CAFNR students get a real 'hands-on' milking experience
By Taryn Dameron, posted 10.28.05

It's 4 a.m. and while most people lay sound asleep, it's time for a hardworking group of ladies on a farm just outside of Columbia to hit the job. These "ladies" are the dairy cows of the University of Missouri Dairy Farm. During the week of Oct. 17, the students of Animal Science 1065 were given the opportunity to participate in the milking of these cows to give them an understanding of how milk production works.

Students in the Animal Science 1065 class learn the proper way to milk a cow using equipment at the Foremost Dairy Center just west of Columbia.

"I enjoyed milking the cows because it was a state-of-the art facility, and I was given an opportunity that I probably wouldn't have experienced without this class," Audra Wyble, freshman Animal Science major said.

For the past two weeks, the students have been learning all about the dairy facilities and the process that goes into effective milk production. The cows are milked twice a day: once at 4 a.m. and again at 4 p.m.  As one of four labs on the farm, students helped with the evening milking session by milking one cow each.  

"I learned that the milking machines had automatic shut-off and know when the cow is done milking," freshman Agriculture Economics major Greg Gerlemann said.

Students also learned how to properly prepare the cows for milking to avoid milk contamination and injury to the cow.

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