e-ReferenceDesk's College and 50 State Learning Resource Guide

Find Online Colleges

Find Campus Colleges

State Symbols

The official state symbols represent the cultural heritage and natural treasures of each state or the entire United States

South Dakota Symbols

South Dakota State Drink

Milk

(lac vaccum)

Adopted in 1983.

Milk, lac vaccum, was adopted

in 1983 as the South Dakota State

Drink.

Agriculture is the number one industry in South Dakota providing a $16.3 billion economic impact to the state. Dairy products are the second leading livestock commodity in cash receipts. The state's milk production in 2000 totaled 1,634 million pounds, up from 1,507 million in 1999. The average number of milk cows, at 102,000 head, was unchanged from last year, and production per cow, at 16,020, increased 1,245 pounds (8 percent) in 2000. Most of our milk is processed into cheese, milk powder and whey blends, then exported to other states. Although total dairy farm numbers are declining, many producers are enhancing their operations to become more efficient and profitable.

Where milk comes from and how it's made.
Ever wonder where delicious milk comes from? It all starts with healthy, well-fed cows that live on farms all around America the beautiful.

Did you know that: Milk has been proclaimed the official state beverage or drink in each of the following states:

State Symbol: Milk

All cows are females (males are called bulls).
A cow can't give milk until she's given birth to a calf.
Cows provide 90% of the world's milk supply.
A cow's udder can hold 25-50 pounds of milk at a time -- no wonder she's so eager to be milked -- and a cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.

Can You Say, "I'm Full?"
Cows are BIG eaters. Did you know that cows have four stomachs and eat 90 pounds of food a day? That's probably more than you weigh! A cow that chows on only grass can make 50 glasses of milk a day. But one that eats grass, corn and hay can make 100 glasses of milk a day!

See Moo Milk

South Dakota Statutes
1-6-16. State drink. Milk, lac vaccum, is hereby designated as the official drink of the State of South Dakota.

State Symbols

State symbols represent things that are special to a particular state.

symbol \ˈsim-bəl\
noun

Etymology:
in sense 1, from Late Latin symbolum, from Late Greek symbolon, from Greek, token, sign; in other senses from Latin symbolum token, sign, symbol, from Greek symbolon, literally, token of identity verified by comparing its other half, from symballein to throw together, compare, from syn- + ballein to throw — more at devil
Date: 15th century

1: Something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible.