How Much Milk Does a Jersey Cow Produce Per Day Donna Larson, April 7, 2024 You’ve been considering the big leap into adding dairy to your homestead, but you really wonder how much milk does a jersey cow produce per day? Let’s dive into how many gallons of milk, genetics, and more to answer the question. How Much Milk Does a Jersey Cow Produce Per Day The average daily output for a jersey cow is around 37 pounds of milk per day. However, this isn’t such a black and white answer. There are a few main factors that determine how much milk does a jersey cow produce per day: Genetics plays the biggest role in how much jerseys produce. Diet should be tailored to her production needs. Age and which lactation she’s in. Where she is in her lactation cycle. Frequency in milking The answer to how much milk does a jersey cow produce per day can vary from as little as ten pounds to as much as 60 pounds of milk per day. Genetics in Dairy Breeds While jersey cows are not as high volume producers as holstein cows, a well-bred jersey can give an incredible amount of milk. One would think that a smaller size cow will always produce less than larger dairy cattle. This isn’t always the case. My personal experience with a few jersey cows is that genetic lines within the breed vary widely. Take these two examples that I’m currently working with: Dolly She’s about 1200 pounds and stands 57 inches at the shoulder. Dolly is a big girl by jersey standards. She’s 6 years old and only in her second lactation. This larger, pure bred jersey is currently six months into this lactation, and we weaned her calf about a month ago. Dolly is producing roughly four to four and half gallons of milk on once a day milking. She’s only being fed 15 pounds of 15% protein grain per day (plus free choice Coastal Bermuda hay). Her feed to milk conversion is excellent. Last, Dolly holds weight incredibly well. This is advantageous when adjusting a dairy cow’s diet because we’re always balancing production with weight. Producing milk takes a lot of calories and sometimes leads to underweight cows. Willow This cow is also a pure bred jersey cow, but she’s only about 800 pounds. Willow is considered a smaller standard jersey, standing at 43 inches tall at her shoulders. We don’t know Willow’s age, but she’s definitely “mature” and shows signs of being an older gal. She’s four months into this lactation, and she’s currently feeding her fat heifer and a younger steer who likes to steal milk. Willow is producing the same amount of milk for me on once a day milking as Dolly is. However, she’s also feeding the two calves, so overall she’s producing more. She’s receiving more than twice the amount of feed as Dolly, getting 35 pounds of the same 15% protein grain. This cow is a super high-maintenance jersey cow. She refuses to gain weight during lactation, no matter how much feed I give her. If I feed her more carbohydrates (customary for cows to gain weight), she simply produces more milk or more butterfat. While she’s a great producer, underweight dairy cows become more fragile. Willow is more prone to life threatening metabolic issues like ketoacidosis and hypocalcemia. Jersey Cow Feed Intake Generally, a high protein diet will help increase the milk yield out of any dairy cow. Dairy farms typically feed a 16-18% protein for maximum output. Pound for pound, the cow needs each pound of milk to be replaced by at least a pound of feed. Milk weighs about 8.6 pounds per gallon. Keeping this in mind, you can see how well our Dolly is doing. How much milk does a jersey cow produce per day will always be altered by the cow’s diet. A poor diet will appear in a decline in milk production. Selective Breeding for Less Feed There’s a bottom line to consider whether you’re keeping family cows or working as dairy farmers. If it costs you more to feed the cows than they can produce, then they aren’t worth keeping. Choosing the best genetics helps us efficiently manage a small dairy herd. We do this by selectively breeding the best-converting cows to even better bulls, creating healthy dairy lines for production and sustainability. We bred Dolly to an excellent sire with grass fed genetics to improve her production. The hope is that her heifer calf will eventually produce even more milk than she does, but that the heifer will maintain/improve the same feed to milk conversion. This is something that dairy farmers are always looking to do with their production herd. Whether it’s feed conversion or butterfat content, teat placement or stature, selective breeding for better genetics is a conscience effort to improve to the breed standards overall. Age and Lactation A jersey heifer (first time she freshens) will produce the least amount of milk of her life. She will increase daily production with each lactation until she peaks at about six years old and in her fourth lactation. This is an average. As I mentioned, Dolly is six and only in her second lactation. Milk production fluctuates throughout each lactation cycle as well. She will start off with high production at calving, and increase for the next six to eight weeks. Somewhere around this time, she’ll plateau at her peak lactation for a while. How long is hard to say because each cow is an individual. Sometimes they’ll maintain their peak amount for a few weeks and sometimes for a few months. As she gets further into lactation, she’ll begin to decline in production until she’s ready to dry off. Hopefully, the cow has been bred back so that she calves annually. We dry them off at 10 months fresh (if re-bred at 2 months post calving), so that she can get a two month break before calving again. This is her dry period. You can see that how much milk does a jersey cow produce per day will vary with the cow’s seasons. Milking Frequency Most times, we milk dairy cows once or twice a day. Dairy farms in the United States will undoubtedly milk at least twice a day and sometimes three times a day (holsteins). More frequent milking equals higher production, but it also means high input of feed costs. Backyard homesteaders may choose to milk once or twice a day, depending on the cow’s production and whether or not they’re calf-sharing. A Jersey breed dairy cow looking at the camera with the rest of the herd in the background The Jersey Breed Average How much milk does a jersey cow produce per day? The average jersey cow will give just over 37 pounds of milk per day. This equals about 4.35 gallons of milk. Again, her diet, breed, and milking frequency will better determine exactly how much milk she gives. Let’s compare the average production jersey with some other popular dairy breeds. Jersey 37 pounds holstein 75 pounds brown swiss 48 pounds Guernsey 77 pounds You can see where