w
A co ly g
eats o n
5
m ake ab o u t
A
ay. y
a
o f m il k a d
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g r a s s, c o r n
t
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can ma k e a
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ra h a t
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a
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t w d mw that
ice ixed feeedats
A cow
s
that
m uch
can consume
!
of
water.
Milk is 87%
30 gallons
of
water, 40 lbs.
d 50 lbs.
grain and hay an y!
da
of silage in one
food would
Her 90 lbs. of
ght of about
be equal the wei d.
ea
1440 slices of br
Eating right.
For a cow to make milk, she
needs good food such as grass,
chopped corn, hay, mixed feed
(ration) and water.
Photo Courtesy of Minnesota Extension Service
Milk from
through a sani the cow goes
a refrigeratedtized pipeline to
storage tank.
Photo Courtesy
of
Minnesota Ag
in the Classroo
m
Get truckin’.
Milking time.
to a
rn farm come in
Cows on a mode parlor. A cow’s udder is
ing
computerized milk e milk clean. Next, a milking
th
ep
ke
ezes the
washed to
that gently sque
ed
ch
ta
at
is
e
in
s.
mach
cow’s teat
milk from the
Service
Minnesota Extension
Photo Courtesy of
p
ters hel
Compu ep files
ke
farmers ow,
c
on each g:
n
i
includ
eeds
• food n rds
reco
• health ily tree
and fam ed
uc
ilk prod
m
f
o
t
n
r milk
• amou
ia in he
r
e
t
c
a
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of
er calf
• signs
when h
n
e
v
e
• and
born!
will be
Cow to Coole
r.
dern
ny mo
On ma w’s identity
a co
farms, tored in a
is s
on
ter chip
compu ck chain.
her ne on about
ati
Inform tomatically
au
her is d each time
e
record es into the
m
o
c
e
king.
sh
for mil
parlor
The milk flows from the storage tank
into a refrigerated tanker truck that
takes the milk to a processing plant.
Photo Courtesy of Land O’ Lakes
...
produce any milk until she’s
• Ahadcowherdoesn’t
first calf, which is born when she’s
about two years old. After that, she usually
has a calf every year.
of the milk produced in the Midwest is
• Most
made into cheese — a good way to store milk
for a long time. (How might that affect prices
of drinking milk in Midwest stores?)
cows give about 5 1/2 - 7 gallons of
• Most
milk a day. Milk weighs 8.6 lbs. a gallon.
How many eight-ounce glasses full of milk
does the cow give each day?
Photo Courtesy
of
Land O’ Lakes
Milk is bottled for drinking and made
into many other dairy products.
Photo Courtesy of Land O’ Lakes
Milk is sampled and tested as it
comes from the farm and many
more times during processing to
make sure it is clean and safe.
Photo Courtesy of Bongards Creameries
True or False
__ 1. A dairy cow gets
every second
year off as vacation from
milking.
__ 2. All cows are fem
ale.
__ 3. Vitamin D occurs
naturally in milk.
__ 4. It takes 3-5 minu
tes to milk a
cow with a milking mach
ine.
__ 5. Cows are milked
once a week.
__ 6. Pipelines and milki
ng
equipment are washed an
d
sterilized once a month.
__ 7. Pasteurization is
the process
of heating raw milk to kil
l
harmful bacteria.
__ 8. Milk for drinking
is
homogenized. That mean
s the
milk and the cream in it
are
blended so the cream do
esn’t
rise to the top.
__ 9. Almost half of all
milk sold is
for drinking and cream.
The
rest is processed into bu
tter,
cheese, ice cream and ma
ny
other dairy products.
—-10. One-percent milk
means the
milk is one-percent water
.
__ 11. Yogurt and cottage
cheese are
dairy products.
If milk is to be made into cheese, it goes
from pasteurizing into huge vats. Cheese makers
make many different kinds of cheese.
Photo Courtesy of Bongards Creameries
coming off
Here cheese slices areese will be cut
che
is
Th
es.
casting lin
ed in single
into slices and wrapp
es
rtesy of Bongards Creameri
Cou
to
Pho
packages.
Photo Courtesy of Minnesota Extens
ion Service
Fresh from the
dairy case. Look
at all your
choices!
From farm to table, milk never
touches human hands. That’s to make
sure it stays clean and pure.
Check and re-check.
From the processing
plant, it's on the road
again. Refrigerated
delivery trucks distribute
dairy products to
grocery stores.
Photo Courtesy of American Dairy Association of Minnesota
Milk is pasteurized (heated to 161
degrees F for 15 seconds, then
rapidly cooled) to kill bacteria.
Comp
help all uters
the pr during
ocess.