UK dairy industry

Page 1

Heifer calf -female bovine calf

Bull calf - male bovine calf

Calf- young bovine

Heifer - any female that hasn't give Birth

Maden/bulling heifer any female of breeding age that hasn't given birth yet

Youngstock - bovine animals older than calves (weaned) but not yet adults

Lactating heifer- female bovine that has given birth for the first time and is producing milk for the first time

Cow - any female bovine given birth at least once

Dry cow- cow that isnt producing milk - usually heavily pregnant

Far off

Close up

Transition group

Bull

Sweeper bull - AI

slide 22

Colostrum - 1st milk produced by mother

-contains antibodies

-must be drank within 1st 72 hours (before gut wall closes)

Calf taken from mother

-immediately (snatched) - disease control

-after a few days

-milk from mother for 1st 3 days can't be sold

Once taken

-reared with other calves

-fed milk based diet

Weaned off milk

-6-12 weeks

-when rumen has developed

-fed roughage based diet

Puberty

- 10-12 months

-depends on illness/nutrition

Service

-15 months

-65% of mature body weight

- 1st calf at 2 years old

-Pregnant for 9 months (282 days)

Birth of 1st calf

-stress levels high

-immunity low

-VWP- Voluntary waiting period (6 wks) -dont try to service

-service too soon then conception chances v low (uterus expanded still)

-service 3 months after first calf

-2nd calf 12 months after 1st

-Produces milk 10 months after

-2 months before 2nd calf stop milking

-udder shrinks down in size

Aim is 1 cow per year

Dry period

Far off dry cows-- just being dried off

Close up dry cows -- close to calving

-managed separately

-different nutritions

Dairy breeds

-bigg udders

-big rumens

-big frame

-Holstein

-friesian

-brown swiss

-ayrshire

-Channel island

---Jersey

---Guernsey

-Swedish red, Norwegian red -- lower yields than holstein but healthier

-simmental/fleckvieh

Changes over lasst 50 years

-Herd size inc

-number of farmers dec

-few dual purpose

-yield per cow almost doubled

-main breed is holstein

Uk

-50% of milk sold as liquid

-milk yield 7912 litres per cow a year (increasing)

--Dependent on genetic merit, nutrition , health status

-Fact and figures slide

Dairy cows

- herbivores , attacked by predators - stoical

-herd creatures

-need company of own king

linear hierarchy

Takes 7 days to establish

different for different activities

like routine

curious

slide 24 -27

Oestrus behaviour

-21 day cycle

-Oestrus 48 hours

----signs -- often scant

----sniffing

----rmp and flank rubbing

----mounting

----standing to. be mounted

----more often an night

-sexually active groups increased activity

-2ndary last for longer

Breeding

-VWP

-Oestrus detection

-Service

--AI

--Conception rate

-Calving pattern

--autumn calving

--spring calving

--all year round calving

slides 32 to 36

Nutrition

-Roughage

-Supplementary feeds

slide 37

Principles of ruminant nutrition

-Consistency of feeding - microflora adapts slowly

-rumen microbes taken into account as well as cow

-sporadic concentrate

-prevent rumen acidosis

Stream

Body condition scoring

-shows how well they are adjusting with nutrition

-1 thin

-5 fat

-2.5-3 is target

-High input -high output

-housed all year 0 grazing

-housed in winter grazing in summer

-Low input- low output

-extended grazing

-cow breeds used?

Lactattion energy requirements graphs?

stream?

peak yield is 1/200 th of total yield -- ish

loss of body weight (stream) as can't meet demands of milk production

DMI - dry matter intake

-ve energy balance (large effects on fertility))

Negative energy balance

-At calving depressed anyway

--fat cows eat less

-Vast energy demands of milk prod

mobilise fat t o make up shortfall

stream

High input vs Low input

Feeding systems

TMR - total mixed ration -- all food at barrier 24 hrs a day

Traditional -silage at barrier and cake in parlour

Hybrid TMR at barrier and cake in parlour

self feed silage- go up to clamp face and pull as they want

---not good for holst

Welfare debate

Milk quality

Milk -- mostly water

--butterfat 4%

--mlk protein 3.2%

--sugar (lactose)

-somatic cell count - inidcates mastitis

--too many like pus

What goes wrong?

-infect disease

-production diseases

Feeding

stream?

Dry cows - 3 weeks prior to birth separate from others

-cant be fed same ration as lactating cow -- risk of weight gain

-close--feed lots of forage

-far--closer diet to lactating cow

--Preventing hypocalcaemia (milk fever)

---sluggish homeostatic adaption to high Ca demand

--low Ca diets now promote body Ca mobilisation (hard)

--high M diets promote Ca mobilisation

--dietary cation anion balance

-Vit D supplementation -- not recommended

Over fatness at calving

-less easily calve

-inc risk of metabolic disease in early lactation

-Eat less so....