Average Cow milk production

How much milk does one cow produce? How often are they milked? What do they eat? Just the facts here.

60, 000
Number of dairy farms in the United States

99%
Percentage of American dairy farms that are family owned

135 cows
Average size of a dairy herd in the United States

21 billion
Gallons of milk produced in the United States each year

9%
Percentage of milk produced in the United States that is exported to other countries

California
Number one milk producing state in the United States (Wisconsin is number two)

400, 000
Number of people employed in the dairy industry in California alone

6.5 gallons
Typical amount of milk produced each day by one cow

8.6 lbs.
Weight of one gallon of milk

59, 298 lbs.
Record amount of milk produced by a single cow in a year (almost 7000 gallons)

350
Approximate number of squirts in a gallon of milk

350, 000
Glasses of milk produced by a cow over her lifetime

2
Typical number of times cows are milk each day

3 gallons
Amount of milk to make one gallon of ice cream

30 cups
Amount of milk required to make one pound of butter

1
Number of stomachs in a cow (it has four compartments)

1, 400 lbs.
Average weight of a mature dairy cow

90 lbs.
Average weight of a newborn calf

50 lbs.
Amount of feed consumed by a dairy cow each day

Holstein
Most common dairy breed in the United States

30%
Percentage of daily recommended calcium intake provided by an eight ounce glass of milk

3.5%
Percentage milk fat in whole milk

Milk
Official beverage of the State of Oklahoma

America’s Dairyland