Made in Michigan milk and dairy products
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EmailMichigan dairy products are widely available at grocery stores throughout Michigan.
Have you wondered where to get local milk? You don’t have to go far! The milk in your grocery store was most likely produced from cows not far from where you live. In Michigan, we produce enough milk to supply our state with fluid milk and export fluid milk and milk products out of state. If you are looking to source your other dairy products from Michigan, that is easy to do as well. Michigan has many small and large scale producers of fluid milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt and specialty dairy products.
Michigan’s 2,000 Grade A dairy farms produce about 875 million gallons of milk every year. Michigan ranks eighth in milk production in the U.S., producing 4.3% of the nation’s milk supply. Milk goes directly from the cow into the milking unit, into a stainless steel pipeline, and is then immediately cooled to 38 degrees F in a stainless steel bulk tank. A milk truck then picks up the milk and delivers to a processing plant where it is turned into your favorite dairy product. The milk could arrive at the grocery store the day after it is produced by the cow.
Milk is one of the most highly regulated foods in the U.S. Both state and federal officials inspect dairy farms on a regular basis for quality and safety. Milk is sampled both at the farm and at the processing plant for temperature and the presence of antibiotics and bacteria. In addition, milk is pasteurized to ensure that there are no harmful bacteria in it. Pasteurization is a century old process of heating up raw milk to a set temperature that will kill any harmful bacteria present, and then rapidly cooling it back to 40 degrees F. Most fluid milk is also homogenized. Homogenization is the process of reducing the particle size of the fat so that is stays evenly distributed in the milk, making it unnecessary to shake it up before drinking. Neither pasteurization nor homogenization significantly affects the important nutritional components of dairy products. Dairy products provide a unique package of nutrients. Dairy products are good sources of calcium, potassium, vitamin D and protein.
