Holstein/Friesian

1. Holstein/Friesian • from Holland via USA • They weigh 680 kg when mature. • Bred to produce higher milk and protein yields than any other breed • Make good use of grass for milk production • Sensitive to cold wet conditions and need early winter housing

2. British Friesian • Slightly smaller than Holsteins • Carry more flesh • Good fertility

3. Other Dairy BreedsAyrshire • Easy calving and longevity

4. Brown Swiss • Longevity • Good feet and legs • Strong and healthy

5. Guernsey • Efficient converter of feed to milk • Early maturity • Milk is a distinctive golden colour. • Easy calving

6. Jersey • Milk is high and fat and protein but lower yield than Holstein-Friesian • Low maintenance cost • Easy calving • High fertility • Longevity • Less prone to lameness

7. Milking Shorthorn • red, red and white, white or roan, a very close mixture of red and white, and found in no other breed of cattle. • Ease of calving • Good feet • Longevity

8. Montbéliarde • Light red and white, white head • Dual purpose • Hardy • Resistance to mastitis

9. Norwegian Red • Calving ease • High fertility • High fat and protein milk • Higher Mastitis resistance • Choice of Polled or Horned • Hardy hooves

10. Normande • Dual purpose • Good growth rate in calves • Ideal for dairy crossbreeding • Fertility • Calving ease • Strength • High percentage yield at slaughter

11. Jersey X Holstein cross • Smaller, lighter and darker in colour than Holstein • Lower milk volume • Higher milk solids • Efficient converter of grass

13. Cows produce first calf at 2 years. Reach maximum yield at their fifth lactation

14. Breeds of cattle – contrast in milk composition (%)

15. Lactating • When lactating a cow can be either pregnant or non-pregnant. • When dry  pregnant. • Try to get the cow to complete the cycle in one year. • The length of the cycle depends on how long it takes for her to get pregnant again.

16. 1 year calving interval • 305 days of lactation • 60 days of a dry period • Cow carries calf for 9 ½ months (283-286 days) • 365 – 286 = 82 days • Need to be mated 82 days after calving • If it goes over 82 days, it will go over the 1 year cycle.

17. Lactation curve of a machine milked cow Milk yield Mid lactation Early lactation Late lactation Dry period 0 weeks: calving These changes are due to changes in activities and changes in the number of cells in the mammary glands

18. Milking machine versus cow with calf • Yield is in response to a challenge • More milk asked for more milk will be provided Milk yields/ day (Kg) Milk machine Cow with calf Time (months)

19. Factors influencing milk yield • Breed, weight at calving • Age • Frequency of milking • Dry period

20. Factors influencing milk composition • Breed • Feed • Good grass increases milk, fat and protein • Fibre needed for fat production • Stage of lactation • Milking interval

21. Feeding for milk quality • High fibre feed increases butterfat content • Leafy grass increases protein • Good quality feed • Control mastitis

22. Grass Budgeting • A grass budget aims to balance the grass supply with the grass requirement or "herd demand". • Measure grass cover • Estimate DM cover and grazing requirement

23. Estimating Grass Cover

25. Grass Budgeting

28. Grass budgeting • Example • A farmer has 50 cows grazing on a 0.5 ha paddock. Each cow consumes 15 kg DM/day. How long can the cows be left in the paddock to graze it completely? (i.e. a stubble height of 4 cm).

29. Mass of grass removed from a 0.25 m2 quadrat = 200 g • DM = 18% • 200 g x 0.18 = 36 g DM or 0.036 kg DM/0.25 m2 • 0.036 kg DM x 4 = 0.144 kg DM/m2 • 0.5 ha = 5000 m2 • 0.144 kg DM x 5000 = 720 kg DM/0.5 ha • 720/50 = 14.4 kg DM/cow • At 15 kg DM intake/day, (14.4/15) x (100/1) = 96% of their daily intake • 24 hours x 0.96 = 23.04 hours • 23 hours grazing left

30. Milk Quality Standards 2. Somatic Cell Count (SCC): • Count of white blood cells • High SCC indicates presence of sub clinical mastitis • SCC must mot exceed 400,000 on a three month geometric mean http://www.fsai.ie/uploadedFiles/Reg853_2004(1).pdf

31. Milk Quality Standards 3. Thermoduric Test: • Number of thermo-resistant bacteria must not be > 1000/ml 4. Milk temperature: • Milk only collected from refrigerated tanks and be < 6°C 5. Antibiotic test • Routine test for the presence of antibiotics http://www.fsai.ie/uploadedFiles/Reg853_2004(1).pdf

32. Milk Quality Standards 6. Excess water: 7. Sediment test: • Milk must be free from physical particles and sediment • Cow’s udders and teats must be clean at milking time and milk filtered • Biosecurity for diseased animals http://www.fsai.ie/uploadedFiles/Reg853_2004(1).pdf

