TODAY'S FARMS

If you've traveled around Wisconsin, you've probably seen farms of all shapes and sizes-from free-stall barns to farms where cows graze in the pasture. But modern farms are way different from those of the past. These days, computer-controlled milking machines help farmers milk more cows. Computers can also keep track of each cow's health. Wisconsin's farms feature seven breeds of cows. Holsteins, the cows with black and white spots, are the most common. But, Wisconsin's six other breeds of dairy cattle are just as important. They are: Red and White Holstein, Brown Swiss, Jersey, Guernsey, Ayrshire and Milking Shorthorn.
Here are some fun facts about dairy farms and the cows they raise:

• During an average day a cow will eat 90 pounds of feed.
• Cows eat a combination of hay, grass, corn, silage and "protein mixes"-that's when protein, vitamins, minerals and fats all get mixed together.
• If people ate as much as cows, they would have to eat about 360 cheeseburgers and drink a bathtub of water each day!
• An average cow weighs about 1,500 pounds - that's roughly you and 20 of your friends on one scale!
• In Wisconsin, there are as many dairy cows as there are kids in school.(More than 1 million of each)
• Average milk production per Wisconsin cow each year is over 17,000 pounds (more than 2,000 gallons). That's enough for almost 32,000 glasses of milk from just one cow!