The flow diagram illustrates the sequential stages invovled in the commercial production, processing, and distribution of fresh milk and its derivate products.
Overall, the process is a linear eight-step system that begins with agricultural cattle grazing and culminates in the retial sale of finished dairy goods to consumers. The process can be boardly divided into three main phases: farm level collection, factory processing, and commercial distribution.
In the intial stage, cow graze on pastures and are subsequently milked twice a day using mechanical milking equipment. Once collected, the raw milk is immediately transferred to large storage tanks where it is refrigerated to preserve freshness. Following this, specialized refrigerated milk tankers transport the chilled liquid from the farm to a processing dairy on a daily basis.
Upon arrival at the dairy, the milk undergoes two distinct processing paths. A portion of it is pasteurized and packaged directly into bottles and cartons as liquid milk. The remaining milk is processed further to create various dairy derivatives, specifically cheese, cream, and butter. In the final stages, both the packaged milk and processed dairy goods are loaded into delivery trucks and distributed to supermarkets, where they are ultimately placed on shelves for consumer purchase.