Thank you for your interest in our Adopt A Cow™ program. Here at Gita Nagari, we pride ourselves in being the first USDA certified slaughter-free farm in North America that produces cruelty-free and planetary-friendly milk. One of our core values is to respect the sanctity of all life and so, our approach to the production of cruelty-free milk goes hand-in-hand with our sanctuary, where cows and oxen live out their full natural lives in peace and harmony with loving human beings. An integral stakeholder in this community of human caregivers are remote benefactors such as your good self who sponsor and make our work possible. In this light, our program of sponsorships comprises of the following streams:
- New Rescues
- Adoption of existing cows in our sanctuary
- Feed sponsorship
New Rescue Sponsorship
We currently don’t actively breed our cows due to the difficulty in retaining full-time staff and volunteers for appreciable durations of time. In this light, our current model is to rescue a dairy cow from a commercial dairy operation, along with a calf. That is, although calves are separated from their mothers at these operations, our principle is that the milk of such a cow cannot be enjoyed without taking care of a calf. With this in mind, the rescue sponsorship options are as follows:
- Rescue of a dairy cow & calf — $5,500
- Rescue of a calf only — $2,000
- Rescue of a cow with the Farm subsidizing the calf rescue — $3,500
Benefits
After completing the sponsorship, you will receive the following benefits
- Naming the cow or calf
- Naming ceremony and go-puja
- Access to purchasing up to 30gal of milk monthly, for 2 years (this is the duration of time we can maintain her milk production without subsequent impregnation).
- 14% discount coupon calculated on the value of your sponsorship. For example
- For sponsorship of $3000, the discount coupon works out to $420. This can be used to offset the accommodation cost for a family of 6 staying for 1 night at the Farm, which is valued at $450
The rescue stream of our Adopt A Cow™ program is limited to 6 bovines per year, based on their average life expectancy of 18 years and our feed production capacity capped our Farm, capped at 108 bovines. We currently have a total of 88 cows, oxen and calves in our sanctuary. Newly rescued calves are paired with one of retired cows who then becomes their foster mother to give them the love, care and affection they need to have a wholesome and carefree childhood.
Adoption Sponsorship
We have cows and oxen in our existing herd that are looking for sponsors and adoptive parents. The cost for this sponsorship is the same as the new rescue stream, along with the benefits. The exception is that we will not be able to provide you access to our ahimsa-milk as the cow in question will not be producing milk. However, enrolling for this stream of our Adopt A Cow™ program gives you access to facilities on the Farm for you and your loved ones.
We currently have one newly rescued dairy cow who is yet to be sponsored. All other cows looking for adoptive parents are in our retired herds.
Feed Sponsorship
It costs us $4 per day to feed each of our cows, calves and oxen. That works out to:
- $1460 for 1 year;
- $730 for 6 months
- $120 for 1 month
Our 88 bovines are split into the following herds
- Milking cows — 19 members
- Calves along with foster mothers — 6 members
- Retired cows — 35 members
- Working Oxen — 14 members
- Retired Oxen — 14 members
Feel free to sponsor feed for a whole herd! For example, if you’d like to sponsor for the retired cows, it’ll cost $140 for one day.
Benefits
- go-puja in honor of a selected beneficiary such as a family member; you can schedule an in-person one or via Zoom, as per your availability;
- framed picture of your selected cow;
- video of the puja and us feeding your cow, which you can share with loved ones.
Once-Off Donations
We welcome any donation in the name of family members, milestones and special anniversaries. For example
- Go-puja in the name of family members, milestones, religious calendar events, etc.
