Good farm practices
and quality milk

Oregon dairy farmers provide their cows with a balanced mixture of grains, grasses, seed meals and other vegetable matter that is boosted with vitamin and mineral supplements. The quality of the feed translates into the quality, and quantity, of milk each cow produces. Cows also have constant access to lots of clean water.

Farmers provide soft bedding for their cows in an environment that is continuously cleaned of animal waste. By keeping their cows comfortable and clean, dairy farmers are able to maintain the health of their herds and the quality of the milk.

Milk handling

Cows are milked two to three times daily in a milking parlor, where clean, automated machines are housed. The typical dairy cow will produce anywhere from 50 to 100 pounds of milk a day.

When a cow arrives in the milking parlor, its udder is sprayed with a food-grade iodine to properly clean and sanitize it. Rubber-lined suction tubes then gently extract the milk, which is never touched by human hands. After milking, workers apply a glycerin solution to further sanitize and condition the cows' skin.

From the milking machine, the milk flows through refrigerated pipes to a stainless steel holding tank, where refrigeration quickly lowers milk temperature to 38 degrees. The farmer cleans and sanitizes his equipment after every milking.