Why does cows have milk

The animals spend their lives being fed in an indoor stall or a crowded feedlot. Each cow produces milk for as much as days a year. One of the largest dairy farms in the world is under construction in Vietnam and is slated to hold 32, cows. But does it have to be this way? The lingering question is: Will consumers pay more to know where their milk comes from? Milk has long been a source of controversy, both for its production and consumption. During the s, poor sanitation in dairies led to outbreaks of milk-borne disease.

French scientist Louis Pasteur demonstrated in that heating milk could eliminate the risk. Yet pasteurization was and, to some degree, is still controversial. Certification brought a higher retail price that few customers were willing or able to pay.

And so in the midth century dairy farming underwent a major change. The federal government fixed a minimum price for Grade A liquid milk, milk for drinking. The price dropped. Farmers had to produce more. To produce more, cows needed to eat more protein, which meant farmers bought high-protein grains, such as soy and grasses like alfalfa.

Many dairy farmers were also grain farmers, but soon it became difficult to produce enough to sustain their cows, and they became grain purchasers. Unfortunately, the prices for grain and fuel went even higher, while milk was fixed at a low price. This made it harder, bordering on impossible, to make a profit on milk. As industrial agriculture evolved, the dairy industry became dominated by the huge operations that provide milk for families all over the country.

With the pressure to produce more milk came more selective breeding of livestock, and, by the s, the dairy industry was dominated by corn-fed Holstein cows.

The Holstein, a large, usually black-and-white Dutch cow, prospered on grain and produced tremendous quantities of milk. No longer using the time-consuming grazing process, grain-fed cows could be kept indoors.

Scientists began reading the coding sequences in DNA and selecting the specific genes that farmers favored. Selective breeding led to cows with a particular shape of leg, a high udder, a high fertility rate and strong milk production. The farm is neither tidy nor picturesque but worked hard and profitably. Of the eight people working the farm full-time, five are family.

Since the 16th century in Holland, the Ooms have been dairy farmers. They have few vacations, and usually see only one day off every three weeks. Their cows only occasionally graze. Eric Oom, a heavyset man with close-cropped strawberry-blond hair, whose father, Adrianus, began the farm, finds keeping track of nutrients a drag. In the barns, cows have a place to eat and a place to sleep. Eric dreams of being more industrial.

He would like to get an expensive robot that can milk 65 cows at once and is programmed to know the udder shape of each animal. Maybe our kids will do it. But he also realizes that there is a movement toward more artisanal dairies. Not all farmers can make conventional farming work. So he gradually switched to a herd of 23 Dutch Belted cows, which are entirely fed on grass.

He no longer buys grain and is training horses to replace tractors, which will reduce equipment and fuel expenses. He now has less than half as many cows and his cows produce less than half as much milk. His farm, Bwlchwernen Fawr, just celebrated its 40th anniversary, making it the longest-established organic dairy farm in Wales. Holden currently buys some oats and peas to supplement the grass, clover and grains he grows.

In the milk business, popular perception is more important than science. Will consumers pay for organic milk? The answer seems to be yes. He maintains that the low price of industrial milk is an illusion. Large industrial farms pollute the area with too much manure from too many cows. Something as simple as cows farting, when multiplied by thousands of cows, becomes a significant cause of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change.

Now they are waking up. Dairies came late to the organic food movement in America, but once organic milk hit the market, it sold faster than any other organic food. People wanted to know that their milk was produced with special care. In order for milk to get organic certification, the cows producing it could not be treated with hormones or antibiotics, nor could they be fed grains from genetically modified crops. Consumers also objected to the use of hormones, although farmers themselves curtailed their usage because promises of increased milk production turned out to be exaggerated.

Horizon milk, originating at large and small farms, is mixed in tanks and packaged as Horizon. Large national companies may not be what enthusiasts of the organic food movement had in mind, considering that the organic movement is tied to the locavore movement and the belief that quality food comes from small local farms who know their customers. Most farmers respect cows as the source of their income and often feel affection for them. The problem is that harsh treatment has become an inherent part of dairy farming, but a cow should not be driven so hard that after three or four years she is only good for hamburger meat.

In fact, Sweden passed a law requiring farms to let cows graze. Milk production involves the complex interaction of a number of different hormones, which are set into play during pregnancy.

Typically, during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy various hormones, such as progesterone and oestrogen are produced, which stimulate the growth and development of the milk duct system within the udder.

Oxytocin is another important hormone which allows the secretion of the milk to occur - also known as milk 'let down'. Prolactin a protein levels are stimulated when the udder is suckled by the calf or milked by the milking machine and this needs to occur for milk production to continue. Cows are usually dried off, or milking is stopped, about two months before their next expected calving to allow the udder time to rest and reset itself for the following lactation.

Dairy cows are selectively bred to produce high levels of milk and this is far more than a calf could normally drink. The volume of milk produced by a cow will depend upon various factors, such as her level of nutrition, breed, genetics and age. Most farmers, after performing a health check, milk the cow shortly after birth. This practice ensures that there is enough colostrum to feed her calf right away.

The farmer will typically bottle feed to make sure the calf receives all the colostrum he or she needs. The health of both the mother cow and calf are monitored closely during this time.

The farmer makes sure the mother cow is comfortable, with access to nutritious food and water as she recovers from birth. The majority of milk produced on a dairy farm is for the purpose of feeding Canadian families. In a dairy system, cows produce many times more milk than their calves are able to drink. Once calves are deemed healthy, they are typically moved to the calf nursery to be cared for by the farmer.

The farmer is able to monitor the calf closely, ensuring it receives the nutrition and medical care needed to get a strong start in life. Caring for calves individually in their early stages also decreases the likelihood of them contracting an illness disease before their immune system is fully developed.

The cow returns to the main part of the barn and joins her herd-mates. Dairy farmers follow standards of care outlined in the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle to assist in the care of both their calves and cows. The code of practice was developed by the National Farm Animal Care Council and Dairy Farmers of Canada, with input from the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, as well as animal welfare researchers and government experts.

Dairy cows are most comfortable when they maintain a consistent milking routine. Cows are typically milked twice a day, or increasingly, choose their own time to be milked. On a farm where cows are milked twice a day, the farmer typically wakes up early and makes his or her way to the barn. At this time, the herd is guided into the milking parlour, where the farmer has the chance to take a look at each cow and clean her udder.

The farmer then attaches a milking machine, which is made from soft rubber or silicone suction cups. These suction cups are fitted around each teat to create a vacuum, which causes the milk to be released by gentle pulsation without causing discomfort for the cow! It takes about five to eight minutes for milking to be complete. Milk machines are automatically removed when a cow is done milking. She can then head back into the barn to eat, drink, relax and socialize with her fellow herd-mates.

Cows produce milk for about 10 months.