I was surrounded by dairies in Kuna. There was one down the road from my house, one around the corner, and one practically in my back yard. There was even a small one across the street from my high school. It makes sense, considering Idaho is in the top five dairy states!
In my research I found that there’s so many aspects of the dairy industry that I couldn’t possibly fit it all into one post, so I’m splitting it in to three parts! Today I’m going to focus on the cows.
Most dairy cows (approximately 90%) in the United States are Holsteins. These are the typical white and black cows that most people know, though they can also be red and white. They are great dairy cows because they tend to produce more milk than other breeds. Other popular breeds include Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Jersey, and Milking Shorthorn.
On my Facebook feed I always see over-emotionalized videos of the “harsh” and “inhumane” treatment of dairy cows. This couldn’t be farther from the truth! In order to get quality milk the cows must be happy and healthy. It doesn’t make sense that any farmer would want to mistreat their animals. Part of keeping the cows healthy is giving them medicine when they are sick. When they are being treated with antibiotics their milk is thrown away, so there is no need to worry about antibiotics in the milk you buy at the grocery store!
Stay tuned for more dairy posts coming soon!
Discovering Agriculture 