslisted for them.Another source listed was :Collective Heritage Institute826 Camino de Monte ReySanta Fe, New Mexico 87501U.S.A.e-mail address is: chisf@aol.comhttp://www.Bioneers.org

Also there is a group in NewMexico who are very active in researchin seed saving and the sale of organicopen pollinated seeds by the Name ofSEEDS OF CHANGE. there e-mail ad-dress is; gardener@seedsofchange.com,www.seedsofchange.com

I also agree with Madhava Goshabout approaching the "old timers" in thedifferent villages in your specific regionwho were the growers of the old varietiesof which you are looking for. Spendtime with them and become friends andyou will be surprised as to the knowl-edge and treasures they will bestow onyou and your project. If you receive lo-cal seeds and grow them successfullyand make the seed available I'm sure thatyou will have no shortage of local sup-port. When all the hybrids are failing forone reason or another your crops will bethriving due to them being heritage stockfrom your local area proven over many,many, generations. When an "old timer"gives you seed I feel that it is importantthat after you grow out that seed and areBLESSED with fresh seed stock that yougive him back some of the fresh seedstock for his personal seed bank.

Also a little note to Pancaratnaprabhu, the name of this conference isCow Protection and RELATED TOPICSso please don't feel that you will be bur-dening the conference with practical in-formation that we will all find of use.Each area is different unto itself so manyseed banks will need to be established.

Straw-bale ConstructionFrom: the black range<blackrange@zianet.com>To: <krishna@spnetctg.com> (NistulaPrabhu from Bangladesh)Subject: Re: newsletter inquiryCc:biwb@juno.com,<duckchow@mail2.greenbuilder.com>

Thank you for your inquiry to TheLast Straw (TLS)-- as the Managing Edi-tor, I am replying, with the concurrence ofour small staff.. I will also copy this to theformer publishers of TLS, Judy Knox andMatts Myhrman, who have the straw-baleconstruction company called Out OnBale,(Un)Limited. They are leading edu-cators in straw-bale building, and publishthe current best how-to book "Build ItWith Bales."

>At 06:27 PM 11/20/98 -0700, youwrote:Dear The Last Straw people,

I read about your informativenewsletter in the "ISCOWP NEWS.">We don't know what this publication is,but would appreciate getting a copy.

>We are a rural 'ashram' or pro-ject in Bangladesh concerned with self-reliance, and such related environmental& social issues. We produce much of ownfood, shelter (mostly mud), as well as ourown paper (from water hyacinth & ricehay), cold-pressed oil, vegetable inks, andso on...

We are just recovering from onethe greatest floods in living history (andthat's saying a lot in a country that floodsregularly, several times a year). Some ofour buildings were damaged, and need re-building. Winter fast is approaching andit's the traditional or preferred time forconstruction of all kinds. From what wehave read & heard, are particularly inter-ested in introducing straw bale construc-tion. It may be an efficient & low-cost so-lution to construction here We haveplenty of rice straw that we grow organi-cally using only oxen.

The principal question may bethe rather hot & humid climate here. Ofcourse without your experience, we'llnever really know.>

There IS enough historical andcurrent information to cautiously

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Page 16 THE ISCOWP NEWS

ISCOWP

UPDATE

$2885. In the same area of the barn all the ma-nure that had collected for 15 years was re-moved revealing the cement floor.

Another improvement has been in thebarn’s feed aisle. Along the feed aisle, individ-ual slots were created where the cows couldput their heads through a wooden partition andeat the hay in the aisle. Now the cows feedwith less pushing and shoving, and they areunable to pull any of the feed out of the aisleand onto the barn floor. Therefore we shouldnow be getting far less waste with our feed.

In the last newsletter we mentionedthat we were building the floor to facilitatestoring small square bales which could beplaced in the feeding aisle by just about any-one since they are not so heavy. The squarebales are now being used in the feeding aisleand working quite well. We still have pur-chased big bales as we did not have the floordone in time to store enough square bales.

Top - Balabhadra, Baladeva, and Ray

have installed doors on the barn which

will protect the cows from the winter

winds.

Middle -Hay rings separate the large

bales of hay from the cows’ manure.

Bottom Our small garden produced

delicious tomatoes and peppers. We

canned tomatoes and tomato chutney,

which also contained the peppers. We

expect to do more in the garden next

year, since we will be living right here.

B arn Improvements

The barn floor has been completed and more work has been done in the

barn. Due to improper water drainage, amuddy situation for the cows was cre-ated which often left the cows knee deepin mud when attempting to enter thebarn. A drainage pipe was placed intothe ground and cement was poured in thearea. Now the rain water leaves the areaand drains into the open field and anymuddy situation is additionally pre-vented because of the concrete. This cost

THE ISCOWP NEWS Page 17

Another improvement has beento install doors on the front of the barn.This will help to protect the cows againstthe wind in the winter. These doors slideacross the front of the barn on a runner.

