The tense security situation in southern Israel did not stop a cow named Sufa (storm) from Kibbutz Karmia, located in the Gaza vicinity, from being crowned as the champion of milk production for the second year in a row. She gave more than 20,000 liters (5,283 gallons) of milk over the past year - almost double the annual 11,000-liter (2,906-gallon) average.

The director of Karmia's dairy farm, Yoram Shpirer, said that the tough security circumstances do not harm the cows' milk production. "It is known that cows are very affected by stress and tough conditions," he said, noting that even during 2009's Operation Cast Lead Karmia's cows managed to keep productivity up.

"All of the dairy farmers arrived at the farm channeling optimism, so it didn't harm the cows' yield," he added.





Two-time champion, Sufa (Photo: Yoram Shpirer)

Shpirer said that Sufa is an exceptional cow who gave birth three times already. "During her last pregnancy she produced over 20,000 liters (5,283 gallons) a year and managed to give birth to twins," he said.

According to Shpirer, the kibbutz dubs this extraordinary cow's whole family "storm" for its unique qualities: due to genetic modification, all of the family's many offspring have turned out exceptionally productive. "One of Sufa's offspring was taken for special care, so he can be used for cow insemination," Shpirer said.

Yaakov Bachar, CEO of the Israeli Cattle Breeders Association, said that Israeli cows are considered world record holders in the production of milk fat and milk protein, surpassing even the Dutch cows, whose climate and environment are more conducive to milk production than Israel's.

Bachar added that there are 125,000 dairy cows in Israel, and that the average Israeli consumes 170 liters (45 gallons) of dairy a year.