Welcome to our new Milk Quality page. On this page we will display results from official Vermont Dairy Herd Improvement Association milk quality tests. These tests will serve to compare Randall Lineback milk records with average Jersey and Holstein records from the same herd.

All the cows listed in this comparison are first calf heifers from the same herd and are fed the same feeds. The cows are fed 1st, 2nd and 3rd cut round bale silage on automatic feeders. Grain amounts are fed according to body condition and milk production. Cows are pasture-fed from mid-May to the end of October as weather permits.

Daisy the Randall Lineback
Date Days in Milk *Body Condition Milk # Fat % Protein %
5/17/05 22 3.5 19 4.0 3.3
6/13/05
49
3.75
12
4.0
3.4
Jersey Average
Milk #
Fat %
Protein %
43
5.2
3.7
Holstein Average
Milk #
Fat %
Protein %
76
3.2
3.2

*Body condition score is on a scale of 1 - 5, where a score of "1" means underweight and "5" means obese. An optimum body score for a cow in Daisy's stage of lactaion is around 3. This gives her the body reserves she needs to support heavy milking, general health and r0eproduction.


Daisy 3 weeks after calving


Holstein milk on left, Randall Lineback milk on right. Note the difference in color.

The quality of Randall Lineback milk seems to be comparable to that of a Jersey or Guernsey. The quantity is less than we would normally see in a commercial herd. (Considering that Randalls have so far not been genetically bred for milk production, as are the other dairy breeds, this is forgivable.)

My wife and I have been making cheese, butter, kefir, and yogurt out of both Randall Lineback milk and Jersey/Holstein milk. The Randall cheese yield has been noticeably higher than the yield from the bulk tank milk, which is a combination of Jersey and Holstein milk. This may be from the high levels of fat, protein and other milk solids in the Randall Lineback milk.

Future Randall milk testing will reveal the levels of fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals as compared to other breeds. (Stay tuned - these will be coming soon.)

Although we have tested only one Randall Lineback cow, this will give us a general idea of the quality of milk one can expect. We hope that we will have some others on offical DHI test soon.