Milking Cows

Cows first came to America in 1611. Each farming family usually kept its own cow. A family member would milk the cow each day. It gave them milk to drink. They had to milk the cows by hand. The milk then was boiled in a big pot over the fire. It then had to cool, and after that someone skimmed the cream off the top of the pan.

Dairy farmers raise and milk cows for us. For hundreds of years, farmers spent many hours milking. Farmers, or their family members, sat on stools to squeeze milk from the cows’ udders. This chore was time consuming and tiring.

Today’s farmers use machines to help with milking. They can milk many cows at one time. The machines often do a better job milking than a person could.

These modern machines have long, clear hoses. The hoses carry milk to big metal tanks. The tanks hold and clean the milk. These machines help farmers milk enough cows for us all to have milk in our homes.