June is Dairy Month

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Holidays > Milking Cows

Pictures of Milking Cows

First the cows udder is washed off.
Then the milker is placed on the cow.
The milk goes through a sealed pipe into the milk house and into this glass jar.
The milk then gets pumped over into the bulk holding tank until a truck comes and picks it up to take to the processing plant. This milk is called raw milk. If the raw milk is allowed to sit, the cream will float up to the top.

Some fun facts about milk and cows!

• The milk that is featured in television commericials is often something else (sometimes glue and water). This is because milk doesn't look as white as they would like on film.
• Milk is the official state beverage in: Arkansas, Delaware, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin
• Cows must get pregnant and have a calf in order to produce milk.
• Cows generally have their first calf at age 2-3 years.
• Cows are pregnant for 9 months.
• Cows are generally milked until 2 months prior to the next calf being born. This is called their dry-period.
• Most cows (male and female) have horns. On a dairy farm the horns are cauterized when they are calves, so the horns do not grow.
• Each cow has their own personality. Some are very friendly while others are not. Some will take a dislike to certain people.
• They are herding animals and usually one is picked as their leader. (At least this is the way it appears to us)
• They communicate with each other. With beef cows, when a family group is separated they will call to the seperated family members. If they can hear a reply they will break down fences and try to get to each other. I have witnessed this with cows that have been seperated and located two miles apart.
• When a calf is first born the mother will instruct it to stay in a certain area. The calf will not move for anything. The calf will be amazingly hidden and hard to find.
• Calves walk within hours of being born.
• Cows spend around 6 hours a day eating.
• Cows can live to around 25 years of age, although the average lifespan is 6 to 7 years.
• A typical dairy cow produces 60 lbs of milk a day. (That is around 7 gallons of milk)