How Much Water Do Dairy Farms Use?
By Larry Chase – Cornell University A 13-month study was recently completed on a dairy farm in Ohio to measure water use. A commercial dairy herd milking 484 cows at the start of the trial was used. By the end of the project, this herd was milking 988 cows. The number of dry cows increased from 56 to 156 during this period. This herd milks 3X and each milking takes about 6 hours. The milking parlor is washed down rather than using a flush system. Water meters were placed at 13 locations on the farm. Each meter contained a flow sensor and a flow transmitter. Results from a typical day (May, 2005) were: • 4,199 gallons were used to clean the milking parlor • 1,595 gallons were used by the parlor clean-in-place equipment • The bulk tank used 301 gallons of hot and cold water • 56 gallons were used for domestic purposes • 21,675 gallons were used by the plate cooler • The cows drank 24,409 gallons of water. • There were differences in the amount of water drank by the cows by month. During
