Dairy Industry

An Overview of the Dairy Industry in Georgia

Georgia Agricultural Education Curriculum Office Dr. Frank Flanders and Scott Register April 2006

Objectives
Students will be able to: Explain the importance of the dairy industry in Georgia. Name 4 dairy products. Name 3 or more of the 6 major dairy breeds. State key facts about each breed. Name the top three dairy producing counties. Rank the Dairy Industry compared to other Georgia agricultural commodities. Rank Georgia with other states in dairy production.

Why is the dairy industry important?

Dairy products comprise a major part of our diet. The average American consumes about 66 gallons of milk per year. This includes not only drinking milk but also products that use milk. Milk production in Georgia totaled 1.47 billion pounds from 660 dairy farms in 2002. Production is steadily increasing each year. Georgia currently has over 84,000 dairy cows.

Dairy Products
There are over 30 main types of dairy products. However, dairy products are a part of almost all recipes and foods.

Most common categories are:

Milk
Cheese Sour Cream

Yogurt
Ice Creams Butter

Dairy Cow Breeds

There are 5 major dairy breeds
Holstein Brown Swiss Jersey Guernsey Ayrshire Milking Shorthorn

Holstein

Originated in Europe Distinguished by their black and white markings

(sometimes black and red, as a recessive gene) On average 9 out of 10 dairy cows are Holstein Produces the most milk per cow of all the breeds This is the breed made more popular by Chick-fil-A ads.
They are not a beef breed, but the ads are clever and effective. However, a large portion of beef comes from Holstein steers and past production cows.

Brown Swiss

Originated in Switzerland Colors can range from nearly white to very dark brown Most resilient breed, can withstand harsh elements

Jersey

Originated in the Isle of Jersey, off the French coast Second most popular breed to the Holstein

Smallest of all the dairy breeds

Milk contains the highest butterfat content

Guernsey

Originated in Isle of Guernsey, in the English Channel Their color is a shade of fawn with white markings Consumes 20 to 30 percent less feed per pound of milk produced than larger dairy breeds

Total number of this breed is decreasing

Ayrshire

Originated in Ayr in Scotland Their color varies from light to deep cherry red, mahogany, brown, or a combination of these colors with white. Some are all white. Formerly used as dual-purpose breed for dairy and meat producers

Milking Shorthorn

Originated in Northeastern England in the Valley of the Tees River Can range in colors from either red, red and white, white or roan Most versatile of all breeds Originally used for meat, later developed more for the milking industry

Dairy Producing Counties in Georgia

In 2004 the counties with the most: Head of dairy cattle 1 Macon 2 Putnam 9,000 8,500 Average milk production per head of cattle in pounds 1 Randolph 2 Laurens 3 Sumter 4 Ware 5 Cherokee 22,300 22,125 22,100 22,049 22,000

3 Morgan
4 Brooks 5 Appling 6 Mitchell 7 Greene 8 Burke 9 Wilkes 10 Jasper

6,200
6,000 4,500 3,820 3,000 2,800 2,800 2,500

Georgias Commodity Value

Item Rank by sale Sales ($1000) Percent of total sales

Poultry and eggs

Vegetables, melons, and potatoes Cotton and cotton seed Nursery, greenhouse, floriculture Other crops and hay Cattle and calves Milk and other dairy products from cows Fruits, tree nuts and berries Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas Tobacco

1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2,780,214
383,556 318,013 315,324 246,936 240,070 212,720 122,151 102,464 89,058

56.6
7.8 6.5 6.4 5 4.9 4.3 2.5 2.1 1.8

US Milk Production
Top milk production states

1 California 2 Wisconsin 3 New York 4 Pennsylvania 5 Idaho

Georgia ranks 25 in this ranking

Interesting Facts

It takes 2.5 gallons of milk to make one gallon of ice cream. It takes 10 gallons of milk to make one pound of cheese. It takes two gallons of water to create one gallon of milk. 500 gallons of blood have to pass through the udder to produce one gallon of milk. The average cow produces 6-8 gallons of milk per day. That is 96 to 128 glasses of milk per day. You would have to eat 2.5 cups of broccoli or 1 cup of turnip greens to equal the calcium in two servings of dairy products.

Assessment
1. Name 4 dairy products. 2. Which of the following is the most accurate about the number of dairy cattle in Georgia?
A. 4,568 C. Over 84,000 B. Over 1,000 D. Over 1,000,000

3. Name 3 of the 6 major dairy breeds.

4. Which is the most versatile dairy breed?

5. Which breed of dairy cattle are typically black and white? 6. Which breed of dairy cattle produces the most butterfat in their milk? A. Brown Swiss B. Jersey C. Ayrshire D. Holstein

Assessment Continued
7. Name one of the top dairy counties in Georgia. 8. Milk products rank _____ in Georgias total commodities worth. A. 4 B. 1 C. 56 C. 7 9. What is Georgias ranking in the US for milk production? A. 25 B. 2 C. 10 C. 50 10. What state ranks number one in milk production? A. Ohio B. Kentucky C. Wisconsin D. California

Quiz Key
1. Milk, Yogurt, Cheese, Ice Cream, Sour Cream, Butter (and any other specifics) 2. C. Over 84,000 3. Holstein, Brown Swiss, Jersey, Guernsey, Ayrshire, Milking Shorthorn 4. Milking Shorthorn 5. Holstein 6. Jersey

Quiz Key Continued

7. Macon, Putnam, Morgan, Brooks, and Appling are the top five 8. C. 7 9. A. 25 10. D. California

References

http://www.georgiastats.uga.edu/sasweb/cgi-bin/broker http://www.georgiastats.uga.edu/sasweb/cgi-bin/broker http://www.fmmacentral.com/PDFdata/msb200502.pdf http://www.dailyping.com/archive/2000/05/28/