Livestock Systems III: Dairy

Question 1

All Year-Round calving system (AYR)

Answer 1

• cows calve all year round with no seasonal emphasis, and no period where the entire herd is dry.

Question 2

Block calving system

Answer 2

cows are calved within a 12-week window in either spring or autumn.

Question 3

Two main types of calving systems in the UK

Answer 3

Currently 81% of farmers are AYR, 4% spring block, 8% autumn block and 7% spring & autumn (AHDB, 2019).

Question 4

Advantages and disadvantages of calving systems

Answer 4

Seasonality payments mean typical autumn block calvers achieve a slightly higher price than AYR.
• Spring block calving herds typically receive 1ppl less than AYR herds on manufacturing contracts.
• Both spring and autumn block calving herds typically achieve lower prices than AYR supplying the liquid market .

Question 5

well-managed dairy enterprise is best placed to….

Answer 5

withstand milk price volatility, regardless of which system it operates.

Question 6

Factors affecting choice of calving systems

Answer 6

• Cash and physical assets.
• Forage during peak periods of production.
• Milk buyer requirements and milk contract willing to pay a premium
• AYR calving can be more challenging because of the complexity of doing everything all the time.
• More labour is typically needed, and fixed and variable feed costs can be higher in AYR calving.

Griffin et al. (2012) reported that costs were not different among calving dates, but net returns were greatest for June calving cows and least for March because of differences in weaned calf value.
• Conclusions was that the net returns vary by calving date.
• Clark et al. (1997), whilst looking at production and economic impact highlighted the need for matching calving date with forage nutrients

Question 7

Dairy Housing Systems

Answer 7

Two main types in the UK.

Continuous housing systems
Pasture-based systems
Some farms practice both.

Only 31% of farms maintained traditional grazing systems with no forage feeding indoors during the summer.
̶ On 8% of 61 farms, milking cows were housed all year, while high yielding or early lactation cows were continually housed on a further 8% of farms (March et al., 2014).
Survey by DEFRA reported that:
̶ The majority (87%) of farms with cattle used a mix of housed and grazing systems for their cattle.
̶ Only 9% had a year-round grazing system and 4% housed their cattle all year round.
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̶ Farms with smaller cattle numbers (<50) were more likely to have AYR grazing systems than farms with more cattle.
̶ Majority of farms with less than 50 cattle still used a mix of housed and grazing systems (80%)

Question 8

Continuous housing system

Answer 8

• the cows are housed indoors throughout the year.

Question 9

Pasture based system

Answer 9

cows are grazed outside for better part of the year.

Question 10

All year round/continuous housing systems

Answer 10

• Characterised by non-seasonal calving, total mixed ration (TMR) feeding, and high milk yield per cow.
• Synonyms - confinement, zero- grazing, and high input/high-output.

Question 11

Reasons for All year-round dairy systems

Answer 11

Means of intensification to meet the growing demand for dairy products.
Other reasons include;
̶ the ability to manage and provide a consistent feed ration to high-yielding cows,
̶ increases in herd size,
̶ limited land availability for pasture-based production,
̶ the uptake of robotic milking, and climatic factors including adverse and unpredictable weather events.

Question 12

Pasture based systems

Answer 12

Characterised by:
• access to pasture grazing for the provision of forage, typically for at least 6 months of the year,
• housing over the winter, and • a seasonal calving pattern.

Question 13

Benefits of pasture-based systems

Answer 13

• Lower levels of lameness, hoof pathologies, hock lesions, mastitis, uterine disease, and mortality.
• Better dairy cow behaviour, in terms of grazing, improved lying / resting times, and lower levels of aggression.

Question 14

Challenges associated with pasture-based

systems

Answer 14

What are some of the challenges associated with pasture- based systems?
̶ Physiological indicators of more severe negative energy balance.
̶ The potential for compromised welfare with exposure to unpredictable weather conditions.

Question 15

Considerations for choice of housing system

Answer 15

• Animal health and welfare implications
• Cost – feed, labour, maintenance etc.
• Labour requirements and future staff availability • Environmental factors
• Physical resources

Question 16

Market pressures on a dairy unit in the UK

Answer 16

• Access to markets
• Potential loss of export markets as a result of the US Airbus tariffs and
fear of no-deal Brexit.
• Falling fat prices and their impact on processor margins, particularly for the liquid sector.
• Increases in milk production in certain regions which has not been matched by increases in processing capability.