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Recently we were directed to a website that explained how milk was made. In the top corner it had the picture of a cow. It then proceeded down the page with several pictures about the process of milk from the cow to delivery in the bottle. The point was made that people wonder why children think milk comes from a carton not a cow. This was confirmed again when we were directed to Dairy Australia website under the heading how milk is made that explains how milk is taken from the cows and gets to your table.
How milk is made.
Firstly a cow must have a calf to provide milk. We try and make a lactation (period from calving to stop milking that cow) last around 300 days. We then dry the cow off (stop milking her), to prepare her for the next calf.
In a day a cow can eat up to 70kg of grass. Due to our climate conditions at Toodyay and the lack of high quality grass available all year around we maintain a high quality feed regime using good quality hay. This gives us the advantage of having a consistent feed all year around as we are able to control the quality and amount of feeding. We add grain to maintain the high quality of our milk so it has a consistent taste, not different depending on seasonal feed flushes or changes in pasture.
Many people believe that a cow has four stomachs (a ruminant). Really they have only one stomach with four compartments. To help digest it passes to the first part of the stomach called the Rumen. Here the fodder is swallowed half chewed and stored. It is broken down by digestive fluids and some bacteria, then it moves on to the next compartment. The Reticulum softens the lumps and clumps and turns them into cuds. Each cud is Regurgitated (vomited up) and then chewed for anywhere up to 60 times. Then it is off to the next compartment known as the Omasum. It is broken down even further allowing some of the nutrients to be taken up into the blood stream. It finally reaches the final compartment the Abomasum. This is similar in the way it works to our stomach. The food is mixed further with digestive juices which breaks it down so that it is able to pass into the intestine. Here the remaining good parts are absorbed into the blood.
The blood then passes through the udder at huge rates. It actually takes 100 litres of blood pumping through the udder to make one litre of milk. Vitamins and minerals are taken from the blood to help develop the milk in the four compartments called quarts. Then at the bottom of each udder is the tap otherwise known as the teat, where the milk comes out.
To take it from the cow you could hand milk it by pulling the teats, stimulating the cow to drop her milk like she would if she feeding her calf. Instead we use a set of 4 cups that do this for us. Then the milk goes off to be bottled.
If you would like to know more I would recommend a book in the workboot series simply titled “Dairy” see http://www.kondinin.com.au/Bookshop/detail.asp?id=28.
As a farmer I have never seen such a comprehensive and informative group of books explaining agriculture and where products originally come from. I strongly recommend that you view these books for educational purposes both children and adults. The entire workboot series can be viewed at http://www.kondinin.com.au/WorkbootSeries/default.asp
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