Dairy Dictionary

Here are a few terms you need to know to get around a barn:

Calf: a newborn bovine or dairy animal.
Heifer: a young female that has not yet had a calf and begun to milk.
Cow: a mature female bovine or dairy animal
Bull: a mature male bovine or dairy animal.
Pipeline milking system: the cows are tied in their stalls, the udders washed and a milking machine attached to all four teats on the cow’s udder. A hose runs from the milking machine to a stainless steel pipeline located over the cow’s head. The pipeline runs the length of the barn and is connected to a big bulk tank in the milkhouse
Milking parlour: the cows walk onto a raised platform with gates. The gates keep the cow from moving while she is being milked. When milking is over, she walks out the other side. The milk goes directly through a pipeline to the bulk tank in the milkhouse.
Robotic milking system: similar to a parlour system, except that the entire milking system is automated. Cows can enter the robot at anytime during the day to be milked. A warning system alerts the farmer if there is a problem with a cow or the milking system.
Hay: a mixture of grass and legumes, like alfalfa. It is most commonly used in two ways:
- Haylage: the hay is cut, chopped and stored in a loose way in a storage silo, while it is still moist.
- Hay: usually cut after haylage when the plants are taller, it is allowed to dry in the field. It is then baled into round of square bales and stored under cover.
Corn: Planted in the spring and harvested in the fall. It too is usually used in two ways:
- Corn Silage: The whole plant is harvested while it is still green in a silo. After the silage is stored in the silo, the wet corn undergoes fermentation, or pickling. In this process, the corn is changed by a bacterial process to make it tastier and easier to digest by the cows. When the silage comes out of the silo it is more palatable. The same process turns wet hay into haylage.
- Grain Corn: Only the kernels from the plant are harvested and stored in a dry form. Grain corn is usually ground up and mixed with any barley or oats, a protein food like soybean meal, plus vitamins and minerals.