Happy National Dairy Month!

It feels like every month is officially a month dedicated to a dozen different things to celebrate. January is National Soup Month, April is Jazz Appreciation Month, September is National Honey Month, just to name a few. But June is special here at Bonny Acres, where we celebrate National Dairy Month! (Like, literally every day, morning and night, when we go out to milk).

A Whole Lot to Celebrate

Having grown up on a pendulum of nutrition, when we were young (early 90s), milk was so amazing for you; you couldn't imagine a more whole food. Then, in the 2000s and especially the 2010s, you were told the only healthy choice was anything but milk (almond water, sugar, and seed oils, anyone?). Today, there's a tug-of-war surrounding milk, especially raw milk like what we offer for our herdshare. It's hard to know what the truth is and what's just competing industries trying to kneecap each other. We know that God gives us the best from His creation, and that the further we deviate from it, the more sickness we find. So we're sharing ten facts about dairy to celebrate this month!

Ten Dairy Facts

1. The Top Producing State

   
   

When people think of milk, Wisconsin is the first state that comes to mind. Understandable, with them being the top producer of cheese in the USA, using more than 90% of the milk produced in the state to make over 2 billion pounds of cheese a year. The top producer of milk, however, actually goes to California, which produces about 17% of the country's dairy, while Wisconsin produces 14%. Despite this, Wisconsin reigns supreme when it comes to production per capita!

2. American History

The first dairy cow in America arrived in the early 1600s, which gives off the image of immediate industry. However, until the mid-1800s, nearly every American family had their own family cow. There was still an abundance of family cows in the early 1900s. But industry paved the way to convenience, and the family cow became rarer as families depended more on the grocery store. On the other side of 2020, though, more and more people are hunting for a family cow or goats for a self-sufficient source of food of their own.

3. Which Country Drinks the Most Milk?

Some may believe that the United States' culture is built on campaigns like "Got Milk?" Or "Where's the beef?" And while they are nostalgic slogans, the hard truth is that the USA does not hold first place for overall consumption of milk. Rather, we hold the third place at only 20.4 million metric tons consumed annually. Second goes to the European Union at 23.6 million metric tons. And first place goes to India at 89 million metric tons!

4. What is Milk?

By weight, the average milk is 87% water; the bulk of the remainder of its content is protein and fat. Protein and fat molecules refract the complete color spectrum, which is why milk is white. When drinking raw milk, woven in between all the water, fat, and protein is a gamut of vitamins and minerals, including calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, and vitamins A, D, and K, as well as probiotics.

5. The Oldest Dairy Cow

We absolutely love our sweet Jersey, Liberty, who's only 5 years old at the time of this writing. It got us wondering, how long do cows live on average, and what is the age of the oldest dairy cow on record? While the natural age cows can live to is 15 to 20 years old, the average dairy cow lives to 6 years old! Don't worry, Liberty, these are dairy industry ages we're talking about here. The oldest cow on record is Big Bertha, who lived to be 48 years and 9 months in Ireland (1944–93).

Big Bertha looks like she's about had it at 48 years old

6. A Complete Food

Milk is a complete food that contains all 9 essential amino acids. With it being a complete food, many cultures depend on milk as a major part of their diet. The Maasai tribe of Kenya and Tanzania lives on a diet of mostly milk with some beef and animal blood. In fact, with its accessibility, milk is one of the strongest contenders for foods that help to alleviate malnutrition in the third world.

7. How Much do we Consume?

   
   

Globally, we consume the following on an annual basis:

Milk: 979 million metric tons

Butter: 8 million metric tons

Cheese: 47.7 billion pounds

Ice Cream: 15.4 billion liters

If given the opportunity, our family here at Bonny Acres could contribute to 1, maybe 2 percent of each of those figures.

8. What Animals do Humans Milk?

Cows produce most of the milk that we consume, and most people are aware of goat milk. But humans also drink the milk of sheep, horses, buffalo, camels, yaks, donkeys, and even reindeer.

Who's down for some camel milk?

9. Fat Content

Cow's milk tends to average out between 3.5 - 7.5% fat content.

The black rhinoceros has one of the lowest fat contents at only 0.2%. This leads their milk to taste very watery and even appear black in color... No thanks.

The mammal with the highest fat content is the hooded seal, whose milk can have a fat content as high as 60%! Given their cold climate, it must feel like ice cream on tap when you milk a hooded seal— maybe we should start a hooded seal herdshare.

10. Milk's Effect on Mood

Because of milk's nutritive composition (see fact #4 for a complete breakdown), it has a positive impact on mood and mental health. The calcium and casein both combat depression, stress, and anxiety. Tryptophan contributes to better sleep and can alleviate insomnia. The panel of B vitamins improves neurotransmitter function and energy production. And the probiotics found in raw milk as well as fermented milk products support a health gut biome, which ties into overall bodily health.

Conclusion

While these ten facts are only scratching the surface, it's plain that dairy is not only amazing, but it is an essential food in our world! We are grateful to be a small contribution to the amazing time we call National Dairy Month. Hopefully, this post inspires you to go thank a cow, goat, sheep, reindeer, or even a hooded seal for producing one of the world's most amazing complete foods!

Bonus Fact

Despite what Greg Focker may say, not every mammal can be milked (at least not very easily). But all mammals do produce milk! Even the egg-laying monotremes, such as the platypus and echidna. These mammals lay eggs that incubate for 10 days or less, and the babies nurse on their mother for 3 to 4 months after they hatch.

Can't you just imagine the platypus saying, "I have nipples, Greg, could you milk me?"