A Day on a Dairy Farm

Imagine this: it is seven or eight in the morning, and you drag yourself to the bathroom, eat breakfast and eventually make your way to school. The day of a dairy farmer starts just a tad earlier!

A typical day on a dairy farm starts even before the sun rises, around 4 a.m. This is a short list of some of the tasks which need to get done daily:

1. First the milking equipment is cleaned and sanitized (killing the germs).
2. Next the cows are fed.
3. Then the cows are milked. The machines are turned on and the milk begins to flow through the tubes into a big milk tank.
4. The milk's quality is checked. If there are no problems with it, the milk is then filled into a chilled bulk container.
5. A refrigerated truck picks up the milk and takes it to the dairy factory. Once there, it will be processed and pasteurized (removing all the bacteria) and homogenized (spreading the fat particles/cream evenly).
6. At the farm the stalls are cleaned after the morning milking session.
7. After the cleanup the cows go through a health check.
8. Next, the new calves are looked after. The youngest ones will be fed with a bottle, while the older ones will receive their food in feeding buckets.
9. When the weather is good, the dairy farmer takes care of his crop. He checks that everything is stored properly and that the equipment is well-maintained. In order to cut back on costs, many farmers grow most of their own cattle feed.
10. Next the cleaning equipment needs to be sanitized again.
11. At 4 p.m. the cows are milked once more.
12. The milk's quality and butterfat content are double-checked.
13. Then the cows are fed again.
14. The work day on a dairy farm usually ends around 6 or 7 p.m.