Why Milk Tests Vary

Many factors may cause variation in the fat content of milk. Fat tests have been known to vary as much as 2% from one milking to the next. Under poor management and rough handling they may vary even more. There will be less variation in a well-managed herd than in one where the management changes often or is poor. Milk from a fairly large herd is reasonably constant in its fat content from day to day because it is a mixture of milk from many cows, but it may show some seasonal changes