As scientists announce groundbreaking research showing tool use in cattle, the director of new documentary A Dairy Story says the intelligence of cows has been hiding in plain sight for those willing to observe.
Ian Findlay has spent more than 150 hours photographing and filming a herd of cows at pioneering dairy Rainton Farm in Galloway, documenting the behaviour of a herd of 130 dairy cows which, unusually, get to raise their calves themselves. He says it’s a huge privilege to observe cows allowed to express natural maternal and social bonds, and that doing so has challenged his assumptions about cattle intelligence.
“After watching this herd closely over many years, the news about Veronika the tool-using cow doesn’t surprise me at all,” said Findlay. “When you observe cows carefully over time, particularly when they’re living with their calves, you see fascinating intelligence and social complexity.”
British Cows Can Queue
Within the documentary, Charles Ellett, Dairy Manager at Rainton Farm, describes what he believes is counting behaviour during milking. He commented:
“The cows queue for milking in a remarkably orderly way. Many of the cows have favourite cubicles in the parlour, and you can see them watching and waiting for their turn in their favourite space. I absolutely believe they can count their position in line.
“Perhaps it’s only British cows - we’re famous for our queueing after all - but watching them organise themselves, you realise there’s far more going on than most people give them credit for.”
Rainton Farm has operated a cow-with-calf dairy system for nine years, keeping calves with their mothers for extended periods rather than separating them at birth - one of only a handful of UK farms practicing this approach.
Anthony Field, Head of Compassion in World Farming UK, said:
“We have long known animals are sentient – able to experience both negative and positive feelings – and this latest revelation just goes to prove this further.
“Industrial farming often fails to appreciate animals’ needs and reduces the choices open to them, leading to large scale suffering and less chance of living a good life.
“If we accept that animals can feel and can make decisions, then we must also accept the urgent need to build a food system that recognises their sentience and genuinely meets their needs.”
David Finlay, who developed the system at Rainton with his late wife Wilma, said the herd’s behaviour has changed dramatically.
“Since we introduced our cow-with-calf dairy system the herd has definitely changed. They’re more confident, they trust us more, they’re much more communicative and they have the autonomy to express their natural instincts - how they mother their calves, how they interact as a social group.
“Our whole approach is about working with the cows’ natural behaviours rather than suppressing them. This research about Veronika makes perfect sense to me. These are intelligent, social animals, and when we give them the environment to express that, their capabilities become obvious.”
About A Dairy Story
The 78-minute documentary follows Rainton Farm’s journey developing Europe’s first commercially viable cow-with-calf dairy system. The film won Best Documentary at IndieCork Film Festival and Audience Award at Central Scotland Documentary Festival, and it has its USA premiere next month, screening at Frozen River film festival in Minnesota and Wild & Scenic Film Festival in California.
Cinema distribution for A Dairy Story in the UK is currently being planned, following special preview screenings in Dumfries & Galloway this month, the home region of the farm and the filmmakers.
More information about the film can be found at www.adairystory.com
ENDS
Contact: Lorna Young lorna@indigowords.co.uk 07872 492 283
Charles Ellett (Dairy Manager, Rainton Farm) and David Finlay (Farm Owner) are available for interview requests. Director Ian Findlay is available for written comment.
Attached images show stills from the film. A wide range of additional photographs are available.
Notes to Editors:
- Research documenting tool use by an Austrian cow named Veronika, demonstrating previously undocumented intelligence in cattle, has been widely reported today.
- A Dairy Story documents David and Wilma Finlay’s journey developing a cow-with-calf dairy system where calves stay with their mothers rather than being separated at birth. Cow-calf separation is standard practice in the dairy industry.
- A Dairy Story was directed, filmed and edited by Ian Findlay, and written and produced by Lorna Young, both based in Dumfries.
- Rainton Farm, better known as The Ethical Dairy, is located near Gatehouse of Fleet and the farm was the former home of Cream o’ Galloway visitor centre.
- David and Wilma Finlay’s pioneering work has been recognised by multiple industry awards, including the Special Recognition award at the Soil Association’s BOOM Awards 2025, Holyrood’s Net Zero Award and the Outstanding Achievement award at VIBES, Scotland’s environmental business awards. David Finlay also won the Farmer of the Year Award at the 2019 CEVA Animal Welfare Awards.
Synopsis
Every day, thousands of dairy calves are separated from their mothers at birth. A Dairy Story follows a husband-and-wife team as they risk everything to prove there’s another way.
David and Wilma Finlay have transformed their farm in southwest Scotland from conventional to regenerative and, most radically, pioneering commercial scale cow-with-calf dairy farming. Filmed over two years, A Dairy Story shows their determination to reinvent dairy farming by putting nature and animal welfare first. Following calves from birth to weaning, we see the herd’s profound capacity for maternal care in the sweeping beauty of the Scottish landscape.
This is a story about the bonds that matter most. It addresses universal themes of connection, and topics of animal sentience, the environment and system change. A Dairy Story shows how changing a farming system changes everything; from the lives of the animals to the wellbeing of the farmers, and perhaps even the future of dairy farming itself.
‘A Dairy Story’ is a 78-minute documentary, directed by Ian Findlay, and is his directorial debut. The trailer for ‘A Dairy Story’ can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/LtbQE24Z-NI
More information about the film can be found at www.adairystory.com