The Dairy Industry Animal Science

Classification Bovine: Scientific name for cattle. Cow: A mature female bovine. Bull: A mature male bovine. Calf: A newborn bovine. Heifer: A young female bovine. Steer: An altered male bovine.

The Dairy Industry Dairy cows were first brought to Jamestown in 1611. Early farms had 1 or 2 cows for their own use. Lack of refrigeration made it difficult for city dwellers to obtain milk.

The Dairy Industry Pasteurization, refrigeration and bottled milk were developed in the second half of the 19th century allowing milk to be shipped to population centers.

The Dairy Industry Pasteurization A process that destroys bacterial and other tiny organisms by heating the milk to 161 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds.

The Dairy Industry Homogenization A process used to keep the fat and milk liquid from separating by breaking the fat droplets into very small particles so they stay in suspension.

The Dairy Industry There are 9.3 million dairy cows on U.S. farms producing 150 billion pounds of milk each year. Each cow produces about 16,000-21,000 pounds per year. 1 Gallon weighs 8 pounds.

The Dairy Industry There are half the farms today than in the 1950’s but each farm is larger and each cow produces more milk through biotechnology.

The Dairy Industry The use of rbST (Bovine somatotropin)-a natural growth hormone-has increased milk production since 1994.

Dairy production is concentrated near large cities. The Dairy Industry Dairy production is concentrated near large cities. California is #1 followed by New York Pennsylvania Minnesota

Making Milk Udder: Mammary glands, teats, and associated structures on female mammals. Cows have four mammary glands or quarters. Each quarter has a teat. A canal in each teat allows removal of milk.

Making Milk The milk is produced in the alveoli. Alveoli remove nutrients from the blood and convert the nutrients into milk.

Making Milk Lactation: Secretion of milk by the mammary glands; the production of milk by a female mammal. Dry Cow: A cow that has stopped producing milk; most cows in a herd produce mild 305 days for each lactation.

Making Milk Colostrum: the first milk given by an animal after parturition: baby animals need colostrums to help develop disease immunity. Immunoglobulin: Antibodies passed from a cow to her calf in colostrums; provides passive immunity to disease.

Making Milk Milk is 87% water. Fat and protein make up less than 4%. It has 4% lactose (milk sugar) Nutrient Dense-Large amounts of nutrients relative to calories.

Breeding Selection is choosing or picking the animals for the herd. Culling is choosing the cows or heifers to remove from the herd. Selection and culling criteria Production factors Genetic makeup

Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA) Breeding Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA) National testing and record-keeping program. USDA work with producers to compile herd data with others in the area state and nation.

Breeding Progeny The offspring of animals Useful in selecting dairy animals by identifying the genetic worth of the sires and dams.

Totally mixed ration (TMR) Feeding a Dairy Herd Totally mixed ration (TMR) All feedstuffs are mixed together to provide all feed ingredients in each mouthful a cow eats.

Nutrient Requirements Feeding a Dairy Herd Nutrient Requirements Related to body size Lactation State of maturation (age) Dry or not

Health Primary Objective: Prevent and control disease by knowing the normal and abnormal behavior of the animal.

Health Metabolic disorder Related to unbalanced to nutrition. Most occur shortly after calving. Due to stress associated with high milk production.

Health Metabolic disorder Milk Fever Ketosis A metabolic disorder characterized by low blood calcium and paralysis of cows. Ketosis Characterized by a poor appetite and dullness; results when a cow is struggling with a health problem in early lactation.

Housing Cold housing Warm housing Unheated building kept cold during the winter. Warm housing Kept warm in the winter.

Housing Free-stall barn Tie-stall barn Cows are allowed to roam free Hard to monitor feed intake Tie-stall barn Cows are chained in individual stalls Feed intake can be monitored