It is not Starbucks, but the natural sunshine and padded floors make this Martin brothers farm near Elmira, Ont., a happy place for cows. (Maureen Brosnahan/CBC)

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Lana, Penny and Mira never had it so good. They wander freely on soft flooring in their climate-controlled barn at this farm in Elmira, Ont., just north of Guelph. They feed and drink at will, and take siestas on thick foam mattresses.

Lana, Penny and the gang are Holstein dairy cows and twice a day they line up to deliver their product, fresh milk, in a modern, computerized "milking parlour" adjoining the barn.

Their every move, their diet, their weight, their milk, their exercise, is all monitored on a computer. If there's a sudden change, Farmer Ryan can detect a problem immediately.

This is dairy farming in the 21st century where a comfortable cow means a better bottom line for farmers such as Ryan Martin.

The 32-year-old University of Guelph agricultural graduate runs a 100-head dairy operation with his brother Phillip and the two have just opened this new high tech barn.

The brothers are third-generation farmers and they've just invested more than $1 million in this barn, which stretches the length of a football field.

"We spent a little more money for the cows but we're happy with it, " Ryan Martin says. "It's definitely economical. Cows last longer, they milk more and it's just easier to work if they're happier as well."

The massage brush

And why wouldn't these cows be happy. When they need a massage, they just head over to the big green brush, an apparatus similar to what you might find in a car wash.

Ryan Martin and a newborn calf. Calves stay longer with their mothers here, not for feeding so much as to reduce stress levels. (Maureen Brosnahan/CBC)

It's about two-metres long and hangs from the ceiling and as a cow moves towards it, it begins to spin.

"They love to be scratched," says Martin. The massage brush "kinda cleans off their hair and the dust off their backs and keeps them from rubbing other things around the barn, from wrecking gates and things.

"They picked up on that the first day, they love those brushes."

At the far end of the barn, a young cow has just given birth to her first calf.

Only a few hours old, the calf is already up on his feet and all shiny clean, thanks to his mother's efforts. The two nuzzle each other in the "maternity ward," a large, straw-lined pen about nine by 12 metres.

It's another cost-saver, the brothers feel.

"They're under a lot of stress in calving and when they get that kind of space they turn around really quickly," Martin notes. "She's up and eating and the calf is healthy and ready to go."

Nearby, a long bar anchored to an in-ground track creeps along. It's an automated system to scrape manure off the barn floor, leaving the area and the cows much cleaner. "We did this also for ourselves," Martin says understandably.

Livestock's turn

While technology, such as new tractors, combines and other machinery has changed farming dramatically in the past hundred years, today more emphasis is being placed on the welfare of livestock.

"Most people in North America are coming to realize that animal welfare is a part of doing business," says Tina Widowski, a professor in the department of animal science at the University of Guelph.

The scratching brush is so popular the cows began lining up for it almost as soon as it was unveiled. (Maureen Brosnahan/CBC)

"When an animal is not in good condition, if it's unhealthy and suffering, it's not as productive."

Widowski, who is also director of the Campbell Centre for Animal Welfare, works with farmers to find ways that benefits both animals and farmers.

She and her colleagues try to "get into animals' heads," to try to gauge how they feel about how they are housed and handled. They study such things as pen size, temperature controls and types of flooring.

Widowski also looks at ways to reduce stress in animals, especially pigs.

"There are direct relationships between stress and disease resistance, and stress and meat quality," she says. "If animals are upset or have an acute stress response that triggers a 'fight or flight' response. In the case of pigs that's detrimental to the quality of the meat."

A good life

It's the same for cattle, according to Derek Haley, who also teaches at the University of Guelph.

An expert on the maternal behaviour of cows, Haley looked at weaning practices and found high levels of stress among both the mom and calves when they were separated suddenly. The calves bawled, refused to eat and often became ill.

"In the natural weaning process, the baby doesn't suddenly disappear," says Haley.

So he came up with a two-stage weaning process that allows the calf to remain with the mother a few days longer without nursing but while still maintaining that maternal bond. The result was less stress and less illness. "Animals are sentient beings, they have feelings and they can suffer and anybody who wants to go ahead and eat meat or use animals products should be willing to take on the responsibility to understand what that quality of life of that animal is."

Practices to improve animal welfare are well established in Europe, but Canada lags behind.

Last spring, the federal government pledged $4.3 million to help develop or upgrade codes of practice for handling livestock. But Widowski calls that a drop in the bucket.

She believes Canada should develop a national strategy for animal welfare.

"Australia has one, New Zealand has one and a lot of other countries," she says. "Canada should have one."

Widowski says animals, including those raised for human consumption, deserve a good quality of life, even if that life is a short one.