14-09-2017, 01:18 PM
Dairy farming is a kind of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or in a dairy, any of which can be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product . Although any mammal can produce milk, commercial dairy farms are typically single-species enterprises. In developed countries, dairy farms often consist of high-yielding dairy cows. Other species used in commercial dairy production include goats, sheep and camels. In Italy, donkey dairies are growing in popularity to produce an alternative source of milk for human babies.
While cattle were domesticated 11,000 years ago as a food source and as beasts of burden, the first evidence of using domesticated cows for dairy production is the seventh millennium BC - the early Neolithic era - in northwestern Anatolia. Dairy farming was developed in other parts of the world in later centuries: the sixth millennium a. C. in Eastern Europe, the fifth millennium BC in Africa and the fourth millennium BC in Great Britain and northern Europe.
In the last century, more or less large farms specializing in dairy products alone have emerged. The large-scale dairy farm is only viable when a large quantity of milk is needed to produce more durable dairy products such as cheese, butter, etc., or there is a substantial market for people with money to buy milk, but not their own cows . In 1800 von Thünen argued that there was about a radius of 100 miles around a city where such fresh milk supply was economically viable.
While cattle were domesticated 11,000 years ago as a food source and as beasts of burden, the first evidence of using domesticated cows for dairy production is the seventh millennium BC - the early Neolithic era - in northwestern Anatolia. Dairy farming was developed in other parts of the world in later centuries: the sixth millennium a. C. in Eastern Europe, the fifth millennium BC in Africa and the fourth millennium BC in Great Britain and northern Europe.
In the last century, more or less large farms specializing in dairy products alone have emerged. The large-scale dairy farm is only viable when a large quantity of milk is needed to produce more durable dairy products such as cheese, butter, etc., or there is a substantial market for people with money to buy milk, but not their own cows . In 1800 von Thünen argued that there was about a radius of 100 miles around a city where such fresh milk supply was economically viable.