Dary farmes

    Casein, Hutch and Rumen, what do these three words have in common? These are words that are used on a dairy farm along with cud, forage and Somatic Cell Count.  Dairy farms do more than just produce milk, they provide jobs in 50 states for more than 51,000 families and a place to raise 9,000,000 dairy cows.  Most of those families own and operate their own farms.

    Dairy farms come in all shapes and sizes.  They contribute to local and global communities.  They also help to preserve natural resources and protect the air and land they use.   Dairy farmers take pride in what they do.  They provide the freshest and most delicious dairy products, which contains casein (dominant protein in cow’s milk).  The milk used to make these products are never touched by human hands.  The Somatic Cell Count (number of white blood cells per millimeter of milk) is monitored regularly to gauge a cow’s health.

The process starts with the cow who is milked 2-3 times a day.  Before each milking, their udders are cleaned.  The cows eat up to 7 hours a day and spend another 10 hours chewing their cud (partially digested forage that is regurgitated from the Rumen).  Forage is cow feed high in fiber.  The Rumen is the largest of the 4 compartments of the stomach.

    The dairy products we enjoy everyday come from fresh cows (recently given birth to a calf) raised in hutches (individual housing unit designed for young calves) and mature on farms.  The products are transported to processing centers, then to the stores, then to your refrigerator and eventually end up in your stomach.