The roof at the front of the barnhas been patched with new tin and thewooden rafters trimmed. The finishingtouch will be to paint the barn and theroof which will beautify the entire barnand atmosphere. The paint has alreadybeen bought, but painting can not bedone till after winter.

Ox Power Herb Company Campaign

The campaign ends this Decem-ber. looks like we have collected approx-imately $27,000. We will let you know indetail in the next issue that will containISCOWP’s annual report.

As you can see by reading thisupdate a lot of energy has been put intofixing up the barn for increased workingefficiency and comfort of the cows.Much of the work we didn’t foresee asnecessary until we used the barn forabout a year and could see the problemswith it which could not be ignored. Thishas slowed us down a bit with the Ox-power Herb Company development.

Top - New feed aisle to facilitate clean and thrifty use of hay.

Middle - One of the cows’ barn entrances is now mud free due to installing a drain-

age system. Manure has been removed, some of it having been there for 15 years.

Bottom - Balabhadra fixing the front barn roof with new tin.

Wish ListWish ListWish ListWish List

Ondura Roofing $1000(Refurbishing building next to thebarn)

Plane Ticket to Europe $1500(Balabhadra visiting ISKCONFarms for Ministry development)

Color Printer $300(Printing of greeting cards, calen-dars, picture letters)

Seed Storage Containers $200(Seeds, roots, bulbs to start seedbank for Ox Power Herb Com-pany)

Office Chair $450(Ergonomic health chair)

Page 18 THE ISCOWP NEWS

However the next stages of its develop-ment can only be done in the Spring, i.e.planting the garden and putting in thecement floor for the herb processingbuilding. This winter we will be workingon removing the rose bushes from thegarden site.

Our New Home

We are very happy to be in ournew home. The move, of course, wasstrenuous and time consuming. Pleaserecall that this is the basement to one anda half straw-bale stories yet to be built.The outside of the house is not finishedbecause we will be using stucco and it isbest to finish the entire house at once.The roof is temporary since it must beremoved to build the next stories.

We are finding that the buildingis extremely well insulated since it isbuilt into the hill and is made of onesolid wall of concrete. The front win-dows, south facing, let in much sunlightand heat which warms the house. Actu-ally the basement can be considered amodified Earth Shelter. The difference isthat the roof does not have sky lightswhich would allow more sunlight in theback rooms where the windows are smalldue to the back being placed into the hill-side.

We are totally amazed at theretention of heat. This winter has beenwarm so far but we are still burning lesswood than anyone else we know. Every-one is amazed at how warm it is whenthey enter the house and surprised to hearthat we have not made a fire that day. We

Top: The front of our basement home looking

out over the pasture.

Middle: Inside view of the house from the

front door. Notice the floor. It is cement, but

has a smooth textured feel and look. The local

contractor who poured it said he would get it

as smooth as glass. We had no idea it would

turn out so nice. Surprisingly it is not cold. We

have waxed it and now it shines and is non

porous.

Bottom: Balabhadra and Baladev sitting at

the kitchen table where one can view the hill-

sides.

expect that in the summer, it will be coolwithout fans or air conditioners. We’lldefinitely let you know.

The basement consists of a smallkitchen and living room (which accessthe large front windows), laundry room,bathroom, three bedrooms, and a utilityroom. It is 30 ft by 40 ft. The view fromthe front windows is very beautiful; wecan see the sunrise over the hills and thecows grazing.

ISCOWP Newsletter

In the last year, the newsletterhas evolved to 16 pages an issue and 3issues a year. For several years we had 12pages and 4 issues a year. The first issuewas 6 pages. More in depth informationfrom other cow protectors has been com-ing our way and the more recent formathas been more workable for our officeand newsletter staff of one (Chayadevi).We hope this meets with your approval.

THE ISCOWP NEWS Page 19

Bombay. His e-mail is,<agrao@idc.litb.ernrt.in > He will cer-tainly know who to talk to about bamboohousing projects.

Also a woman named RituVaruni [ph. (30360) 214-949 c/o ArotiMize Dongi Polo Vidya Bhawanitalagar,India ] expressed a strong interest in tra-ditional bamboo building and crafts, andseemed to have a lot of informationabout it. Sorry no e-mail.

