Many of us rarely think about how milk is produced or the journey it makes from farm to fridge. Milk production begins with the dairy cow - the single most important component of the farm.
Farmers have to ensure cows are given the best possible care with nutritious feed, plenty of water and spacious barns and pastures. Cows should be identified with ear tags with unique numbers. this could be date of birth, or breed or a name that the farner chooses. This will help farmers in recording information such as dates of births and details of where the cows have been throughout their lives. There really is no such thing as the ideal size of a dairy farm - there are farms of all shapes and sizes ranging herds, from small herds to farms with more than 1,000 cows, and different farming systems including zero grazing, semi zero grazing and conventional, grazed.
Dairy farms unit must have a milking area. Depending on the size of the farm, some are entirely automated to allow the cows to choose when they want to be milked. Dairy cows are usually milked twice daily - in the morning and again in the afternoon.
Milk should be kept at 4ºC after milking, - about the same as your fridge at home.