Kathy Dettwyler wrote:
<<But my point was that if human milk "turns to nutrition-free white
fluid" at
6 months post-partum, then when does cows' milk "turn to nutrition-free
white fluid" and what percentage of the milk we buy is from cows' whose
calves are so old that they are now producing nutrition-free milk.>>

Most cows will be allowed to produce milk for about 11 months and then
they are dried up about a month or two before the birth of their next
calf. They would probably produce milk for much longer but the smaller
amounts they produce as lactation goes on makes it economically
inefficient for the farmer to continue milking them. There is a bigger
gain to be made if the cow produces a calf about every 12 months and is
milked for about 10 months. I have no idea how long a calf would nurse
if allowed to do so at its own pace. Most calves in my experience only
got fed milk for about 4 months, and their own mother's for maybe 3
days. I never gave it much thought until I had my babies.

Donna Hansen
Burnaby, British Columbia
Canada
(where it was the most beautiful sunny day today, the daffodils are
beginning to push through)