Interesting Dairy Cow Facts

A single dairy cow in the United States produces 2,000 gallons (more than 30,000 glasses) of milk in a year. Cows once ran wild and were hunted by man for meat. Eventually people started domesticating cows, which allowed people to use cows as a source of milk and meat without having to hunt them. Cows are now milked all over the world, and all six breeds of dairy cattle were developed in different countries.

By the Numbers

A single dairy cow now produces the same amount of milk that it used to take 10 cows to produce.

Grazing

Unlike horses, cows do not use their teeth to graze. Cows wrap their tongue around blades of grass and pull them out of the ground rather than biting them off.

Milking Length

A cow can not be milked until she has a calf. Once a cow has a calf, she is milked for three to four years.

Milking Machines

The invention of milking machines in 1894 made it possible to milk 100 cows in an hour. Prior to this invention, farmers working by hand could milk six cows an hour.

Smell

Cow have an excellent sense of smell and can smell things up to six miles away.

References

• United States Department of Agriculture Animal Improvemet Program
• Wisconsin Cheese