NORTH COLLINS, N.Y. (WKBW) — When you pour yourself that glass of milk, you likely aren't thinking about where it came from or what it took to get that delicious white stuff to the grocery store.
AM Buffalo went out to Phillips Family Farm in North Collins to get a look inside their milking parlor and find out how they manage to milk their 1,400 cows three times a day!
Surprisingly, technology makes it a job that only requires three people; two people in the milking parlor and one person to open the gates to let the cows in and out.
"Cows know the routine better than the people do," said Dave Phillips of the milking process. Dave owns and runs Phillips Family Farms with his wife Anne. "(The cows) know when to be waiting at the gate and when it's time to go."
40 cows can be milked and sent back to the barn in a total of 13 minutes.
🐮 Why is @EmilyLampa trying to pet cows? Isn't she supposed to be #WorkingIt? 🐄 GET BACK TO WORK, EMILY! 😂
— AM Buffalo (@am_buffalo) March 22, 2022
Tune in at 10 for today's #AgWeek22 segment!@AmericanDairyNE #NationalAgWeek pic.twitter.com/ulifJIQXvW
In one milking session, a cow can produce up to three and a half gallons of milk. However, that's just the average. Dave tells AM Buffalo, some cows can produce nearly twice as much.
The Holstein cow is known for producing a lot of milk. High quantities, often mean lower fat content, so their milk ends up getting packaged and sold as milk.
However, the Holstein cows on the Phillips Family Farm not only produce large quantities but have high fat and protein content. So, their milk is sent off to make cheese.
