Post Quiz 6 Flashcards
What are the advantages of AMS?
Increase milk yield over 2X (11%)
More time to manage information
Free-up labor for other activities:
– additional cropping
– off-farm employment
Less stress (cows/humans)
Improved life-style
Enhance viability of small farms (labor, environment, etc.)
Parlors represent what percent of new facility costs?
30-50%
What factors are important in optimizing the use of parlors?
Parlor turn-around time
* 1st cows in quickly
* All units attached in 4-5 minutes
* 4.5 - 5 cow-changes/hr
– 12 min/side
* Dictates total milking time
What Factors are important in parlor efficiency?
Optimizing Use
Premilking Hygine
Batch/ territorial vs. alternating milking scheme
Mechanization
Milk Yield Per Cow
How does premilking hygine impact parlor efficiency
Affects # milkers/stalls
– Routines:
* Minimal: strip, wipe, attach (14 sec)
* Full: strip, predip, wipe, attach (30 sec)
– Predipping costs time/cow flow (but reduces new IMI)
– Dirty cows: costs cow flow; more mastitis, SCC
How does Batch/Territorial vs. Alternating milking Schemes affect parlor efficiency
Batch milking costs ~ 25% reduction in cow flow
* 1st cows easiest; last cows rushed
* Disrupts routine
* Goal is all units attached in 4-5 min
Employee breaks:
* 15 - 30 min breaks every 4 hrs reduces total milking time
How does mechanization impact parlor efficiency?
View mechanization as replacing people or reducing milking time
* ATO, rapid exit, crowd gates, indexing, sort gates all increase
throughput by 5 - 10% each!
How does milk yield per cow impact parlor efficiency
Slow-milking cows reduce throughput
* Herringbone
* Parallel (gang exit)
* Rotaries
* Remember continued increases in milk production lead to
increased milking time per cow
* 3X cows milk out faster
– 3X may add only 10% to total milking time
Group cows:
– Stage of lactation approximates milking speed
Size groups to parlor
– Less partial loading
– Holding area; 1 hr. capacity
– 15-20 sq.ft./ cow
What Factors Affect Milk Yield
Secretion Rate
Milking Frequency
Milking Intervals
Dry Period Management
Photoperiod
Heat Stress
Mastitis
What impacts secretion rate of milk by the mammary system?
amount of healthy parenchymal tissue
-genetics, udder development; mastitis
rate of secretion per unit of tissue
-genetics, precursors; secretion rate is inversely related to alveolar pressure
Milk is secreted constantly, but removed periodically:
–secretion rate is influenced by products already secreted
–yield will equal capacity to secrete + capacity to store product
What does the total amount of milk accumulated in the gland depend on?
secretion rate; a function of intramammary pressure
and
time; the rate decreases with time as pressure increases
How long does it take for milk synthesis to cease after milking
Approximately 36 hours
How does milking frequency impact milk yield?
More frequent milk removal :
–increases average secretion rate for given time period
–increases total yield for given period
–has dramatic effect on total lactation yield
Major increase in yield is due to decline in alveolar pressure (increased average secretion rate)
–some increase may be due to:
*greater feeding frequency
*reduced mastitis; SCC
What impact does 3x Milking have on Milk Yield compared to 2x?
Increases lactation yields ~15 - 20% compared to 2x milking
under similar management conditions
DHI standardized lactation correction factor for 3x herds = 0.85
How does milking interval impact milk yield?
Constant equal milking intervals optimize average secretion rates and allow maximum yields:
For 2x herds; effect of uneven milking intervals:
Interval ——- Decline in yield
9 : 15 ———–2%
8 : 16 ———–4%
Average secretion rate is not adversely affected until ~14 hrs after milk removal
What is the impact of long term imbalances in milking intervals?
speeds involution
AND
decreases persistency & milk yield
What is the relationship between milking interval and lactation number?
Younger cows (first lactation) recieve greater benefits from shorter milking intervals
1st lactation cows respond more dramatically to 3x milking than older cows
What happens if you milk cows 1x during their last three months of lactation
Decreased milk yield 38% for last 3 mo.
Decreased lactation yield 12%
increased fat %
cattle dried off 12 days earlier (gradual; not recommended!)
What happens if you milk cows 1x for the entire lactation?
1st lactation cows declined 50% in lactation yield
Older cows declined 40% in lactation yield
What happens if you milk 13x per week (skip one milking per week)?
1st lactation cows declined 11% in lactation yield
older cows declined 5% in lactation yield
What is involution?
natural regression of the mammary gland after peak lactation (most dramatically after dryoff)
after peak lactation, milk yield drops ~ 5% month
What happens during mammary gland involution?
Cellular metabolic activity slows
Secretion rate/ cell declines
Size & number of alveoli decline
Number of cells/alveolus decline
Proportion of connective tissue increases
Mammary gland DNA content declines
Biochemical changes:
–decreased fatty acid, acetate, glucose incorporation into lipid
–reduced mitochondrial function
– reduced oxidation of glucose; reduced ATP