Dairy farming isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s early mornings and late nights, lots of hard work and doing more with less — but dairy farmers will say it’s all worth it when you’re doing what you love and nourishing your community with delicious dairy foods.
Dairy Herd Management is an important factor for Dairy farms that maintain long-term high production. They need to successfully manage several key factors: cow nutrition, reproduction, comfort, and milking. Alongside these essentials, all dairy farms must deal with the logistics of weather, transportation, and expenses. It can be a lot to balance, but proper planning and thoughtful utilization of the latest dairy farm training and technology make it possible. This article outlines the principles of properly managing a dairy herd to maintain high milk production and happy cows.
Feeding Management
It is essential that cows have constant access to high-quality feed and clean water. Milking cows each need 60-70 liters of water a day, plus an additional 4-5 liters per liter of milk produced. To accomplish this, they need consistent access to water troughs. Cows drink a large percentage of their daily water right after milking, so it is essential to have plenty of trough space as cows leave the milking parlor. Likewise, fresh forage should be consistently available. There should always be more than enough space for each cow to access the forage, so that dominant cows don’t bully younger ones and prevent them from eating. In general, you should feed with forage first, then supplement with nutritional concentrates. A general rule is to feed 1 kilogram of concentrate for every 2 kilograms of milk a cow produces. This ensures that they are receiving enough nutrients.
Milking Tips
Milking is never as simple as connecting cows to the equipment. The following tips will help to make milking as efficient and low-stress as possible:
Cows are susceptible to stress – farm staff should try to maintain a calm, quiet environment.
When moving into the milking parlor, keep cows moving slowly to avoid slipping.
Teats should be clean and dry before being connected to milking equipment
Teats should be treated with an antiseptic after milking to prevent disease
Milking equipment should be checked daily by looking for vent blocks and watching milk flow
Milking equipment should be cleaned with water and sanitizer.
Managing Milk Quality
Immediately after milking, the milk needs to be chilled. For large farms, this might be in your own refrigeration units. Otherwise, the milk needs to be transported right after milking to a colling collection center.
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