Milk production occurs in all States of Australia and across a wide range of climates, from cool temperate to semi-tropical. Victoria accounts for 61% of national milk production.

Production is cost efficient, being based on the grazing of pastures, with no shedding of animals. There is limited, but increasing, use of feed grain/concentrates. Use of these supplements is influenced by relative milk prices and grain costs.

National milk production in 1996/97 totalled just over 9,040 million litres- from around 1.9 million cows. This was 3.7% higher than 1995/96 production.

How Cows Make the Milk
Grass and fresh water provide cows with all the nutrition they require. Like sheep and goats, cows are ruminants. This term refers to all animals which gather their food - grass, hay or special crops - and swallow it quickly until they feel full. The animal then "ruminates" or regurgitates its food and chews it over. The eating habits of cows differ from other animals such as humans, pigs or horses which chew and grind their food before swallowing.

A cow may eat up to 70kgs of grass in one day. This grass is converted into milk after travelling through the cow's four stomachs. First, the unchewed grass collects in the first stomach until it is full. It then passes into the second stomach where it starts to ferment and forms into small balls - the cud which the cow chews. Once the chewed cud has been swallowed again, it is broken up further by bacteria in the third stomach and finally digested in the fourth stomach. The nutrients from the grass are absorbed into the cow's bloodstream and some are carried to the udder where they are used to produce milk. Inside the udder, the milk is stored in bags or "cisterns" above each of the four teats. It is released when the teats are stimulated by the action of the milking machine or by the calf feeding. Cows need to be milked regularly each day to release the milk which is constantly building up in the udder as they eat.