Our best wishes for successfulrebuilding!Best Regards,Catherine Wanek, Managing Editor

The Last StrawThe Grassroots Journal of Straw Bale &Natural BuildingHC66, Box 119Hillsboro, NM 88042(505) 895-5400 /fax (505) 895-3326thelaststraw@zianet.com>http://www.strawhomes.com

From: iscowp <iscowp@ovnet.com>To: krishna@spnetctg.com,cow@com.bbt.seSubject: Re: Strawbale housing inBangladeshDate: Thursday, December 03, 1998 7:39

Nistula Prabhu writes:>As it seems machine-bales are

the standard, we're left in the dust.>Good news, you are not left in

the dust. you may ask for blueprints fromthe following companies that make handbalers:1) Herrandina,Marte 581,Brena, Lima 5,Peru2) Carib Agro-industries Ltd., ResearchCentre, Edgehill, St Thomas, Barbados3)Jetmaster (PVT) LTD, PO Box 948,Harare, Zimbabwe

Also Balabhadra remembersthat Tillers had someone in Tanzania thatwas making hand balers. Tillers address:5239 South 24th StreetKalamazoo, MI 49002Phone 616/344-3233Fax 616/344 3238Web page http://www.wmich.edu/tillers

Heritage: Traditional, non-hybrid seedsand animal breeds used historically insustainable, locally viable systems.

Inbreeding: Breeding within same familyline. There are two forms; line breedingwhere distantly related animals are bredto strengthen a particular trait they havein common and inbreeding where bothanimals used are within three generationsof each other. For example grandsire togranddaughter, cousins, dam to son,brother to sister.

Land Capacity: The number of cows theland can support. Supporting the cow ad-equately means to provide grazing and/orproduce fodder for year-round mainte-nance of a specific number of cows, usinglocal or intensive natural agriculture prac-tices. By talking to local farmers or gov-ernment agencies, carrying capacity of theland in the local area can be determined.This can vary widely from area to area. Ifthe carrying capacity of the land is 5 acresper cow x 3 bred per year x 10yrs(average life span) =150 acres.

Low impact: Agriculture that uses local-ized techniques that are sustainable andenvironmentally viable. Labor intensiverather than capital intensive.

Primary Cowherder: This refers to theperson who the community holds respon-sible for the practical everyday care of thecows. He/she may be in charge of othercowherders.

Produce: Milk, dung, urine are producefrom the cow.

Self-reliant: Producing more than is con-sumed of most of the basic essentials

Silage: Fermented feeds stored in silos orbunkers, most commonly corn.

Stock: Cows, Oxen, bulls, calves - theherd.

Tether: To limit a cow's pasturing abilityby tying the cow to a fixed spot.

(Continued from page 14)

recommend straw-bale construction in ahot humid climate. Moisture beingthe"enemy," two building strategies seemto be most appropriate:#1 - Design to keep the walls from beingsoaked during rain events.Usually thismeans designing wide overhanging roofsor porches. Back splash from rain fallingoff the roof is also important to avoid, asis wetting the bales from water flowingacross the ground. Appropriately >tallfootings and diverting water around thehouse site should work fine.#2 - A "breathable" plaster seems to bevery important in allowing walls to dry outthat accidentally do get wet. We advocateearthen or lime plasters rather thancement-based stuccos, and adamantly op-pose "moisture barriers" (such as Tyvek orroofing felt) which professional"conventional" builders in the U.S. oftenuse on their wood-frame homes. Earthenplasters are, of course, much cheaper aswell, and it sounds as if mud is abundantlyavailable to you.

We would certainly be interestedin hearing about your experiences if youdo choose to build with bales.

It is often useful (but not essen-tial) to have on-site instruction in buildingwith bales (especially at the beginning).Judy and Matts of Out On Bale could cer-tainly provide that, as well as other strawbale builders we know. Let us know if youwish assistance with that as well.

One final thought-- I recently re-turned from an international conferenceabout bamboo and became aware thatthere are significant land-regeneration andlow-cost building projects being accom-plished in India. I believe that there arepeople working in India utilizing thesetechniques with bamboo poles as structure,and mud and straw as infill. Your mudplaster mix, by the way, sounds very effec-tive and sticky. However, I would recom-mend a "moisture barrier" between yourbrick foundations and what ever wall sys-tem you choose to build on top, as bricksARE porous and could wick water up intoyour wall system.

While I must admit I don't knowhim personally, perhaps the best person Icould refer you to from the recent BambooCongress in Costa Rica is Professor A.G.Rao, Indian Institute of Technology in

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Page 20 THE ISCOWP NEWS

THE ISCOWP NEWS

The International Society for Cow Protection

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Tel # 304-843-1270

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Saved From the Slaughterhouse

Seasons Greetings From the Cows and Oxen at Vrajapura