The Dairy Industry An Introduction to the Animal Industry

Name at least twenty food items butter goes great with.

Warm-up2

Why Dairy?high nutritional value: high in protein and essential vitamins and minerals

milk comes from the cow as processed food and requires very little additional processing

other dairy products include cheese, butter, yogurt, and ice cream

How much dairy do we eat?In the U.S., every year the

average person consumes:29 gallons of milk24 pounds of cheese16 pounds of ice cream4 pounds of butter4 pounds of yogurt

Where does milk come from?

every state produces milk but most milk comes from California, Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota

Holsteins (think Chick-Fil-A cows) make up most of the dairy population

Jerseys (the Mayfield cow) rank 2nd

Don’t Forget about Goats!

can survive and produce milk on a lower quality forage and less land than is needed for cows

very important in developing countries and are a dual-purpose animal (can be used for milk and meat)

In the U.S., most dairy goats are kept by hobbyists but goat milk is becoming more popular.

Milk Production

must produce a calf each year to produce milk

colostrum: the first milk after giving birth, high in nutrients and antibodies for the calf

grazed on pasture and fed silage (chopped green corn and other crops that are fermented to help preserve the feed)

in the past, cows had to be milked by hand now milking machines are used

Dairy Products all originate at the dairy farm

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Most Dairy Products in the US come from Dairy Cows with Holsteins being the most prominent breed.

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The Farm

10The cows are placed in the holding pen while they are waiting to be milked.

The Farm

11Next, the cows are placed in the milking parlor. This is where the actual milking takes place.

Cow’s view of the parlor Worker’s view of the parlor

The Farm

12The cows are lined up one behind the other at an angle so that the utters are facing the milking units

Milking unit

The Farm

13The teats have been sprayed with teat dip in order to clean them before milking and will be wiped off with a clean paper towel before the milker is placed on the teats.

Cow’s teat (1 of 4)

The Farm

14After the teats are cleaned the milking unit is then placed on the cow. The average milking time for a cow is five minutes.

The Farm

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Pulsator- provides suction for the milking units.

Automatic wash system- runs sanitation wash through all pipes and milking units to sanitize after each milking.

Main control to the milking system.

The Farm

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The milk from the cows will finally end up in the bulk tank. When the milk truck driver arrives it is his responsibility to take samples of the milk from the bulk tank.

From the Cow to Your Tablemilk harvested from the cows in the parlor

fluid milk is rapidly cooled in a holding tank (the bulk tank)

a tanker truck picks up the milk and hauls it to the processing plant

milk is tested for bacteria and drug residuesafter filtering and removing the cream,

the milk is homogenized so it will not separate out

pasteurization (heating and cooling the milk)

kills harmful bacteria

packaged and sent to retail stores

BST bovine somatotropin (BST) a naturally occurring hormone used to

stimulate increased milk production (all milk contains BST)

it is digested and does not get into the human bloodstream

the FDA has determined that it is safe for both cows and humans

Grades of MilkGrade A: the only milk that can be

used for beverage or fluid milk- farms are held to strict

regulations for cleanliness and other standards to be able to sell Grade A milk

- Grade A milk is also used for manufactured products

Grade B: can only be used for manufactured products not fluid products

Cheese Production

a “starter culture” of bacteria is added to pasteurized milk

fermentation changes the sugars to acids which causes the milk to form a solid called curd

rennet (an enzyme) is added to speed up the process

liquid is drained off (called whey) the curd is then heated to contract and

get rid of any remaining whey the cheese is then salted, pressed into a

form, and cured or aged

Yogurt a processed milk product that is eaten

frozen or in soft form concentrated milk is heated and then

rapidly cooled bacterial cultures are added to cause

the milk to ferment this causes the acidity to increase (helps

preserve the yogurt) and produces the flavor

packaged with fruit or other flavorings