How Much Milk Does a Dairy Cow Produce?
Milk production depends on several factors, but the average cow produces six to seven gallons of milk per day. Cows are milked by milking machines twice per day. Getting the Most Milk When you purchase a dairy cow, find out about it’s lineage. Certain breeds produce more milk than others, and certain herds are known for above-average milk production. You’ll pay a premium for a good milker, but it could leave you with a higher profit per head, depending on the cow’s nutritional requriements. Dairy cows need feed that is high in vitamins and nutrients; they are fed food with a higher percentage of protein than the feed given to beef cattle. In order to produce the optimum amount of milk, a dairy cow eats about 100 pounds of feed every day. The feed depends on the location of the farm and may be a combination of hay, grain, silage and pasture foliage. Commercial farmers generally do not graze the cows, but there are some that pasture-feed their cows and advertise their dairy products as “
