Milking Process
Ohio and West Virginia dairy farmers provide the best care for their cows every day to produce high-quality milk. Milking parlors can come in different configurations, but the most common types in Ohio and West Virginia are herringbone, parallel and rotary parlors. Robotic parlors are also becoming more popular.
How are Cows Milked?
- The cows enter the parlor as a group and file into individual stalls that are equipped with a milking unit and designed to keep the cows stress-free and comfortably in place.
- Inside the parlor, the cows’ teats are thoroughly cleaned, and the milking machine is attached.
- The milk will start to flow through the milking machine into sanitized stainless steel pipes which transport the milk to a refrigerated storage tank, called a bulk tank.
- Milk safely travels from the cow's udder to a bulk tank, where it is cooled from 100°F to 45°F or less within two hours of milking to preserve quality.
- After the cows are finished milking, their teats are covered with another sanitizer to protect and condition the teats before leaving the parlor.
Dairy cows are milked 2-3x each day in the milking parlor. Each milking takes about 5-7 minutes, and each cow produces between 6 to 10 gallons of milk each day. On average, a cow will produce about 9 gallons of milk each day.
Milking Process Resources
Inside a Milking Parlor
Get a behind the scenes look at a dairy milking parlor.
Fact Sheet: Milk Quality
Information about the protocols dairy farmers and processors follow to produce high-quality milk.
How Robotic Milking Works
Ohio dairy farmer Jason Nuhfer explains how robotic milkers work and why he uses them.
