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Cows neither produce milk all the time, nor do they only produce milk when they are pregnant. In general, cows begin to produce milk when they give birth and will continue to do so until they are "dried-off", which happens when their calf is weaned (beef cows) or when the farmer stops milking them (dairy cows). For most cows, milk production increases until about 90 days after they give birth, and then slowly declines during the rest of the lactation. If a dairy cow is re-bred successfully at 60-90 days following calving, she will usually be "dried-off" after a lactation of about 305 days so that her mammary gland has a chance to re-charge for a couple months before she gives birth to another calf. (A cow's gestation period is about 280 days.) Some cows that do not re-breed can be milked continuously for 2-3 years, but production declines sufficiently over time that this is not usually economically feasible. Consequently, cows with fertility problems get culled from the herd. More input from WikiAnswers Contributors: * Only when pregnant like other mammels....except they keep getting milked in the farms which means that their bodies will continue to produce it as long as it is being used. Milk doesn't know that it is going into a jug and into a store or the difference between that and if a calf is drinking it. Viola. * Some cows from strong milk lines (most commonly in JERSEY and HOLSTEIN breeds) young cows can and do produce milk without being pregnant. This is called Spontaneous Lactation, Virgin Lactation or Maiden Milk. This also happens with Dairy Goats such as Nubian and LaMancha breeds.

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