We interviewed Otto Heisner who is a dairy farmer in Northern Illinois and Dave Benson who is an animal nutrition/feed specialist for an AG cooperative in Northern Illinois. Below is a list of questions that we asked. Just click on the question and you will find the answer.

Some breeds of dairy cattle are: Holstiens, Jersey, Brown Swiss, and Gurnseys.

Cattle range in all 50 states.

• What is the correct terms for different ages and genders of dairy cattle?
  
  
• What do you feed the dairy cattle?
  
  
• How much milk do you get daily from one cow and from the whole herd?
  
  
• How much do adult dairy cattle and calves weigh?
  
  
• How many times a day do you milk the cows?
  
  
• How many calves does a cow usually have?
  
  
• What is involved in their care?
  
  
• Are there any diseases in the milk?
  
  
• What do you do with the milk after milking the cows?

We asked Otto to explain how milking machines are used. Otto says, "The milking machine works off of a vacuum system. We have a big vacuum pump. The place where we milk is called a milking parlor. The cows come in, get milked, and then leave. The cooling tank has two refrigerator units that cool the milk. We use a lot of water to clean the equipment.