Milk Production

Milk Sourcing

The Babcock Dairy Plant receives milk from the CALS Dairy Barn, located just up the street, and other local dairy farms.

How It’s Made

After receiving milk, Babcock Dairy Plant employees test it for quality and food safety. The milk is then transferred into a holding tank and pasteurized.

Then, the milk is sent through a separator, which removes all butterfat. Depending on the type of milk (skim, 1%, 2% or whole), the correct amount of butterfat is added back in. This mixture is sent through a homogenizer to suspend the fat globules in the milk. Finally, the milk is bagged for food service milk dispensers on campus and is ready to enjoy!

About Milk

Milk contains 87.5% water, 3.9% milk fat, 3.4% protein, 4.8% lactose and 0.8% minerals.

Milk is also full of nutrients, including:

• Calcium: Gives you strong bones and teeth. Calcium also aids in clotting your blood.
• Vitamin D: Helps your bones absorb calcium better.
• Protein: Assists in building and repairing your muscles. It also gives you an energy enhancement during a cardio workout.
• Potassium: Your body loses vital nutrients when you sweat, potassium helps regulate the balance of fluids in your body and helps your muscles effectively contract and relax.
• Vitamin B-12: Builds red blood cells that carry oxygen from the lungs to working muscles.
• Vitamin A: Essential to maintain normal vision and skin.
• Riboflavin: Converts your food into energy, important for exercising muscles.