A question for a dairy farmer

[Bsavulis]

I know i could google for the answer to my question, but I prefer actually communicating with a real live person whenever possible. I hope it makes others know their experience and expertise are appreciated.



How much milk on average does a cow produce in a day, that can be collected? I am sure some must go to the calf? How long do they produce milk after having a calf? How many calves can they have in a lifetime?

No I am not getting a cow! I was behind a big tanker truck full of milk during my commute. Got me thinking about cows, and just how many or how long it must take to fill that rig. Just trying to be a bit smarter.

Thanks
Brian

 

[sea2summit]

There are many breeds of cows that provide different amounts and quality of milk...

We've got a Jersey that's feeding a calf and we collect about a gallon to a gallon and a half today from. We could probably get closer to two gallons a day if we locked the calf up at night. A Holstein would easily double that. Usually you get milk a cow 8-9 months a year and you'll probably have 7-10 years of production.

I'm not a dairy farmer but I did sleep at a holiday in once so these are more opinions from limited experience than they are solid facts.

 

[MossRoad]

A friend of mine has a small dairy farm. He milks about 60 cows twice per day, and says he gets about 6-7 gallons per day from each cow.

 

[Bearsixty7]

Holsteins often can produce 8-10 gallons a day. They are the highest producing milk cow. Jersey's have the lowest milk production of the dairy breeds but the highest butterfat content (Edit: Of the breeds in the US, not sure about around the world). Like everything else, there are tradeoffs .

They produce milk about 9 months out of 12.

I actually grew up on a beef farm/ranch but worked at a dairy milking 200 head morning and night in High School. (Edit: To clarify, While they milked morning and night, I only milked 5 weeknights after school and morning and night one day of the weekend, the other was my day off.)

 

[MossRoad]

There's a dairy over in NE Indiana called Fair Oaks Farms. They have 36,000 cows. 9 barns spread out over thousands of acres. Each barn has a merry-go-round that will milk 72 cows at at time. They also told us they get 8ish gallons per cow. The cows are free to come and go as they please. When they feel like getting milked, they stand in line and wait their turn for the merry-go-round, and climb on board as it goes around. A worker puts a chain across the back, cleans their teats, and sticks on the miller. The cow takes a ride around the thing and gets off at the end and heads back to the barn on its own to eat/sleep socialize with the other cows. It's a strange thing to watch, but they are herd animals and just follow each other around all day. Each animal is kept track of by RFID ear tags. Weight and milk production, etc...

 

[MossRoad]

Growing up we knew a family that had 11 kids. They always had a cow and calf. It provided them with milk and cheese. Anything left over was given to the pigs and turned into pork. The guy was a professor at Notre Dame and quite an interesting guy. Pretty calm man for 5 boys and 6 girls. :laughing:

 

[Bearsixty7]

There's a dairy over in NE Indiana called Fair Oaks Farms. They have 36,000 cows. 9 barns spread out over thousands of acres. Each barn has a merry-go-round that will milk 72 cows at at time. They also told us they get 8ish gallons per cow. The cows are free to come and go as they please. When they feel like getting milked, they stand in line and wait their turn for the merry-go-round, and climb on board as it goes around. A worker puts a chain across the back, cleans their teats, and sticks on the miller. The cow takes a ride around the thing and gets off at the end and heads back to the barn on its own to eat/sleep socialize with the other cows. It's a strange thing to watch, but they are herd animals and just follow each other around all day. Each animal is kept track of by RFID ear tags. Weight and milk production, etc...

View attachment 682417

On the high tech farms, that RFID ear tag or usually a RFID tag on a chain around their neck, can also meter the optimum amount of feed for that cow, to maximize the milk output per pound of feed.

 

[RalphVa]

Bearsixty7 answered most of your Qs. Usually take the calf out of the picture very quickly by weaning it.

I grew up on a dairy farm, but we only milked maybe 40 head morning and night, mostly Holstein but with 2 or 3 Jerseys. I was sooo glad when we moved to a small town and took up service station business instead. I hated dealing with the animals.

Ralph

 

[Bsavulis]

Thanks to all for the great answers. I am certainly more informed now than just a couple of hours ago. I like information like this, you never know when it might prove handy. About 18 years ago I was with a coworker listening to the radio. There was a contest for tickets for a family of four to Disney on ice, or something like. The question was, What company was the largest toy distributor in the world. I told the guy, call and tell them McDonald's. His family had a great time at the show.

Thanks again.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Bearsixty7 answered most of your Qs. Usually take the calf out of the picture very quickly by weaning it.

I grew up on a dairy farm, but we only milked maybe 40 head morning and night, mostly Holstein but with 2 or 3 Jerseys. I was sooo glad when we moved to a small town and took up service station business instead. I hated dealing with the animals.

Ralph

I have a great respect for dairy farmers, it's a 24/7 kind of job, and where I came from, the kids all did their part. My buddy in high school used to come to school smelling like disinfectant, and even occasionally with his barn shoes on. He got up, helped with the milking, rode the bust to school and helped with the milking that night...and every night. My hat comes off to you guys.