Cultivable microbial communities in raw cow milk and potential transfers from stables of sixteen French farms

► Here, we characterised the whole indigenous milk microflora. ► We traced the environmental sources of milk contamination. ► Microorganisms were phenotypically and genotypically identified. ► Milk contamination routes were mapped for the different microbial taxa. ► Our findings are useful for agro-alimentary industries and for farming communities.