Milk Production…explained!

Up here at UC Davis, it’s cow central. You can take a whole bunch of classes regarding milk production and cow manangement. I took a class where I milked cows for lab. It’s pretty much all mechanical now. You just have to attach the machines to each cow and wait until they finish. Most of the cows produce when they get close to the milking barn. It’s almost like a conditioned response. According to studies, reported on MSNBC, there is a way to get more milk from cows. It turns out that being gentle can go a long way. I mean, if you really think long and hard about it, dairy cows really do face a lot of pressure. Lactating cows are expected to let her milk down day after day. Farmers always try to get ask much milk as possible. The latest research suggests that stroking her gently, talking to her, and calling her by her name. It turns out that the cows with names produce 5% more milk. It’s not the name that makes them produce more milk, it’s because a cow with a name is usually more relaxed. Stress hormones reduce milk production and cows with more stress are more likely to stomp, kick, and make milking more difficult, which impacts productivity and efficiency. Ok, I’ve been kicked in the head by a cow by milking, so this may not be such a bad idea. That means that small farmers who take care of their cows and name them are probably the most productive, compared to large milking plants. Heifers with individual identities produced an average of 258 more liters of milk over 10 months. That means they produce 1 liter more per day. It also turns out that this is probably true for all domestic animals such as chicken, sheep, pigs, and even trout.

hm2cow