Buckets are necessary to milk cows.
How A Bucket Is Made
You can make buckets using the Animal Bench. You craft the Animal Bench on your workbench. The recipe for the Animal Bench is 30 WOOD and 5 IRON INGOTS. Once you craft your Animal Bench, place it on your island. Press “F” to open the bench. You will see the bucket, click on it and then craft it. The recipe for a bucket is 3 IRON INGOTS.
Uses For A Bucker-
You can milk your cows but you have to have a bucket. After you craft your bucket, make sure you are holding it and hover over the cow with your cursor (if the cow can be miked it will give the option and you would press “F”). A cow needs to be fully fed in order to produce milk.
You can also automatically milk your cow using the Industrial Milker.
Once you have a bucket of milk you can :
Sell it to Taliyah at the Hub for 80 coins OR Make cheese using the Cheesemaker and sell the cheese to Taliyah at the Hub for 100 coins. You need to go over to Taliyah and hover your cursor by her. Press “F” to talk to her and click on “view offers”. This is where you can sell your buckets of milk or cheese.