cows milk - winter vs summer

uglyjohn

The threads about milk have got me thinking more about milk and i was hoping someone could answer my questions.

Firstly, am i right in saying that cows are fed almost exclusively on silage and kept indoors during the winter? when does this generally start and finish?

Secondly, how does this affect the milk? can people tell the difference in taste and will the milk have different ammounts of nutrients?

thanks.

EileenG

It depends on the farm, but a lot of cattle do winter inside and eat hay or silage. And how long they spend inside depends on the weather and the amount of grass. No farmer wants cows inside eating hay when they could be out.

Human breast milk does vary depending on the diet of the mother, so I assume the same is true for cows, but the difference in taste and nutrients are small. It's not like cows are being offered double expresso and curry.

itsallaboutheL

Hiho, Dairy Farmers are paid on a sliding scale, which has a lot to do with protein and butterfat content of milk..for this reason you'll see very little differences in the milk througout the year.


Cows aren't usually fed hay in the winter just so ya know

itsallaboutheL

Also milk is pastuerised and homogonised which basically means it's all exactly the same by the time it gets to the consumer

rubadub

I have heard the protein content varies, coffee baristas will notice differences when frothing milk with different protein levels. You can even buy special cappuccino milk which froths easier.

I dunno if they add protein to counter this, since otherwise they would have different packaging during the year with different nutritional info.

journey

Hiya,

I used to own a coffee business and yes, it's true that twice a year the protein levels in the milk change. First is due to calving, second is due to the change in feed over winter. It does have an effect on the frothiness of the milk when heated, but from a dietary perspective I'm not sure what the impact of these changes would be.

itsallaboutheL

journey wrote: »

Hiya,

I used to own a coffee business and yes, it's true that twice a year the protein levels in the milk change. First is due to calving, second is due to the change in feed over winter. It does have an effect on the frothiness of the milk when heated, but from a dietary perspective I'm not sure what the impact of these changes would be.

Cows calve at different times of the year depending on when the farmer wants them to be lactating so i can't see this holding up