the jersey lines up with total volume produced. More than just overall milk production, you can see what the American Jersey Cattle Association reports for fat and protein tests year after year. Apparently, we’re constantly breeding for better genetics to better the breed’s output and maintain healthy cows. Keeping a Jersey as a Family Milk Cow What will you do with an average of 37 pounds of milk per day? Do you need more than four gallons of milk daily? What if she has seasons of producing more? What if you choose to have two jerseys, and their lactations overlap, giving you ten gallons of milk per day? These are all questions that you have to ask yourself after learning how much milk does a jersey cow produce per day. Perhaps keeping mini jerseys is a better fit for a family cow. You still get the higher percentage of butterfat, but less overall volume of milk to deal with. Besides Milk Production, Jerseys are Great Cows The jersey cow is highly sought after by homesteaders for her butter fat content in her cream. This gives us a delicious, sweet raw milk product at home. We use the butterfat for making butter, (obviously), sour cream, cheeses, ice cream, whipped cream, and more creamy dairy products. Additionally, her production of milk is high, but not as high as some other breeds. Jerseys are also known to be fertile creatures, making them easier to breed than the other top dairy producers. This is such an important factor because breeding is necessary to produce milk. They’re also typically “easy-calvers,” which means they have a lower incidence of birthing difficulties. The Jersey cow has a fun personality with an overall good nature. They’re pretty easy to train and bond with their handlers. This makes them pretty great cows. The Downside of Keeping Jersey Cows Jersey cows can be difficult to maintain body condition leading to a multitude of health problems. They are the breed that many dairymen say like to find ways to end their own lives. They seem to be prone to a sleuth of life threatening problems. Hypocalcemia and ketoacidosis are the two top metabolic syndromes that we see around calving. Grass tetani, bloat, and mastitis are other problems we might see. All of these conditions can be managed and controlled by diet, mineral supplementation, and having a general diverse knowledge about keeping dairy cows. Further Questions About Jersey Milk Cows Here are some other questions I hear quite frequently about jersey cows. 1. Is It True That Dairy Cows Aren’t Good Mothers This is something that I’ve seen put out by the dairy industry through social media education of late. Compared to beef dams, no, I’d say that dairy cows aren’t the best mothers. Beef cows are more likely to run you over for messing with their young. However, I’ve never had a dairy dam reject a calf. Even if it appears that they aren’t worried about their calf in the field, they always seem to know where she is. I’ve always had dairy cows tend to their calves at birth like they’re supposed to. Further, the jersey momma cow is often a great nurse cow to extra calves. How much milk does a jersey cow produce per day? Usually its enough to feed her calf, at least another calf, and a small family. 2. Can a Jersey Be Used for Beef? Absolutely. Jersey meat is known to be well-marbled. Many small farms will cross their jersey cows with beef sires so that the bring beef calves to raise. The downside is that jerseys don’t have an efficient feed to muscle ratio because they direct their energy to making milk. So you’ll really great beef out of the jersey, but the cuts will be very small. Another minor issue that some consumers might have with jersey beef is that jerseys have yellow fat. This is because their bodies metabolize and store beta carotene more efficiently than other breeds. (It’s also why jersey milk is a creamier color than bright white.) 3. Jersey Beef Vs Angus Beef I wouldn’t choose to raise jersey beef for profit. Angus beef is far better conversion of feed to dollars if you’re looking to raise beef. However, I’m looking to raise dairy, which brings beef as a by-product. If I can cross my jersey with angus beef, then I can call it “angus beef.” This sounds shady right? I agree. You can blame the massive Certified Angus Beef campaign of recent decades. I actually prefer to tell potential beef buyers that my calves are 50/50 because the jersey marbling really does bring a positive influence on the beef we produce. It’s also an excellent opportunity to educate buyers on what they’re getting and why this is the product we’re choosing to produce. I never forget to tell them that we’ve raised several different breeds of beef, and our favorite is still the angus jersey cross. 4. What Happens if You Don’t Milk a Jersey? Remember asking how much milk does a jersey cow produce per day? It’s not a miniscule amount even though it’s not holstein volumes. If you don’t milk out your jersey, you’re inviting infection of the udder that can lead to a few possible results. First, when you don’t milk the cow, her body is signaled that it’s producing more than is needed. She will naturally decline in production over time, giving you less milk. Secondly, when your cow produces more than is being taken, she will likely develop mastitis. This can range from easily treatable with homeopathic remedies, to toxic deadly disease is a short amount of time. We don’t play around with mastitis, so we never skip milking. 5. Where Can I Milk a Cow? I’m so glad you asked. We have a much more comprehensive information on keeping a family cow on the blog. Summary of How Much Milk Does a Jersey Cow Produce Per Day I hope that you can see that the jersey cow’s potential to produce between 30-50 pounds of milk per day can be a blessing or curse. You need to research further about the particular cow that you’re looking to buy. Now that you know how much milk does a jersey cow produce per day, ask yourself how much milk does your family need to produce dairy products at home. Happy Milking! Donna @ Hazel Belle Farm Donna and her family have been homesteading for most of their 20+ years together in some shape or fashion. She currently lives on their 20 acre farm where they grow as much food as possible. What started as a just a few laying hens, has grown into large gardens, pastured poultry, pork, and lamb. They are continuously evolving their small farm to not suit their family’s needs, but also providing to their local community. Donna’s favorite part of the family farm is her self-built micro-dairy, where she gets to love on dairy cows while serving her local community. Milking, cheesemaking, and processing dairy have become the soul of their homestead and the center of their farm Dairy Homesteading Livestock