Where does milk come from?

Milk comes from a cow, of course!

When you come to Farm Country, you can see this for yourself and meet Daisy the Jersey cow, who is milked at 6 pm each day. You can also see from the Meadow Gold display on milk pasteurization that the process of getting the milk from a cow to your refrigerator is more complex than you might think.

Milking

First, as we mentioned, milk comes from a cow (a girl cow that's had a calf). Most dairy cows are Holstein cows, which are popular because they produce more milk than any other breed.

Dairy cows are milked in the morning and evening, either mechanically or by hand. Most farms milk mechanically because it is so much more efficient and sanitary.

From Farm to Dairy Plant

Stainless steel pipes from the milking machines carry milk to a refrigerated bulk tank. After every milking, the whole system is washed, rinsed, and sanitized to make sure all the parts are clean. The milk is tested for freshness and milk-fat content and piped into a tank truck.

Dairy Plant

The milk the tank truck delivers to the dairy is called raw milk. It has not yet been pasteurized and may contain harmful bacteria. The bacteria found in raw milk may cause disease and sickness in people who drink it.

Louis Pasteur, a famous French scientist, discovered long ago that heating milk (not boiling it) then quickly cooling it would kill harmful bacteria without changing the nutrient value of the milk. This process became known as pasteurization. Today, dairies use a faster process called HTST (High Temperature Short Time). This process involves heating the milk to a minimum of 72°C for 16 seconds.

Milk for You

Milk is delivered to your grocery store or home to be enjoyed by you!

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