There is much to love about dairy cows, especially all the delicious milk, ice cream, and cheese they bring to the table.

So let’s get the scoop on the animal behind that soft-serve cone!

Chances are if you look into the giant, adorable eyes of a cow, you will get that instant “friends for life” feeling. And chances are she is going to be your pal right back! Cows are very social; they like to hang out with other cows and even have best friends.

But good luck winning a game of tag with these farm friends, they are very hard to sneak up on. Not only can they run up to 35 miles per hour, they have panoramic vision and can see almost all the way around, AND they can smell up to six miles away!

Planning a lunch date? Make sure to go somewhere with a salad bar. Cows love to snack on grasses, grains and protein sources like soybeans. A common misunderstanding is that cows have four stomachs, but they actually have one stomach with four compartments: the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and the abomasum. Their digestion process enables them to eat food by-products that are inedible to humans: citrus pulp, cottonseed, almond shells are just a few examples. This is good news for the planet because these are items that might otherwise end up in landfills.

Generosity is a great trait to have, and cows give a lot. The average cow produces about six gallons of milk a day. Jersey cows, like Teeny, produce milk that has more protein, calcium and butterfat than milk from most other breeds. This high butterfat makes Jerseys the go-to cow when making cheese and ice cream.

So the next time you stop by the Big Red Barn, say “hi” to the cows and give them a thumbs up for all the delicious dairy treats.

They definitely will see you coming.

Want to learn more about cows and dairy farming?