Dairy Production

Question 0

5 points about Creamery Milk Production

Answer 0

Spring calving in Feb

Break in milk supply - no milk in Dec Jan

Dairies pay for quality - amount of butterfat and protein

Crossbreeds used - Crossbred Jersey

Bull calves used for beef farmers

Question 1

5 points about Liquid Milk Production

Answer 1

Year round calving - both spring and autumn calving

Constant milk supply

Dairies pay for quantity

Pure bred e.g Holstein and Friesian

Bull calves for veal export

Question 2

Name three good pure dairy breeds

Answer 2

Holstein
Jersey
Ayreshire

Question 3

Name 2 good Dual purpose breeds

Answer 3

Friesian

Dairy Shorthorn

Question 4

Name 3 good beef breeds

Answer 4

Aberdeen angus
Charolais
Hereford

Question 5

Give 5 points about the Friesian cow

Answer 5

Large animal - distinctive black and white coat - 700kg

Average milk yield is 5200 L with 3.75% fat content

Good breed for high milk yields and high butterfat

Fast growing beefy animal - beef used in continent

Dual purpose breed

Question 6

5 points about the Jersey

Answer 6

Small animals, not dual purpose

Weigh average 390kg

Jersey milk is very high quality with high protein and butterfat

Lower yield than friesian

Breed used for beef breeding as they are easy calvers and fertile , can be used as mother to charolais calves

Question 7

Bodily characteristics of Dairy Animals

Answer 7

Wedge shaped

Narrow shoulders

Wide hindquarters

Long thin neck

Strong but not well fleshed

Question 8

Improving production in the dairy herd. 5 points

Answer 8

Use suitable breeds with high quality/quantity milk
Liquid - holstein and friesian
Cream - jersey

Replace old cows with good heifers with hood characteristics

Carry out stripping milk and milk recording
Stripping - checking for mastitis
Recording - checking yield

Cull poor performing animals

Use performance testing - keeping records of growth, efficiency of converting feed and comparing with records of other animals kept under similar conditions

Progency testing - same but with offspring

Question 9

Factors to consider when selecting female breeding stock

Answer 9

Teeth Mouth and Feet - healthy full set of adult teeth - no lameness of feet and no discharge from mouth and nose

Age - at least 15 months before breeding to ensure female reproductive organs are fully developed
Between 300-350 kgs

Udder - not swollen or any lumps with right colour and no discharge

Breed - quantity with holstein quality with jersey

Visual signs of health - alert active no coughs no discharge no scour clean coat

BCS and Conformation - asses BCD by hand and should be a 3. Conformation should have strong legs with narrow shoulders and wide hindquarters to ensure easy calving

Question 10

Weight of female calve at birth

Answer 10

40 kg

Question 11

Weight of 1 year old calf reaching puberty

Answer 11

250 kg

Question 12

Length of oestrous cycle in days and how long does standing heat last for?

Answer 12

21 days - standing heat is 18 hours when the egg is in the fallopian tube and the animal is highly fertile

Question 13

Length of gestation period in months and then days

Answer 13

9.5 months

283 days

Question 14

Target weight at service and calving

Answer 14

350 kg

550 kg for calving

Question 15

When does a cow dry off and stop producing milk

Answer 15

2 months before calving

Question 16

What is the aim for commercial milk production when it comes to cows calving to produce the most milk each year

Answer 16

Cows are aimed to calf once a year around the same time every year

This means they will produce milk for 10 months / 305 days lactation per year

Question 17

Name the two highest yielding dairy breeds and their yields in kgs

Answer 17

Holstein is 5800 Kg per lactation

Friesian is 5000 Kg per lactation

Question 18

What lactation number and age to cows reach their maximum yield?

Answer 18

The 5th lactation at 6 years old. After this the yields decrease because of age

Question 19

What is the significance of frequently milking cows?

Answer 19

It empties the udder which stimulates milk-secreting alveoli to commence producing milk.

Question 20

Why do farmers not milk cows more than 2 times a day? What is the theoretically ideal milking interval?

Answer 20

Because it is uneconomical and uses a lot of electricity and energy in the parlour

Leaves cows more prone to mastitis

Time consuming and leaves the farmer working very long hours

12 hours

Question 21

What is the composition of milk using percentages?

Answer 21

Water - 88%
Fat - 3%
Protein, carbs and Vitamins (non fat solids) - 9%