When I first moved to Robeson County over 30 years ago, I learned that the last remaining dairy had closed down several years before I arrived. While living in the county, I have visited with several farmers who had one or several milk cows, but to my knowledge, there has not been an operating dairy in Robeson County since the late sixties.

Other areas of North Carolina, and many other areas of the United States, have an abundance of dairies. In some counties, dairies represent the major source of agricultural income for the county.

Most of the dairies in North Carolina are located in the eastern mountain counties. Iredell is by far the leading dairy county, followed by Randolph, Alleghany, Rowan, Yadkin, and Alexander. However, there are only about 7,300 dairy cows left in North Carolina. These cows do not produce anywhere near the amount of milk that is needed by the consumers in the state. We have to import most of our milk from other states.

It is hard to imagine that there are so few dairy cows left in North Carolina. When a group of our local farmers visited a dairy near Lake Okeechobee in Florida in 1998, we learned that 1 dairy had 8,000 dairy cows on that 1 farm alone. These cows were divided into 4 groups of 2,000 each, and separate pastures and milking barns were available for each group. The cows were milked 2 times a day, and it took 10 hours to complete each milking. It took 2 more hours following each milking to clean up the milking and feeding equipment and get ready for the next milking. In essence, this dairy milked cows around the clock, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

It is easy to understand that dairy production is still a major source of agricultural production for so many people because of the large amount of dairy products that are consumed each day. In addition to actual dairy products, milk and milk products are used to prepare many of the foods we consume each day. People living in Robeson County consume their portion of milk and dairy products even though there are no dairies in the county.

With this being the case, I guess it is appropriate for me to share some interesting and fun facts about milk. I'm sure these topics might have been more appropriate during National Dairy Month, but for lack of other timely topics, I saved them until now.

The average cow in the United States produces enough milk each day to fill 90 glasses. Cows must drink 2 gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of milk. When milk first comes from the cow, it is 101 degrees Fahrenheit. It is then quickly cooled to 40 degrees.

Sales of chocolate and other flavored milks increased by 18 percent during the past year. It tasks 12 1/2 gallons of milk to make 1 gallon of ice cream. Only 2 servings of milk provide the same amount of calcium as 20 ounces of broccoli. Milk appears white because it contains casein. This is the white milk protein that is so rich in calcium.

The first plastic-coated paper milk cartons were introduced to consumers in 1932. The first all-plastic milk containers came out in 1964. The first home delivery of milk started in 1942 as a war-time effort to conserve gasoline.

Like your mother said, "milk is good for you, so drink milk." Remember, the milk you drink and the milk products you use were not produced in Robeson County. They most likely were not even produced in North Carolina.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 09/12/01