By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern
Did you know that June is National Dairy Month? With that being said, we’re going to be posting a lot about dairy, specifically Arizona dairy throughout this entire month! What better way to kick it off than with a bunch of fun facts from the Arizona Farm Bureau, The Dairy Alliance, and Arizona Milk Producers about the dairy industry!
Holstein dairy cows in a barn at the Triple G Dairy in Buckeye, AZ. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
- Dairy is one of the largest agricultural commodities in Arizona!
- Arizona is home to around 45 family-owned commercial dairies.
- Each dairy has anywhere from 850 head of cows to 10,000 head of cows!
- There are two very common dairy cow breeds in Arizona dairies. Jerseys are the light brown cows, their milk has a higher milk fat content. Holstein cows are the typical black and white cows that we usually picture when we hear “Dairy cow.”
- Cows are usually about 2 years of age when they first begin to produce milk.
- Cows can produce approximately 10 gallons of milk per day and are milked for about 305 days out of the year. This equals about 465.6 gallons per month.
- A good dairy cow produces about 15,000-18,000 gallons in their 5 to 7 year production timeframe.
- To make all this milk, cows eat about 100 pounds of feed per day!
- Despite the date printed on the jug, milk is actually good for about 5 days past that date.
- 97% of all the milk in our grocery stores is produced right here in Arizona.
- Local milk is transported from dairy to store within 48 hours!
- A good way to know if your milk is Arizona milk is to look at the code! If it reads “#04” then it came from a local dairy!
The dairy industry is pretty cool, and there’s a lot more that you can learn about it! Keep an eye out for more posts about dairy throughout the month and take a look at some of our past articles!