It's delicious, it's nutritious, and it's produced by local farmers.

Today is World Milk Day, which one registered dietician says is an important day to help consumers understand the value of consuming dairy. Pat McCarthy-Briggs of Dairy Farmers of Manitoba says milk contains minerals, like calcium and phosphorous, which help build and maintain bone strength.

"As far as calcium goes, there isn't another food that has as much calcium, and where the calcium is as good of quality, where the body uses it well and actually delivers it to bone tissue or delivers to places in the body where it's going to be used. So you get a lot of calcium, and good quality calcium," McCarthy-Briggs explains.

In addition to the health benefits, milk production also benefits the economy. According to Dairy Farmers of Manitoba, the province produces just over 340 million litres of milk per year. This translates to about 7500 jobs within Manitoba, with the national industry accounting for about 215,000 jobs Canada-wide.