Dairy Management

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Dairy Management

• Three general systems of dairying
• Management Intensive Grazing (MIG)
• Seasonal Dairying
• Confinement Dairying

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Dairy Management

• Management Intensive Grazing (MIG)
• Cows are grazed during the grass growing season
  supplemented forages during the non-growing
  season
• Cows can be supplemented grain to maintain milk
  production
• Cows may be in various stages of lactation at
  various times of the year

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Dairy Management

• Management Intensive Grazing (MIG)
• Advantages
• Lower input costs (facilities feed)
• Waste handling
• Fewer feet leg problems
• Disadvantages
• Amount quality of grass can be limiting
• Typically lower milk production
• Fewer opportunities to observe animals for signs
  of estrus and health problems
• Pasture paddock maintenance

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Management Intensive Grazing
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Dairy Management

• Seasonal Dairying
• All cows are on the same lactation calving
  schedule
• All cows in the herd are dried off within a 6-8
  week period
• Reproductive cycles of the cow may be matched to
  the availability of forages
• In hot, humid climates, reproductive cycles may
  be synchronized so that cows are either not
  producing milk or being bred during summer

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Dairy Management

• Seasonal Dairying
• Advantages
• Capitalizes on forage availability thereby
  reducing feed costs
• If cows are calving at the end of the summer, may
  capitalize on higher fall milk prices
• Down time during dry period
• Disadvantages
• Synchronizing breeding cycles
• Lack of year-round cash flow
• Potentially high cull rates if cows are not bred
  during the breeding window

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Dairy Management

• Confinement Dairying
• Cows are housed year-round
• Dry cows may have access to grass or dirt lots
• Housing is usually in the form of freestall barns
  (midwest and eastern US) or dry lots (western US)
• Cows are in various stages of lactation at
  various times during the year

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Dairy Management

• Confinement Dairying
• Advantages
• Milk production year-round (equal cash flow)
• Cows readily observed for signs of estrus and
  health problems
• Greater milk production / acre of land
• Disadvantages
• High potential for feet leg problems/estrus
• Waste handling
• High facility investment
• Year round management

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Confinement Dairying
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Dairy Management

• Each system may be used exclusively or in
  combination with other systems
• Seasonal dairying MIG are commonly used
  together
• Smaller producers may use MIG during the growing
  season confinement systems during the winter
  months

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Dairy Management

• Feed
• Biggest expense
• Many confinement dairies purchase all feeds,
  including forages
• Reduces labor equipment costs

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Dairy Management

• Health
• Herd health problems costly in terms of treatment
  lost income due to ? production
• Major health issues include
• Getting cows bred
• Feet and leg problems
• Mastitis
• Nutritional-related disorders

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Mastitis

• Mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland
• Clinical vs Subclinical mastitis
• mild few flakes and/or clots
• moderate grossly abnormal milk, swollen udder
• severe grossly abnormal milk, swollen udder,
  sick cow

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Mastitis
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Dairy Management

• Facilities
• High-input costs with regards to facilities
• Facilities may include
• milking facilities
• animal facilities
• feed storage
• manure storage
• machinery and equipment
• storage

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Parlors

• Types
• Parallel
• Herringbone
• Rotary

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Parallel Parlor
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Herringbone Parlor
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Rotary Parlor
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Robotic Milker
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Dairy Management

• Labor
• 2nd biggest cost to dairies
• Influences each facet of operation may
  influence system of dairying

• Current issues include
• lack of trained labor
• competition for labor from local industry
• use of legal alien labor

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Dairy Management

• Manure management
• handling
• storage
• application/elimination
• environmental concerns
• regulations

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Manure Management

• Mature Dairy Cow
• 106 lbs of manure daily
• 43 lbs of urine daily

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Manure Management