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Rich volcanic soils, a temperate humid climate, and plenty of volcanic rocks to create paddocks make Terceira Island in the Azores Archipelago a paradise for dairy cows. Pastures cover nearly 40 percent of the Azores, which produce nearly a third of Portugal’s milk and half of its cheese. Dairy cows here are healthier than in mainland Europe, with lameness and metabolic disorders practically nonexistent, and have life spans of eight to ten years—nearly twice that of commercial herds elsewhere. Terceira Island’s farmers have also led the way in producing organic milk and milk labeled under the “Happy Cows” program that meets animal welfare standards. José Henrique and Nélia Pimentel’s farm was typical, with a herd of thirty-five cows that they milked twice a day with a mobile milking machine. Small dairies in the Azores have been consolidating over the last decade or two, as fewer young people want to put in the ten-hour days at low pay to work on them. The Pimentels were third-generation owners of the family farm, but neither of their two children was interested in running it, and after thirty years they sold the operation to a neighbor. Steinmetz made this image on their last day with their herd.

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Rich volcanic soils, a temperate humid climate, and plenty of volcanic rocks to create paddocks make Terceira Island in the Azores Archipelago a paradise for dairy cows. Pastures cover nearly 40 percent of the Azores, which produce nearly a third of Portugal’s milk and half of its cheese. Dairy cows here are healthier than in mainland Europe, with lameness and metabolic disorders practically nonexistent, and have life spans of eight to ten years—nearly twice that of commercial herds elsewhere. Terceira Island’s farmers have also led the way in producing organic milk and milk labeled under the “Happy Cows” program that meets animal welfare standards. José Henrique and Nélia Pimentel’s farm was typical, with a herd of thirty-five cows that they milked twice a day with a mobile milking machine. Small dairies in the Azores have been consolidating over the last decade or two, as fewer young people want to put in the ten-hour days at low pay to work on them. The Pimentels were third-generation owners of the family farm, but neither of their two children was interested in running it, and after thirty years they sold the operation to a neighbor. Steinmetz made this image on their last day with their herd.

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