Special Day to Feed the Cows

Today is the birthday of the most wonderful cowherd boy, Krishna. He is glorified and worshipped by devotees worldwide as the merciful God who spent his childhood herding, protecting, and loving cows. Therefore, charitable acts on this day, especially to cows, bestows significant spiritual benefits upon the giver. We have officially launched the Feed the Cows Campaign today in honor of Lord Krishna’s Birthday. We launched the Matching Gift Challenge on July 15. Therefore, any donor who gives today for the cows will not only have his gift matched dollar for dollar but can also feed the cows and receive the benefits of giving in charity to the cows on this most special day.

Matching Gift Challenge

The Matching Gift Challenge given by an anonymous ISCOWP member will match every donor’s gift up to a total of $25,000. So the challenge is over when ISCOWP members give $25,000 to ISCOWP. By August 17, ISCOWP members gave $9,063.56. We will announce the challenge’s milestones on our Donate page and in e-newsletters.

Feed the Cows

We start the Feed the Cows Campaign around this time every year because this is the time of year we purchase hay to feed the cows during the colder months. It now takes about 250 bales of hay to feed the herd of 24 cows for one year, costing $18, 750. Each hay bale weighs approximately 800 pounds and will feed the ISCOWP herd for one day. Each bale’s cost has gone up from $50 to $75.

On this day, Krishna’s birthday,  you can help purchase winter hay for the ISCOWP herd for a day, a week, or a month.

One bale costs $75.
$75 to feed the herd of 24 cows for a day
$525 to feed the herd of 24 cows for a week
$2,100 to feed the cows for a month

Remember, whatever you give (up to $25,000) will be doubled by our anonymous matching gift donor! Please follow this link to donate. In addition, we will be providing milestone update reports for the Feed the Cows Campaign on the donate page and in upcoming e-newsletters. Thank you!

Donate Page Improvements

So many of you have asked, “Is there another way to donate besides PayPal.” You can now donate or Adopt A Cow using just your credit card on our website. PayPal and Venmo are also available. In addition, the donate and Adopt A Cow forms are now quicker to fill out because they are shorter.

The new donate options are launched today for the first time in honor of Krishna’s birthday. So please let us know how your donation experience is and any suggestions on how we can improve it. Your requests have inspired our efforts to update the donation experience.

Sad News

On August 6, in the early morning, Balaji (13-year-old grandson) and I took videos in the front pasture when Balaji spotted a black and white cow down under the trees. We walked quickly over to the cow and discovered it was Madhavi. I had just seen her the evening before roaming the front pasture.

She was struggling to get up but could not. I left Balaji to console Madhavi and ran back to the house to get our daughter Lakshmi. When she came to Madhavi and accessed the situation,  she called the vet but could not get through immediately. We decided to try and pull her onto a flat, grassy area. So, Lakshmi went back to the barns to get ropes. In the meantime, Balaji was petting Madhavi’s face and trying to console her, and I was vigorously chanting the Hare Krishna mantra loudly and trying with a shovel to fill in the shallow hole she made with her front feet.

Madhavi calmed down. Balaji was afraid she would pass away. I told him that whether Madhavi is passing on to another place or staying here, it is best we keep her as calm as possible by touching her and chanting to her. Then within a few minutes, we both sensed she had passed on. As we waited for signs of life, there were none.

Balaji was upset. I told him Madhavi was a very fortunate cow as she had him talk to her and pet her, and she heard the Hare Krishna mantra in the last moments of life. She was also fortunate to be saved from the dairy industry by ISCOWP members.

She lost several children to the dairy industry, had her tail cut off, and she gave 95,000 pounds of milk, something like 11,000 gallons! Her demeanor was always sober. But she spent 11 years having calm and peaceful moments roaming the pastures of ISCOWP West Virginia and ISCOWP Florida. She was 17 years old when she passed away; in human years, she would have been 78.

As soon as we put a Narasimha pavitra around her head, sprinkled holy water from the Saraswati river on her tongue and body, and covered her with Harinama charters, the cows came to pay their homage. We buried her that afternoon.

To feed the ISCOWP herd, please donate to their feed here. Go here to Adopt A Cow, which also helps us meet the Matching Gift Challenge and the Feed the Cow Campaign. Thank you.