MILK SYNTHESIS (GALACTOPOIESIS) The efficiency of milk secretion becomes apparent when it is realized that a cow that produces

14,500 Ib of milk during one year manufactures 523 Ib of milk fat, 674 Ib of milk sugar, 477 Ib of milk protein, and 109 Ib of minerals and vitamins, or a total of over 1,783 Ib of food. (Since milk contains approximately 87.7 water and 12.3 solids, 14,500 Ib of milk contains 1,783 Ib of solids12.3 of 14,500.) That's equivalent to the carcass weight produced by 2V2 steers in 18 months' time. Moreover, the cow is still alive and can repeat the productivity again and again, whereas the 2V2 steers must be slaughtered or "spent." The alveolus is, in effect, a milk factory. It has the ability to take nutrients from the blood and transform them into one of nature's most perfect foods. Calactopoiesis is the term used to describe the biosynthesis of milk. For the first 1 to 2 hours after milking, there is no intramammary pressure, and milk secretion is at a minimum . However, once the body has had a chance to recuperate from the last milking and after the hormonal effects of milk ejection have subsided, galactopoiesis gets into full gear. Milk is composed of the following components: (1) water; (2) fat; (3) solids-not-fat, such as protein, lactose, vitamins, and minerals; (4) sloughed-off secretory cells; and (5) bacteria.

(Ensminger)