The development of modern dairying, which began around 1850, has been driven by the growth of urban markets and by scientific, technological, and economic factors: the invention of specialized machines, notably the cream separator (see separator, cream); research in chemistry, physics, and bacteriology; the discovery of pasteurization; the introduction of the test devised by American agricultural chemist S. M. Babcock for determining the fat content of milk; improved refrigeration and transportation; the discovery of new uses for the byproducts of milk processing; and increased milk productivity resulting from scientific feeding of cattle and the application of advanced biotechnology to breeding. Traditional small-scale dairy farms have increasingly been replaced by larger operations with herds of 1,000 cows or more.
See G. Schmidt and L. D. Van Vleck, Principles of Dairy Science (1988); K. Russell and K. Slater, The Principles of Dairy Farming (11th ed. 1991).
Licensed from Columbia University Press
Form of animal husbandry that uses mammals, primarily cows, for the production of milk and products processed from it (including butter, cheese, and ice cream). Though cattle, goats, and sheep have been kept for the production of dairy products since the earliest historical times, modern dairy farming resulted from the technological advances of the past hundred years: the factory system for processing; sterile storage; refrigeration, fast vehicles and paved roads; and pasteurization and the enforcement of food-safety laws. Outstanding dairy breeds include the Holstein, Guernsey, Jersey, Ayrshire, and Brown Swiss.
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