33. The Milking Machine • Extracts milk from the cow by vacuum. • Apply constant vacuum to the end of the teat to suck the milk out, convey it to a suitable container, to give a periodic squeeze applied externally to the whole of the teat to maintain blood circulation. • A milking machine installation consists of a pipework system linking various vessels and other components which together provide the flow paths for air and milk. • The forces are maintained by a vacuum. • Atmospheric pressure forces air, and intra-mammary milk pressure which forces milk, into the system and the combination of these forces causes flow. • continuous operation

34. Cluster • Part of the machine which is attached to the cow • Claw piece and four teat cups • Connected to the bucket, milk cup or recorder jar via a milk tube • Can be removed automatically

35. Herringbone Parlours • Cows stand in echelon formation at 30°–35° to the operator's pit with no division between cows. • Distance between udders is reduced to 0.9 m. • Operator has control over cow entry/exit • Cows enter and leave in batches. Suitable for herds of 50–400 cows

36. Side by Side • Modification of the herringbone. • Cows stand at right angles to the operator's pit, so that 3 cows occupy the length required for 2 in the herringbone. • Cows must be milked through the back legs.

37. Rotary Tandem • Most expensive per cow place in terms of cost and space requirement. Cows stand nose-to-tail in stalls circling the operators work area. Operator cannot assist cow entry but can see all cows easily during rotation. • 250 cows plus

38. Annual Cycle in Dairying • Day 0 Cow calves - begins to lactate • Lactation 305 days • Dry period 60 days • Ideally 365d calving interval- but more often closer to 400 days • As with suckler cow if to have 365d calving interval need to conceive 80-86 days post calving as gestation length is on average 278-283 days • Aim to serve cow 56 days post calving

39. Planning 1. Plan calving dates (includes both cows and heifers) • Herd with mean calving date c. Feb 15th (first cow calving c. Jan 20th) has highest potential profits- • Higher milk yield • Increased grass consumption and reduced silage consumption when compared to herd calving in April- reduced costs • Mean calving date in Ireland is March 16th

40. Requirements for Replacements in Dairy herd • 17% rate of replacements ideal • i.e. 17 cows culled from 100 cow herd every year with 17 new heifers required • Average replacement rate in Ireland is 27%

41. Replacement Heifers:Age at Service and First Calving • At first service heifers should weigh approx. 2/3rds of final mature weight = 400kgs • c. 15 months • Calving at c. 24 months • dystocia if calving before 22 months • Fit in with calving pattern of herd • Choice of bull • Usually use breed Aberdeen Angus or Hereford- less calving problems than Friesian • Variation within breeds- ‘Easy calving bull’ • BCS 3- 3.5 6-8 weeks pre calving

42. Diseases of Dairy (and Suckler) Cows • Brucellosis • Mastitis • Milk Fever • Ruminoacidosis and Ketosis • Grass staggers • Lameness - Foot Problems • Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) • Johnes Disease

43. Brucellosis • ZOONOSIS - undulant fever in humans • HIGHLY INFECTIOUS • Caused by bacterium Brucella abortis • Causes abortion –usually 5-7th month of pregnancy • Non-pregnant animals can act as carriers

44. Brucellosis • All breeding cattle (cows and bulls) in Ireland must be tested for brucellosis - blood test • All females over 1 year • All bulls over 2 years old • After 30 days movement test required • Animals that are found positive for brucellosis are slaughtered • Treatment of affected animals is not appropriate

45. Mastitis • Bacterial disease of the udder • Infection gains access to gland via teat • Dirty housing conditions (pre and post calving) • Poor hygiene during milking • Damage to teat sphincter due to inconsistent/ excessive vacuum in milking machine

46. Mastitis • Only 1% of cases are noninfectious • Bad hygiene, flies, teat lesions etc. can increase suceptibility • Up to 20 bacteria responsible for mastitis in cows • Including: • E.coli • Streptococcus • Staphlococcus • Pseudomonas

47. Mastitis • 2 forms: • Clinical – signs and symptoms of disease observed- fever, visible alteration in milk etc. • Subclinical – alteration in milk- increased cell counts and bacteria present • Usually chronic infections • Eg. Staphlococcus aureus

48. Top of a strip cup showing clots and serous milk from a cow with acute mastitis. Swollen, gangrenous udder of ewe with mastitis. Brown Swiss heifer with swollen rear gland with mastitis

49. Mastitis: Treatment • Clinical mastitis is treated with intramammary antibiotics • Milk from treated cows must be discarded/ fed to calves • Penalties for selling milk contaminated with antibiotics

50. Milk Fever (parturient hypocalcaemia) • Misnomer! No fever- reduced temperature usually! • Metabolic disorder • Subnormal levels of blood calcium • Sudden production of large volumes of milk (rich in calcium) • Blood calcium levels fall and body stores of calcium (in bones) cannot make up shortfall fast enough