June is National Dairy Month! Here are 10 fun dairy facts from the American Dairy Association:
- The first cows came to America in with the Jamestown colonists in 1611. Until the mid-19th century, nearly every family had their own milk cow.
- Before milking machines were invented in 1894, farmers could milk about six cows per hour. With a milking machine it takes about five minutes.
- All 50 states have dairy farms and 95% of dairy farms are family owned and operated.
- U.S. dairy farms produce roughly 21 billion gallons of milk annually.
- Milk arrives at your local grocery store within 48 hours of leaving the farm.
- There are six breeds of dairy cows: Holstein, Jersey, Guernsey, Brown Swiss, Ayrshire and Milking Shorthorn. The cows in the photograph are Holsteins.
- Cows drink 30-50 gallons of water each day and eat about 100 pounds of feed each day.
- It takes 12 pounds of whole milk to make a gallon of ice cream, 21.2 pounds of milk to make a pound of butter and ten pounds of milk to make a pound of cheese.
- Cheddar is the most popular cheese in the U.S.
- Vanilla is America’s favorite flavor of ice cream.