Dairy Cattle Industry

Veal

meat from calves

Holstein

• >90% of dairy cattle

• Black and white

• Netherlands

• Most milk produced

• Large

Jersey

• Brown

• Jersey Island

• Best milk fat

• Small

Milking cows

• Calve year-round

• Sell milk by lb.

• Quality (milk solids)

• Fat

• Protein

• Quantity

Tie Stall

• Confined to specific stall

• Stand up and lie down, can’t turn around

• Bedded

Free stall

• Alley with pens on sides

• Group cows into pens

• Cows may move freely between stall and feed area

• Can select individual stall

Pasture

• Part or all day grazing

• May be supplemented

• Generally, lower milk yield

• Less manure disposal

• Brought in 2-3x per day for milking

Milking parlor

• Parallel

• Herringbone

• Rotary

• Robotic

Bull studs

• Find best genetics

• Collect and freeze sem*n

• Farmers inseminate females

Dairy herd improvement association

• Help improve genetics

• Data collection and storage

• Records processing centers

• Council for Dairy Cattle Breeding

Calves

• Removed from mother

• Fed milk or milk replacer (4-8 weeks)

• Provide colostrum

• Preferably within first hours of birth

• Colostrum – first milk given by female after birthing

• High in antibodies

• Passive immunity

Colostrum

first milk given by female after birthing

Housing

Grouping and individual

group: generally older 14 days

What about veal?

• Indoor, climate controlled

• All transitioned to group housing by 2017

• Room to move around, socialize

• Marketed around 500 lbs

Heifer developmental

• Goal: calve before 24 months old

• Ideal calving weight: 1,200 – 1,250 lbs

• Breed at 15 months

• Small group housing

• Feed high quality hay, silage, pasture

• Supplement with grain

• Growth monitoring

• Moderate energy intake

• Height and weight

Dairy feedlot

• 20% of beef produced in U.S.

• Less muscle, more marbling

• Bigger (taller) and less feed efficient than beef

• Beef on dairy – using beef semen to breed dairy cow (crossbred calf)

• Gaining popularity

Milk processors

• Company or cooperative

• Milk products

• Fluid milk

• Processed products

Transition cow

• Last 3 weeks gestation to 3 weeks postpartum

• Diet changes

• Increased energy, protein requirements

• Supressed dry matter intake (DMI)

• Suppression of immune system – metabolic and health disorders

Feeding lactating cows

• Combine alfalfa and corn silage

• Recommend some grain

• Total mixed ration (TMR) – combination of forage and grain

Mastitis

- infection of the udder

• Decreases quality and quantity of milk produced

• Risk factors: poor milking sanitation, dirty facilities

• Treatment: antibiotics

Milk fever

– low blood calcium

• Common around calving

• Milk production = sudden loss of body calcium

• Affects nervous and muscle systems – muscle tremors → “downed cow” →

death

• Treatment: administer intravenous calcium gluconate followed by oral calcium doses

Bovine somatotropin (BST)

• Bovine somatotropin – hormone naturally produced by cattle

• Regulates growth

• Increases milk production

• Recombinant DNA technology has allowed for mass production of BST

• rBST – marketed as Posilac