According to the Dairy Council data, the Israeli cow maintains the highest milk yield in the world, with an average of 12,074 liters of milk per year. Israelis, on the other hand, drink an average of 48.2 liters of milk per year.
Over 100 dairies operate in Israel, with the leading ones being Tnuva, Tara, Strauss, Gad and Ramat Golan. Cow nutrition in Israel consists of 70% of concentrated feed and 30% of coarse feed, which includes grains, coriander, fodder grains and more. The food is distributed to the cows once or twice a day, and they eat it throughout the day.
The average weight of a cow is about 650 kg, while the average weight of a bull is over 1,000 kg. In the past year, about 1.5 billion liters of cow’s milk, ten million liters of sheep’s milk and 13 million liters of goat’s milk were produced in Israel. Production increased by a minimal rate of 0.26% compared to 2022, following the opening of import quotas for dairy products.
Cow’s milk is produced in 634 dairy farms across the country, with 60% of the milk coming from kibbutzim and 40% from family farms in the settlements. In 2023, the Israeli dairy farmer received an average of NIS 2.41 per liter of milk, and the current price is NIS 2.40 per liter.
The Dairy Council emphasizes that following agreements signed in recent years, the import of dairy products to Israel is fully open without tariffs in a variety of categories. However, there are significant concerns, when about 20% of milk production is under fire in the Gaza Envelope and the Upper Galilee.
On Black Saturday, October 7, five dairy farmers were murdered in their work, and some were kidnapped along with their families. CEO Itzik Schneider noted that this was the most difficult year for the dairy industry, in which they faced the severe disaster of loss of human life and with production management under threats.
Schneider called on the Israeli governments to act to strengthen Israeli agriculture and the dairy industry in particular, and emphasized that this is the way to guarantee the food security of the country’s citizens. “Just as the shells and bullets should be produced in Israel, so should the milk and fresh food,” he concluded.
