fbpx
Articles

Dairy Facts

17 February 2010
  • Approximately 98% of all dairy farms in BC are family owned and operated.
  • The average dairy farm in BC has 135 milking cows.
  • On any dairy farm, cows are milked and cared for 365 days of the year, including Christmas day, weekends, and public holidays.
  • Extensive quality checks and testing unique to the dairy industry ensure that BC consumers can always purchase high quality, safe and nutritious dairy products.
  • Dairy farming involves a broad range of skills, from good business and financial skills, to caring for animals, to working with machinery, and growing and harvesting crops.
  • Dairy farmers work long hours and days off are rare.
  • Cows spend about 10 hours a day eating, 8 hours a day lying down and 6 hours a day on their feet, being milked, walking around and socializing with their herd mates.
  • Some cows enjoy music in the milking parlour while they are getting milked.
  • All mammals produce milk, including water buffalo, goats, sheep, horses, reindeer and camels.
  • All dairy cows are female! Males are called bulls.
  • A cow weighs between 600 – 750 kg (1400-1600 lbs) which is the size of approximately 8 grown men.
  • A cow produces nearly 9500 litres of milk per year in BC.
About BC Dairy

BC Dairy is a not-for-profit organization representing BC’s dairy farmers.