How many gallons of water must a cow drink to produce one gallon of milk?

Answer 1

Water intake depends on many factors including humidity and air temperature, salinity of the feed, physiological needs/stressors, size of the cow, how much milk that cow produces per milking or per day, location (as in latitude and climate), etc.

This means that numbers will vary. Some sources say two gallons, others claim as much as ten.

Answer 2

Lactating dairy cattle will drink 25 to 30 gallons (95 to 114 litres) of water per day (some bigger and heavier producing cows will drink up to or around 50 gallons [189 litres] per day), however, a dry dairy cow will drink 10 to 20 gallons (37 to 75 litres) of water per day.

Answer 3

This really depends on the salinity of the feed, the time of year, climate, weather, heat index, etc. Since milk is 98 to 99% water, most of the water a cow drinks goes into milk production in addition to the cow's bodily needs for water. Lactating cows tend to drink more water than cows that are dry.

Answer 4

On average, a bovine is expected to drink around 7 to 10% of its body weight per day, though this in itself is highly variable due to all sorts of factors like diet, time of year, physiological demands, humidity levels, etc.

Answer 5

A lactating cow, dairy or no, typically drinks around 10% of her body weight in water per day.

Answer 6

A lactating dairy cow typically needs 10% of her body weight in water per day.

Answer 7

7gallons

Answer 8

8 gallons

Answer 9

12

Answer 10

30 gallon