Livestock researcher Roselinde Goselink of Wageningen UR explains in this Dutch video from 2011 why it’s good for fat pregnant cows to get a proper workout before cranking out calves.

Pregnant cows need to boost their metabolism so that they can get used to giving lots of milk, and exercise apparently helps. Two years ago at the testing farm Waiboerhoeve near Lelystad they got some 30 odd cows to go round and round for 5 kilometers a day every day until September in a mill, which looks like a pony ride attraction for children.

Imagine generating electricity with cows getting a workout.

Oh and look how happy they are when they finally get to go outside in the spring:

(Link: melkveehouders.nieuwsgrazer.nl, via www.waarmaarraar.nl)