Pretty much everyone knows that milking cows every day is an important part of taking care of them when they are in milk. But have you ever really stopped to consider how much milk you get from a cow a day?
It sure seems like a lot when you’re milking them by hand, but how much is it really? Just how much milk do cows produce each day?
A cow will produce between 1 and 9 gallons of milk a day depending on its breed, genetics, diet, age and overall health.
That is a huge amount of variation, but no matter which way you slice it that is still a lot of milk, and remember that is per cow!
Whether you have dairy cows of your own or are thinking about getting some, there’s plenty you’ll want to know about cow milk production. I’ll tell you all about it down below…
Cows are Individuals When it Comes to Milk Production
Before we go any further, it’s important to point out that whatever a breed’s specifics are concerning milk production, is that each and every cow is unique.
Yes, this is true no matter how intensively we select them and breed them for consistent, high milk output.
Accordingly, you shouldn’t necessarily think that something is genuinely wrong with one of your cows just because she should be producing a lot more milk and for whatever reason isn’t; maybe she just isn’t a high producer!
It’s worth investigating, but don’t go thinking you have to do anything drastic.
Different Breeds Produce Different Amounts of Milk on Average
With that out of the way, I should also point out that a rule of thumb is considered a rule of thumb for a reason.
Generally you will be able to depend on breed characteristics to help you land on the amount of milk production you desire.
For instance, the undisputed queens of milk production are Holstein cows, with most producing at least 7 gallons of milk each and every day, and many producing 9 gallons or even more. That’s one breed that is famous the world over for its immense output.
At the other end of the spectrum we have the American Brahman, a large, humpbacked cow that will put out a gallon, or perhaps two, per day and that’s it.
That doesn’t mean a Brahmin is a bad choice or a Holstein is the only choice: it is all about your objectives.
Dairy Breeds Produce Much More Milk than Beef Breeds
One other thing to keep in mind is that, though every single cow can produce milk it is only the specifically bred dairy or dual-purpose breeds that will produce a whole lot of milk.
With few exceptions, any of your meat or beef breeds will only crank out one or two gallons of milk a day under ideal circumstances, and some dual-purpose breeds might get you three or a little more.
If gallons and gallons of milk is what you are after, you absolutely must choose a dairy breed like the Holstein, Jersey, Brown Swiss or Lakenvelder.
How Many Years Can a Cow Make Milk?
A cow can make milk for most of her natural life so long as she can still successfully complete a birthing cycle.
However, most cows that are used for commercial or full-time milk production will only have a useful milking life of around 5 years, or perhaps seven at the very most.
This is because each time a cow gives birth and begins her lactation cycle, it typically starts to degrade after the first one and eventually her production will slow or become erratic enough that she is no longer considered “viable” for the purpose.
At that time, she can either be retired to live out the rest of her years peacefully or, and much more likely, slaughtered or culled.
Does Pregnancy Affect How Much Milk a Cow Makes?
Yes! For starters, a cow will not produce milk at all until she has become pregnant and had her calf.
Once the calf is born, she will produce milk for about 10 months, with the total production and quality slowly degrading over that time. After that, she must be made pregnant again for milk production to resume as before.
Pregnancy will also affect how much milk a cow produces because a calf, if allowed to nurse naturally, will be taking some of the milk for its own food! Just the way nature intended, but still.
How Much Milk Will a Cow Make in Her Lifetime?
Depending on many specific variables, some of them already mentioned, a cow might make between 1,500 and 11,000 gallons of milk in her lifetime.
That is a truly tremendous figure, but remember that it is dependent not just on her nominal lifespan based on her pure productiveness.
A farmer or rancher who cared enough to give his cows a good life and live out their days as cows, more or less, might find that a cow can keep right on producing even after the usual industry efficiency cutoffs for age.
Did Cows Always Make So Much Milk?
No, they did not. Modern cows only make this truly ludicrous amount of milk thanks to generation upon generation and refinement upon refinement when it comes to breeding them, every last bit of it pretty much the direct result of human intervention.
To this very day, and in ancient history, wild cows would produce enough milk to help their calves grow quickly and strong, but that was pretty much it, because they weren’t sharing it with humans or any other creatures.
Is it Okay to Milk a Cow Just Once Per Day?
Yes, typically. So long as the cow is milked completely, a single, once-a-day milking is usually entirely adequate to get the milk out of them and alleviate pressure on their utter.
What are Some Things You Can Do to Improve Your Herd’s Production?
There are lots of things you can do to improve your herds overall milk production levels.
If you are expanding the size of your herd naturally or through the use of artificial insemination, one of the very best things you can do is to ensure genetic diversity.
A herd of cows that keeps growing and expanding using the same genetic data is all but doomed to start seeing depressed production.
Another worthwhile tip, but one that can be difficult to implement, is to protect your cows from environmental stressors.
Extreme heat and cold will seriously upset and agitate your cows, and this will have a direct and negative impact on their total milk production.
Lastly, lactating cows have high nutritional requirements, specifically when it comes to protein and many vitamins and minerals.
You should generally plan to give lactating cows a boost in calories and overall nutrition with supplemental feeding if you want their output to stay high and stay consistent.
Tim is a farm boy with vast experience on homesteads, and with survival and prepping. He lives a self-reliant lifestyle along with his aging mother in a quiet and very conservative little town in Ohio. He teaches folks about security, prepping and self-sufficiency not just through his witty writing, but also in person.
Find out more about Tim and the rest of the crew here.