The Secret Life of Cows

This meditative little book isn’t new, because it came out first in 2003, when it was published by a small farming press. But then a beady-eyed editor at Faber noticed Alan Bennett had praised it in his diary with the result that it has now been republished. Its author, Rosamund Young, must be thrilled – or maybe not. Having read her book, The Secret Life of Cows, which is very sensible but also somewhat dreamy and a bit obsessive, she strikes me as the kind of woman who would rather be standing in a muddy field in her wellies than listening to some eager townie praise her for her wisdom. Young’s style, careful and straightforward, is extremely soothing. Her book should be prescribed for anxiety.

Cows can love, play games, bond and form strong, life-long friendships. They can sulk, hold grudges, and they have preferences and can be vain. All these characteristics and more have been observed, documented, interpreted and retold by Rosamund Young in her book The Secret Life of Cows, based on her experiences looking after the family farm’s herd. Here the cows all roam free. There is no forced weaning, no separation of young from siblings or mother. Rosamund Young provides a fascinating insight into a secret world – secret because many modern farming practices leave no room for displays of natural behaviour yet, ironically, a happy herd produces better quality beef and milk.

First published in 2003, The Secret Life of Cows has been reprinted in part thanks to a mention in Alan Bennett’s diary entry in *Keeping On, Keeping On* for August 24 2006, in which he said, ‘it alters the way one looks at the world’. It’s a charming manifesto for recognising that, like you and I, cows, too, have their own personalities. They can be highly intelligent or slow to understand; friendly, considerate, aggressive, docile, intuitive, dull, proud or shy. She breaks the textbook rule that the only way to be profitable is to have a cow in calf once a year, and this hits her in the wallet. But like any exemplary employer, she believes in allowing Rolls-Royce maternity leave for her cows. With that in mind, perhaps The Secret Life of Cows is more familiar to us than we might care to admit. Rosamund certainly thinks so.

Rosamund’s first book *The Secret Life of Cows* reveals her observations based on over forty years of experience with cattle and was initially published in 2003, selling over 10,000 copies. Having received praise from the author Alan Bennett in his diary column in the London Review of Books in 2006, in which he stated that *The Secret Life of Cows* alters the way one looks at the world, the book has found new fame and is being re-published today. The charming and insightful manifesto recognises that cows, as well as other animals, have far more awareness and know-how than they are given credit for. At a time in which intensive, factory farming predominates and most cows are now recognised by an electronic number not a name, Rosamund’s insights are of even greater significance.