Commercial Dairy Farming

Commercial dairy farming is one of the emerging businesses in today’s times with the U.S being a key player. Commercial farming is the extraction of milk from the animals and then trading it for money. Dairying also involves breeding, raising, and processing dairy animals to provide milk and various dairy products. Cows and water buffalo produce most milk for human consumption. Goat milk is also important. In India, the milk is mostly produced and used is of a buffalo or a cow or both mixed in certain proportions.

Herd improvement and breeding

• A dairy cattle breed is the result of years of selection and mating of animals to achieve desired traits.
• A cow’s genetic background is extremely important when it comes to determining the production per cow.
• Progress has been made in the field with cows and water buffaloes in India, which have been bred for increased production. Breeding to increase production has helped increase milk production in less developed countries.
• Worldwide the acceptance and practice of artificial breeding have increased. In studs, bulls that are genetically capable of transferring high milk production are kept.
• Dairy-farmer cooperatives generally operate studs, which are inseminated artificially. You can freeze semen for artificial insemination and ship it anywhere in the world.

The Feed of Dairy Cattle

• A good pasture supplies almost all the requirements of a good dairy ration because it is what dairy cattle eat.
• New Zealand sets an excellent example of grassland dairying, where cow’s pasture for the whole year and the cost of milk production is minimal.
• There is no necessity for farmers to store the feed for long winter seasons. However, milk production is increased by feeding the dairy with a balanced diet rather than only grass.
• In New Zealand, the average annual production per cow was 3,926 kilograms of milk in 2000, while in the United States, where supplemental feeding is common, it was 8,257 kilograms.
• In case of poor pasture quality, it should be supplemented with green crops, hay, or summer silage.

Disease Prevention

• One of the most problematic aspects of dairy farming is the disease. There is a constant threat of disease that can lead to the elimination of valuable animals from the herd when the disease is suspected. 
• One study demonstrated that slightly more than half of the cows from a typical dairy farm were removed for disease.
• The best herd management practices include cleaning, removing poisonous plants and other substances from the premises, and the premises are kept free from hazards that could cause injury.
• In some diseases, such as tuberculosis, injections are necessary. Mastitis, for example, requires continuous treatment.
•  There are some diseases for which there is no cure, so the only way to prevent the spread of infection is to slaughter the animal.

Milking and bulk handling on the farm

In the seventh or eighth week of conception, milk-producing tissue develops in the mammae, but secretion is inhibited until the calf is born. Following calving, lactation increases until another conception causes a gradual decline. Animals remain dry during the pregnancy until they give birth because of hormones, and the needs of the foetus.

A cow produces milk from her blood, and it requires a lot of food to maintain a high-yielding cow. When digested and absorbed, digestive and absorption products are transported to the udder and converted to milk components. As the blood passes through the udder, a small amount is removed to make milk. A pound of milk is made from approximately 50 gallons or 200 litres of blood. An average cow producing 22.5 kilograms of milk each day requires 10 tons of blood to flow through her udder each day.

The modern method of milking is by machines and trained operators, usually twice a day in stanchion barns or milking parlours. One to three machines are handled by an experienced milker. In addition to cleaning the cows and fitting the teat cups, a pulsating vacuum draws the milk into a receiver or pipe into the farm’s milk tank.

Dairy products must be cooled to 50 °F (10 °C) or less within two hours. Once cooled, they must be kept at that temperature until they are delivered to the consumer.

Conclusion

Milk is extracted from dairy animals for commercial farming and then exchanged for money. Dairying also involves breeding, raising, and processing dairy animals to provide milk and various dairy products. Milk production of dairy cattle depends on many factors, including environmental factors, but the genetic background is of the utmost importance. After years of selection and mating of animals, the dairy cattle breed is obtained with desired traits. Good pastures meet all the requirements for a healthy dairy ration, since it is dairy cattle’s natural food source. The modern method of milking is by machines and trained operators, usually twice a day in stanchion barns or milking parlours.